NBL Stars all about the burgers
TweetIT tips off tomorrow night, the second three-game NBL All-Australian All Stars against China in China series, and you don’t have to catch a flight to see all the action live.
Just tune in to FOX SPORTS where meticulous play-by-play man Matt McQuade heads up the commentary team with veteran announcer Steve Carfino and NBL championship-winning coach Brendan Joyce as our All Stars take on China in Beijing tomorrow.
It tips off at 9.30pm AEST, 9 o’clock in SA and NT and 6.30pm in the West, with Game 2 in Jilin on Friday, with the third and final showdown in Dongguan on Sunday.
FOX SPORTS, exclusively on Foxtel, will deliver all three games LIVE and in HD, with no ad-breaks during play.
Hawks and All Stars coach Rob Beveridge is planning to run China off its feet so don’t expect anything such as the scoreline from last year’s Game 1, a 49-57 loss.
Bevo is all about the cheeseburgers and you need to score 100 points in Wollongong for Illawarra fans to get a free feed at Maccas.
“Eighty shots, 100 points a game is our goal,” Beveridge said, although this time he was referring to the NBL All Stars, who clinched last year’s series with 72-64 and 76-65 wins Games 2 and 3 respectively.
Taking a 10-man rotation instead of last year’s 12, also gives Beveridge scope to sustain the pressure without the burden of ‘who isn’t getting court-time’.
While the group only hastily all assembled yesterday, reigning league MVP Jerome Randle was quick to Twitter, tweeting:
The NBL Stars are: David Barlow (Melbourne United), Todd Blanchfield (Sydney Kings), Tom Jervis (Brisbane Bullets), Jeremy Kendle (free agent, Brisbane Bullets), Nick Kay (Illawarra Hawks), Daniel Kickert (Brisbane Bullets), Mitch McCarron (Cairns Taipans), Jerome Randle (free agent, Adelaide 36ers), Jesse Wagstaff (Perth Wildcats), Lucas Walker (Perth Wildcats).
The series is expected to draw a big television audience in China, the NBL now relenting from its – let’s say “exuberant” – claims 100 million tuned in last year, to “a cumulative TV audience that reached 30 million” for the three-game series.
(There’s still no verification or validation of the figure of course, but it sounds far more reasonable than the previous position which may have been reached at a breakfast meeting of NBL boffins post-Game 3 and over a latte.)
Fact is this is a growing event and one China’s national program – which boasts two active teams – is embracing as part of its FIBA Asia Cup build up.
Tune in tomorrow on 501, and 503 for Games 2 and 3.
LAST YEAR: Jesse Wagstaff in action in last year's series. Picture courtesy GETTY IMAGES.