Issue 3
BRISBANE BULLETS
EMAG Match Preview Team Iine-ups ates 4 Mates M – Not all Heroes wear capes Key statistics Coaches Corner ompetitions, C Partner Offers and more!
VS
SUN 12 NOV TIP-OFF 2.00PM Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Proudly Presented by
SUNDAY 12TH NOVEMBER
GAME PREVIEW THE Brisbane Bullets have no choice but to respond with a vengeance on Sunday November 12 at home to Queensland rivals the Cairns Taipans following a shock Round 5 loss to the Illawarra Hawks. The Round 5 effort at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre resulting in a 31-point loss to the Hawks came out of nowhere from the Bullets. They had entered the game following an impressive win over the highly-touted Melbourne United only two days after a narrow loss to the league-leading New Zealand Breakers. Nobody expected what was to come in terms of the magnitude of the loss against a Hawks team that caught fire and never let up. However, that’s in the past now and the only way for the Bullets to put it behind them is to rebound in the Round 6 clash back at Brisbane Convention Exhibition Centre against the Taipans. The Bullets hold a 2-4 record and given it is their fourth straight home game, they can’t afford to drop another. Brisbane did play well in the first battle of the Queensland teams this season beating the Snakes at Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Round 2 in the opening home game.
That night saw the Bullets prevail 8378 on the back of 18 points and eight rebounds from Tom Jervis, 17 points and six boards from Perrin Buford, 12 points from Anthony Petrie and 10 points along with seven assists from ex-Taipan Travis Trice. The Bullets also did well shutting down some of Cairns’ key players including holding captain Cam Gliddon to seven points. But Taipans’ star small forward Michael Carrera wasn’t there that night. His battle with Buford will be fascinating and potentially game-deciding. Cairns does come into the contest desperate to win too at 3-5 and on a three-game losing run. Bullets assistant coach Sam Mackinnon knows the team simply has to respond nine days after that disappointing performance against the Hawks. “We are 2-4 and playing a team who we play well against but there’s a bit of a rivalry there anyway so we know they are going to be up for it. We need the response to be good,” Mackinnon said. “Youngy is now starting to get his legs back a bit, Brucey has been good at training directing the group around and there are some good signs, but we need to put a 40-minute effort in. “It can’t be 30 minutes with a few three-minute lapses which has tended to be happening. The guys have put in the hard work and we owe it to ourselves to now to turn that into a full game performance.
VS
While the Bullets have had nine days between games to stew over the Illawarra performance, Mackinnon knows it’s important to focus on nothing but the game against Cairns. He is also fully aware from his 459 games of experience in the league that it’s all about building so that they are firing at the right part of any season and keeping yourself in contention along the way. “It’s very cliché but we are just taking it nine days at a time at the moment given that’s the gap between our last and next game. We are acutely aware that we’ve had this home stretch and dropping two home games is not where we’d like to be at,” Mackinnon said. “But it’s still a long season and we have plenty of games left. We saw last year that teams can go on a run and it’s an even competition. We’re not there yet, but we definitely need to win this game to get some momentum before we look to our tough stretch coming up.”
STATS STORY VS The Brisbane Bullets are anxiously waiting for a chance to redeem themselves after last week’s loss to the Illawarra Hawks – and Sunday’s clash with “Sunshine Stoush” opponents the Cairns Taipans is the perfect chance to do that. It is a meeting between the best shooting team in the National Basketball League in the Bullets (51% FG) against the worst in the Taipans, who are shooting just 41% from the field. Brisbane’s 46% shooting against the Hawks was their worst this season with Andrej Lemanis’ squad connecting on more than 50% of their shots in every other game this season. Meanwhile the Taipans have been struggling shooting the ball, especially in both of last round’s
losses to Melbourne United and the New Zealand Breakers where they made just 34% and 35% from the field over the weekend. Brisbane will be looking to snap their five-game losing streak at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre with the team’s two home victories this season coming at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and at the Gold Coast. Brisbane defeated Cairns 93-76 at the Brisbane Convention Centre last season on New Year’s Eve but have not won at the Convention Centre since. In a battle of the coaches, Lemanis holds a 16 to six advantage over Taipans leader Aaron Fearne while in the battle of the clubs, the Bullets hold a slight lead with
FUN FACT: The Bullets have not lost six straight games at the BCEC since they started playing at the venue in 1997.
a 17-15 record. Brisbane have also won eight of the 14 meetings between the teams at the BCEC. These teams played at Boondall in round three with the Bullets winning 83-78. Brisbane were led in scoring by Tom Jervis with 18 points (7/8FG) and 8 rebounds. Travis Trice had 10 points and 7 assists against his former team. Scoochie Smith and Alex Loughton led the Taipans in scoring with 15 points who have added Michael Carrera to their roster since this game. Both teams are coming off losses and sit sixth and seventh on the NBL ladder with Brisbane recording two victories and Cairns having won three games but the Taipans have played two more games than the Bullets.
COACHES CORNER WITH
SAM MACKINNON SAM Mackinnon has been a welcome sight on the Brisbane Bullets this season with the former championship winner and Australian basketball great having returned to the club as an assistant coach. Mackinnon was part of the Bullets’ last NBL championship in 2007 during his remarkable playing career that has since seen him inducted in the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame and will leave him as one of the country’s all-time best. Remarkably it began with the South East Melbourne Magic before he finished high school in 1994. He won the NBL Rookie of the Year that year and by 1996 was one of the best players in the league and won a championship with the Magic. With his ability to finish at the rim earning him his ‘Slammin’ nickname and his strong all-round game, he was a natural to represent the Australian Boomers at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as well, repeating the dose in 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens. His NBL journey continued with stints at the Townsville Crocodiles and West Sydney Razorbacks before he arrived at the Bullets for 2005/06 season for what he rates as the best stint in his career. Mackinnon delivered his most outstanding basketball with the Bullets. In the championship 2006/07 season, he was dominant winning the league’s MVP, Grand Final MVP, Best Defensive Player, Gaze Medal and being named to the All-NBL First Team. That will always be remembered as one of the standout individual seasons in NBL history.
Mackinnon finished his career with the Melbourne Tigers before retiring following the 2009/10 season and coaching wasn’t something immediately on Mackinnon’s radar. But now aged 41, he felt the time was right and he’s glad to be doing it back with the Bullets. “The best times of my career were with the Bullets. I really enjoyed playing at the club and I went through a lot of growth as a player and a person in those years,” Mackinnon said. “It all went pear shaped for everyone at the end but I’m rapt that they are now back up and running, and that I am able to play a part in them being reborn. It might take a bit of time but it’s great to see the Bullets back and my kids get to go watch a professional team in south east Queensland again. “I’m really enjoying being around the guys and that’s the one thing you miss. I started playing professional basketball when I was in Year 12 so I had been around a group your whole life and then I kind of needed to get away from it when I retired. “But I was keen to get back involved and I’m really enjoying the camaraderie that you build through a season. You ride the highs and lows, but hopefully there’s always more highs. I’m up for the challenge.” Mackinnon was far from impressed with what the Bullets dished up in Round 5 with a 31-point home loss to the Illawarra Hawks.
Proudly Presented by
That was tough to take but what’s important is the response. It has been strong on the training floor but Mackinnon is fully aware they have no option but to hit back hard against the Cairns Taipans at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. “It wasn’t our best game it’s fair to say. We really came out flat at the start and I thought that starting group, for what a great week we’d had previously when we built on a few things, came out flat and we got behind early,” he said. “We did come good for a period of time but then they just went on runs and guys like Nick Kay and Oscar Forman got hot, and we know what kind of a shooting team they are. They put us to the sword a bit they did. It was disappointing and a tough one to watch. “The response has been good but it’s the response we needed because if they didn’t train their butts off this week, well we don’t want this group to be involved. We knew they would and they’ve been very good. It’s up to the coaching group and playing group to now get it done on Sunday.”
BRISBANE
BULLETS
Travis Trice Guard Springfield, Ohio
Matt Kenyon Guard Gosford, NSW
Daniel Kickert Forward Melbourne, VIC
Perrin Buford Forward Decatur, Alabama
Shaun Bruce Guard Horsham, VIC
Reuben Te Rangi Forward Auckland, NZ
Adam Gibson Guard Launceston, TAS
Stephen Holt Guard Portland, Oregon
Anthony Petrie Forward Tenterfield, NSW
Mitch Young Forward Brisbane, QLD
Tom Jervis Centre Kalgoorlie, WA
Andrej Lemanis Coach Melbourne, VIC
CAIRNS
TAIPANS
Cameron Gliddon Guard Bunbury, WA
Dayshon Smith Guard New York, New York
Michael Carrera Forward Anzoategui, Venezuela
Kuany Kuany Forward Aweil, South Sudan
Nate Jawai Centre Sydney, NSW
Jarrad Weeks Guard Melbourne, VIC
Damon Heuir Guard Townsville, QLD
Stephen Weigh Forward Mount Isa, QLD
Alex Loughton Forward Perth, WA
Mitch McCarron Guard Brisbane, QLD
Nnanna Egwu Centre Nigeria
Aaron Fearne Coach Sydney, NSW
Matest4Mates_Full Page.indd 1
8/11/2017 1:52:25 PM
INTERVIEW WITH
PISTOL PETE JUST like NBA legend Pete Maravich who made the “Pistol Pete” nickname famous, Brisbane Bullets volunteer Peter Dalgrin is everywhere in the southeast Queensland basketball scene. The Vietnam veteran has a passion and love for basketball which is hard to beat. Not only has he spent hours and hours of his time volunteering with the Bullets but he also spent several seasons with the Gold Coast Blaze and has helped at Australian Boomers camps for the past five years. The 78-year-old, who won a gold medal at the 2002 World Masters Games in Melbourne, was given the nickname “Pistol Pete” by former Blaze star and Australian basketball legend Shane Heal during the early days of the Gold Coast franchise and it has stuck ever since. And Dalgrin said he could not miss the opportunity to be part of the Bullets when they returned to the competition in 2016 after spending time with head coach Andrej Lemanis during his time with the Boomers team. “Prior to the 2016 season, I met up with Coach Lemanis and he recommended me as a liaison for visiting teams in the NBL,” he said. “I have really enjoyed being part of the team at the Bullets, they have a well-organised staff and I have really been accepted by the players and coaches with open arms.” The former army fitness instructor is addicted to the game of basketball and said he would not rather be doing anything else than being involved in some capacity at the top level. “Basketball is my passion. After five years with the Gold Coast Blaze, three camps with the Boomers and now my second season with the Bullets, I can easily say that I am living the dream,” he said. “Being involved in basketball at this level keeps me physically and mentally alive and most of all, I get to meet wonderful people in the process.” Pistol Pete served in Vietnam in 1966 and said it was an experience he wished on no one. But after recently joining Mates4Mates, which the Bullets will celebrate and recognise against Cairns at home on Sunday, he encouraged any other veterans to get involved as volunteers.
For more information on Mates4Mates, visit mates4mates.org.
brings you Christmas with Chance to win 1 of 2: 4 x VIP Gold Reserve Seat hosted by Best Doors to
Venue: Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Date: December 23rd 2017 Inclusions: Access to VIP Pre-Game Function Half-time In-Seat Food Service In-seat Beverage Service VIP Gift Pack
Promotional code:
BULLETS2017 Order $2,200 or more of product and pay your deposit before COB on Friday 24th November 2017 to go in the draw to win.*
Free Call 1800 066 142 www.bestdoors.com.au
*Terms & Conditions Apply.
NEW MERCH 2017/18 SEASON JERSEYS AND T-SHIRT RANGE! NOW AVAILABLE!
SPEND OVER $100 TO RECEIVE A FREE MINI HOOP (VALUED @ $20)
Visit shop.brisbanebullets.com.au
DREAM BIGGER
THAN YOUR DRIVEWAY WE BUILD THE TOUGHEST BASKETBALL SYSTEMS ON THE PLANET! From our portable GoTEK units, that are the only system in Australia built on a steel chases with a 5 year warranty on the base, pole and backboard to our in-ground GOALRILLA systems that have a lifetime warranty, tempered glass, pro-flex rims and are height adjustable. We have systems to suit any budget and space.
Mention this ad and receive FREE SHIPPING VALUED UP TO $350!
Call us on 1800 551 443 or visit www.GOALRILLA.com.au
2017/2018
VS
28/10/17
ROUND 5
26/10/17
ROUND 4
VS
ROUND 4
20/10/17
VS
3/11/17 VS
6.30pm AEST
(GCSLC)
(BCEC)
12/11/17
17/11/17
3/12/17
23/12/17
VS
VS
ROUND 11
4.30pm AEST
(BCEC)
ROUND 8
6.30pm AEST
(BEC)
ROUND 7
6.30pm AEST
VS
VS
4.30pm AEST
(BCEC)
(BCEC)
7/1/18
14/1/18
20/1/18
27/1/18
VS
VS
2.00pm AEST
2.00pm AEST
(BCEC)
(BCEC)
8/2/18
15/2/18
VS
ROUND 16
2.00pm AEST
(BEC)
ROUND 15
6.30pm AEST
(BCEC)
ROUND 14
2.00pm AEST
ROUND 19
ROUND 18
ROUND 13
ROUND 6
ROUND 3
HOME FIXTURE
VS
4.30pm AEST (BEC)
VS
4.30pm AEST (BCEC)
VS
6.30pm AEST
6.30pm AEST
(BCEC)
(BEC)
(GCSLC) Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre (BCEC) Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BEC) Brisbane Entertainment Centre * Draw subject to change. For latest information visit brisbanebullets.com.au
EXPERT CARE BY CARING EXPERTS
Brisbane Private Hospital is our city’s leading inner city hospital providing specialised care in: • Orthopaedics • Neurosurgery • Rehabilitation • Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation
• Ear, Nose & Throat • Urology • Gynaecology and Fertility • General Surgery
259 Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, QLD, 4000 P: 07 3834 6111 F: 07 3834 6596 W: www.brisbaneprivatehospital.com.au