Xavier Cooks opts out of deal with Sydney Kings

From nbl.com.au : Sydney Kings young-gun Xavier Cooks has exercised his right to opt out of the remaining year of his contract. In light of the recent agreement between the NBL and the Australian Basketball Players’ Association which saw pay cuts of up to 50 percent for the 2020-21 season, a deadline of May 4 was set for players to declare their intention to explore opportunities overseas. Cooks joined the Kings fifteen games into the NBL20 season after recovering from a knee injury he suffered while representing Australia in preparation…

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NBL Statement on the Grand Final

From nbl.com.au: The NBL wishes to clarify and respond to comments made in respect to the Hungry Jack’s NBL Grand Final Series presented by MG. Given the escalating threat of COVID-19 over recent weeks, the NBL regularly consulted with both the Sydney Kings and Perth Wildcats right throughout the series. The NBL made the decision to proceed with game one as planned in Sydney on Sunday March 8. In the days leading into game two in Perth last Friday we were in constant contact with both teams. A number of…

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NBL cancel remaining games of Grand Final

It appears that the Coronavirus has halted one of the few remaining outlets of basketball, or any professional sports, Australia’s National Basketball League. Game four of the league’s championship series, the Grand Final was to be played Friday between the Sydney Kings and Perth Wildcats. However the Kings brass stated they did not want to play the game in lieu of the global circumstances surrounding COVID-19. NBL Owner and Executive Chairman Larry Kestelman had this to say in a statement: “We respect the decision in what are extraordinary times for…

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Perth takes 2-1 lead in NBL Grand Final

From nbl.com.au: A career-best Nick Kay performance with Bryce Cotton again brilliant has put the Perth Wildcats one win away from back-to-back NBL championships after outlasting the Sydney Kings 111-96 in Game 3 of the Grand Final series at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday. Led by dynamic duo Cotton (31 points, seven assists) and Nick Kay (30 points, 12 rebounds, four assists), Perth rebounded from a 97-83 loss to the Kings on Friday night to beat Sydney for the second time on the road in the Grand Final series.  Kay…

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Perth defeats Sydney 88-86 in Game of 1 NBL Grand Final

From nbl.com.au: The Perth Wildcats have drawn first blood in the NBL Grand Final series with a Bryce Cotton-inspired 88-86 win over the Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday Shooting for back-to-back championships and the club’s 10th overall – more than double the next best in NBL history – the Wildcats trailed for most of the first half but produced down the stretch in a dramatic final term to go 1-0 up in the best-of-five series. The 27-year-old Cotton went into the game averaging 33 points against the…

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Melbourne beats down Sydney 120-85 in Game 2

From nbl.com.au: Melbourne United said they wouldn’t let their Game 1 capitulation hurt their confidence and they proved this with the most remarkable demolition job of the regular season champion Sydney Kings at Melbourne Arena on Monday night. Melbourne turned on a record-setting performance to thrash the NBL title favourites 125-80 and force a deciding Game 3 at Qudos Bank Arena on Thursday night as their best-of-three series is now tied 1-1. United came into the season with high hopes having played in the previous two Grand Finals and then…

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Melbourne United v Sydney Kings: SF2 Preview

From nbl.com.au : When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Monday 3 March Where: Melbourne Arena Broadcast: SBS Viceland; ESPN; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand The last time Sydney 86 (Tate 23, Newley 17, Cooks 13) d Melbourne 80 (Trimble 34, Long 23), Semi-Final Game 1, Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Most of these comments should be about Melbourne because they were quite simply superb … for 34 minutes. At that point they were tracking for a 93-74 win that would have seen their offensive and defensive planning and execution lauded, especially on a…

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Sydney Kings captures regular season NBL crown

From nbl.com.au : The Sydney Kings celebrated winning their first NBL regular season championship in 12 years by beating a gritty Illawarra Hawks 98-82 at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night. The Kings, who achieved the rare feat of leading the competition from go to whoa, will finish the season at least one win ahead of second-placed Perth regardless of the result of the Wildcats’ clash against Adelaide on Saturday. It’s the club’s fifth regular season championship and the first time the Kings (20-8) have topped the NBL standings and…

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National Basketball League and Under Armour extend partnership

From Nbl.com.au : The Hungry Jack’s National Basketball League (NBL) is pleased to announce that global performance brand Under Armour has extended its partnership with the league. After a successful collaboration for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 NBL seasons, Under Armour will continue as both Supply Partner and Official Compression Partner for the 2019/20 season. NBL Chief Commercial Officer Brad Joyner said: “We have been delighted with the first two seasons of the Under Armour partnership and are excited to grow the relationship. “Under Armour is a premier producer of high-performance…

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NBL games to air live on SBS Viceland and ESPN

It will be a bit easier to view National Basketball League (NBL) games because now the league has reached an agreement with SBS and ESPN. The deal doubles the number games available on free-to-air, makes them viewable at better time slots and now every game available in HD. Under the terms of the agreement, fans will be able to view all the NBL games for free with 67 games airing on SBS VICELAND and all of the games will be streamed live and free on SBS VICELAND. NBL fans within…

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