Another HUGE 36 games in our festival of hoops!

NBL1 South is continuing our Festival of Hoops with 36 games, across another huge seven days. 

During the second half of round three, it is the first time in NBL1 South/ SEABL history where all 36 games will see an ANZAC medal being awarded for MVP. The MVP will be voted on by the coaches and referees for each game, immediately after the final buzzer, it will go to the player who exemplifies the ANZAC spirit of endurance, courage and mateship. The ANZAC medal was designed with a red poppy representing ANZAC Day and 76 silver marks representing all 76 clubs across NBL1. 

“The ANZAC Round is a really special round for the league and clubs. It’s a time for local communities to come together and pay their respects to Australian and New Zealand service men and women,” NBL1 General Manager Dean Anglin said. 

ANZAC Day eve will witness the traditional clash between the Frankston Blues and the Dandenong Rangers at Dreamstreet Lending Arena in Frankston. The exciting clash never fails to deliver which has been taking place for over 10 years, and it has grown in popularity year on year due to its excitement- it is now one of the fastest selling games throughout the season!  

The Frankston Blues and the Frankston RSL have a long-standing relationship, every year the players from Frankston attend the dawn service in honour of our service men and women, whilst the game is attended by members of the RSL with the president, Kevin Hellier performing the Ode. 

Both teams go to length to add more passion to the clash every year, in 2017 Frankston introduced a specifically designed uniform to reflect the tradition, and in 2021 Dandenong followed suit to introduce their ANZAC Day uniform in honour of the significance of the day.  

To add an extra element of excitement, Lucas Barker the Frankston superstar, has played across both clubs and since 2011 has only missed four of the ANZAC clashes. With the games that he has played across both teams- he has not lost one- let's see if he can keep this impeccable record! 

Barker is looking forward to the clash on Monday night, “I’m excited to be a part of another ANZAC clash, it’s always a great night with the crowd behind you, and as a player we are able to acknowledge our service people on such an important day.” 

The remainder of the games across this week will solidify the dominance of many teams! After two rounds, we still see six teams remain undefeated:  

• Both Mt Gambier Pioneer women and men teams 
• Bendigo Braves women 
• Waverley Falcon women 
• Kilsyth Cobras men  
• Eltham Wildcat men  

Kayo’s Game of The Week (GOTW) will see Sandringham Sabres fight it out against The Waverley Falcons on Saturday night, this is the first time GOTW has been streamed from Sandringham- get down and watch it live, if you cannot get there, check it out on Kayo Freebies to watch it online. 

 On Friday night The Hobart Chargers men will celebrate their 2022 Conference Championship with the unveiling of their banner, which will presented to the team by the Tasmanian Minister for Sport and Recreation, Nic Street, before the tip off to the start of their first home game in 2023, this will kick off to their double header. Northwest Thunder and The Launceston Tornadoes will also be heading home to Tasmania to take on the travelling Ballarat Miners and Knox Raiders. 

The ANZAC round will culminate with the final game between the Waverley Falcons and Diamond Valley Eagles at The Falcons home court, on ANZAC Day. 

The festival of hoops has been an exciting start to the NBL1 South season! We can’t wait to see who wins the final games of the round. 

To watch all of the games live- click on the links to your team’s live stream if you can’t get down to the game!