Blaze welcome 'selfless' imports

Russell Varley

Updated October 07, 2011 13:22:06

Injured Gold Coast Blaze captain James Harvey says the team's imports are a good fit for the new National Basketball League season.

US players Mike English and Will Hudson are part of the line-up for the season, which starts with a game against the New Zealand Breakers at the Gold Coast Convention Centre tonight.

Harvey says the role of the import has changed.

"I think over the last probably five or so years I've noticed that as the Australian talent and contingent has gotten stronger, the reliance on imports has gotten less and so now it's about getting firstly good personalities, good guys that fit in the group and secondly guys that are worried more about the team than about themselves," he said.

"I think we've got two very selfless imports."

Tags: nbl, basketball, southport-4215

First posted October 07, 2011 12:18:48

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Taylor gets WNBA All Star nod

Updated July 20, 2011 20:32:20

Australian Opals star Penny Taylor has been rewarded for her career-best start to the 2011 season by being selected in the WNBA All Star Game to be played on Saturday in San Antonio, Texas.

Taylor is the only international player selected in the game and will represent the Western Conference.

The Phoenix Mercury forward comes into the game as a league MVP candidate, averaging 16 points, six rebounds and six assists per game.

No player in WNBA history has averaged better than 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in a single season.

Taylor is in the league's top 10 in six different categories - points, assists, steals, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage.

Taylor said from Phoenix she is honoured to represent the sport at the WNBA All Star Weekend.

"Any time you are recognised by your peers and coaches, it is a huge honour," she said.

"When you can share that occasion with the best players in the world, it is a special opportunity to represent women's basketball."

Taylor, a three-time WNBA All Star, former world championship MVP and two-time WNBA champion was recently named as one of the greatest 30 players in league history.

Taylor and Lauren Jackson are the only two international players to receive the honour.

Taylor comes into the All Star game with the Phoenix Mercury leading the Western Conference after winning a league best nine of their past 10 games.

AAP

Tags: basketball, sport, united-states

First posted July 20, 2011 20:32:20

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Doubts emerge over Aussie NBA tour

Updated October 27, 2011 21:14:33

A global NBA all-star tour will officially get underway in Puerto Rico this Sunday (Monday AEDT) - but Australian fans could still be left in the lurch.

In a statement released on Thursday, the organisers of the tour confirmed Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade were expected to take part in the Puerto Rico exhibition match.

That match was to be the first on a six-game supertour dubbed "the World All-Star Classic" that would take in London and Macau before finishing in Melbourne on November 8 and 9.

But curiously the release did not confirm the previously scheduled games outside of Puerto Rico, casting serious doubt over any of the stars appearing Down Under.

Also among those boarding planes for the tour are Boston trio Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce, excitement machine Blake Griffin, New York's Amar'e Stoudemire and Dallas' championship-winning centre Tyson Chandler.

"I'm looking forward to it ... I've never been to Australia," Chandler told ESPN.

"I'm looking forward to getting to play again with some great talent and the opportunity to see new lands."

There is some concern about the length of time the players will spend in the air - with flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles alone taking roughly 15 hours, and the total time on planes possibly chewing up to 60 hours over the two-week trip.

This has contributed towards some players pulling out of the trip including superstar LeBron James, reigning MVP Derrick Rose and perennial all-stars Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.

Each player will receive a salary of up to $1 million for the exhibition matches, with much of the proceeds to go towards charity.

Atlanta businessman Calvin Darden has worked with player agents for almost three months to organise the tour, ESPN reported.

Meanwhile, NBA clubs owners and players resumed talks on a new contract and negotiated for more than 14 hours as the prospect loomed of more games being wiped off the 2011-2012 schedule.

The NBA has already called off the first 100 scheduled games of the season and league officials are expected to cancel at least the remainder of November's schedule if these latest negotiations fail.

The continuation of the lockout is good news for Melbourne Tigers, who have recruited Boomers point guard Patty Mills for the lockout's duration, but is not as pleasing for stranded Milwaukee centre Andrew Bogut.

Last month, Bogut missed out on a chance to join NBL strugglers the Sydney Kings when his management were unable to secure the necessary insurance for him to suit up - forcing him to train on his own while the stalemate continues.

AAP

Tags: basketball, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia, united-states

First posted October 27, 2011 20:31:04

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Mills drives the Boomers forward

Patrick Mills of Australia drives past Mark Dickel of New Zealand during the first match between the Australian Boomers and the New Zealand Tall Blacks at State Netball Hockey Centre on September 7, 2011 in Melbourne.

Tags: basketball, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia, new-zealand

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Interview: Suzy Batkovic

This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.

AEDT = Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time which is 11 hours ahead of UTC (Greenwich Mean Time)

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Boomers split Lightning's road trip

Updated November 06, 2011 17:26:46

Defending WNBL champion Bulleen sent Adelaide home from its Victorian tilt with a win and a loss after handing the Lightning a 77-61 defeat on Sunday afternoon.

Less than 20 hours after Adelaide racked up an 81-72 win over the Spirit in Bendigo, the visitors travelled to Bulleen but made a sluggish start and could not recover.

The Lightning trailed by 18 at half-time and 22 heading into the final period before outscoring the Boomers 28-22 in what was effectively garbage time in the fourth.

Veteran Adelaide centre Suzy Batkovic finished with a game-high 22 points against fellow Opals big Elizabeth Cambage, who had 16. Both posted six rebounds in the contest.

Last season's MVP Cambage was backed up on the scoreboard by Rachael Jarry (15 points, nine boards), Alice Kunek and Samantha Richards (12 apiece), the latter adding five assists.

Bulleen has a 4-1 record so far in its title defence - three of those wins and the loss coming at home - and sits third on the WNBL ladder.

Adelaide has won five and lost two so far this season and is trailing the Boomers in fourth spot.

Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, bulleen-3105, vic, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted November 06, 2011 17:26:46

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Boomers surge late against Serbia

Updated August 22, 2011 08:54:10

Australia continued its impressive basketball form with a strong 78-69 victory over European powerhouse Serbia in the London International Basketball Invitational.

The Boomers bounced back from a one-point deficit at three-quarter-time to produce a huge 29-19 final term and secure victory.

Forward Joe Ingles led the Boomers with 17 points, with Brad Newley adding 14, while AJ Ogilvy grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

"We needed to rebound, and I thought that in the second half especially we were able to get stops and we'd rebound and run out of it," head coach Brett Brown said.

"This win was done by committee - everyone that came on contributed.

"The group's really responded to the defensive challenges that we've put on each other.

"We really take a lot of pride in the defensive side of the floor and to be able to hold a very deep, talented, veteran team to 69 points was just a great team effort."

Young point guard Matthew Dellavedova emerged as a key figure, contributing 12 points and some big plays in the fourth quarter.

"I think Matty Dellavedova has emerged to be a real important part of this team," Brown said.

"I thought Matty Nielsen showed great leadership down the stretch and it was Joe Ingles' best game as a Boomer.

"I think it's a great credit to the team coming in in great shape and being able to close the game out in the end.

"Their defence has been quite special the whole tournament.

"I think tonight was a real testament to their fitness.

"They did a great job of playing through a bunch of different situations to close out a very difficult game."

AAP

Tags: basketball, sport, england, serbia, australia

First posted August 21, 2011 13:52:30

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