ISSUE 9
S T E L L U B E N BRISBA
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SATURDAY 27 JANUARY TIP-OFF 4.30PM
- PROFILING BRIANE KERLE ATISTICS S P U EIIN ST M KEY TEA PREVIEW G DOWN THE R TIME ERS – MATCH BASKETBALL BREAKIN O 36 E V C N S ET TA IS LL BU KEN BY D RISBANE O B R B F N O U ER D S, N N TH IO B - A BO THE GODFA S, COMPETIT & PAUL WEB YER PROFILE E! LA P ROB SIBLEY ER N R R COACHES CO RTNER OFFERS AND MO PA
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Bullets vs 36ers
GAME PREVIEW Two of the Brisbane Bullets' heartbreaking defeats this NBL season have come at the hands of the Adelaide 36ers but the chance for a measure of revenge presents on Saturday January 27 at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Bullets are back on their home floor again on Saturday night the day after Australia Day looking to put an end to the current seven-game losing streak and stopping a seven-match winning run that the 36ers come to Brisbane on the back of. The Sixers enter the Round 16 clash in hot form having not only won their past seven matches to improve to a 15-8 record on the season and to rise to second position in the standings, but they have been putting up some remarkable numbers. Adelaide is the league's leading scoring team over the season going at 94.0 points a game, but over this seven-game winning streak that has increased to 101.1 points. And over the past four, it's gone up further to 107 points a game with the 36ers becoming the first team ever in the 40-minute era to score 100 points or more in four consecutive matches. That sort of firepower understandably makes the 36ers an intimidating outfit to come up against, but giving the Bullets confidence should be the fact that they have done well against them in their two previous meetings this season despite not coming away with a win. The first contest was back
on December 1 and the Bullets put together an impressive performance almost the entire night in Adelaide, before somehow managing to lose by a point. The more recent meeting was back in Brisbane and again the Bullets had the better of the contest for a lot of it, before it ended up heading into overtime and that's where the 36ers got on top. But the Bullets have reason to take heart out of those performances and have had some players do well individually in them as well. In the first clash in Adelaide, Travis Trice and Daniel Kickert both scored 18 points while Perrin Buford chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Reuben TeRangi had eight points, five boards and three assists. Then in Brisbane on January 7, Buford stood up for 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Stephen Holt contributed 14 points, Adam Gibson 12, Tom Jervis 12 and Kickert 11. Trice finished with eight points and eight assists. Adelaide comes into the game looking for an eighth straight win as well and needing to win to remain in second position on the ladder and on track for all important home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. That is sure to make them a stern test for the Bullets, but coming off the seven straight losses where the frustration levels have grown after each one because everyone associated knows they are doing so
much right but just can't get over the line. Bullets youngster Tom Fullarton is under illusions as to the challenge Adelaide provides, but he has no doubt if Brisbane follow the plan there is no reason they can't come away victorious. "Adelaide have been playing great lately and they are a team that can pile on the points very quickly against you so stopping them in transition and limiting their stars' touches is going to be important," Fullarton said. "But I think our style of play can really deflect how they like to play so if we stick to our game plan, run our sets and make them play in the half court I think we'll be OK." With the attacking and up-tempo style the 36ers play with, it does provide the Bullets the chance to play with a bit more freedom of their own on the offensive end. But what it also means is that defensive transition is more crucial than against any other team in the NBL and Fullarton is fully aware of its importance. "What you do have to be wary of is once you finish your offensive possession you have to be straight onto defence because they are running it down straight back at you," Fullarton said. "It's really important just to have the mindset of getting to the next play and play what's in front of you."
STATS STORY SHARING THE BALL:
KEEP THE 36ERS OFF THE FOUL LINE:
BATTLE OF THE STREAKS:
This Saturday’s game will feature three of the top five assist men in the NBL. Both the Brisbane Bullets and Adelaide 36ers rely on ball movement to get the job done on the offensive end of the floor, albeit in completely different ways. The Bullets execute half offence better than almost anyone in the competition, shooting 48 percent from the field proves that. And their guards are beneficiaries of that system with Travis Trice leading the league in assists with five dimes per game while Adam Gibson sits fifth with 3.7 per game. While on the other hand, Adelaide re known for pushing the ball at an extreme pace – a style which suits versatile guard Shannon Shorter, who is fourth in the league for assists with 4.5 per game.
Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright has his team playing at a pace rarely seen in professional basketball and it has his team on a roll. Adelaide have won their last seven games and sit second on the ladder and one significant factor in their rise up the ladder has been the time the 36ers spend at the free-throw line. The 36ers already average more points than anyone in the league and attempt the second most field goals in the NBL, but their frenetic pace allows them to put extra pressure on their opponent’s defence – resulting in averaging 26.8 free-throw attempts per game, a staggering 4.6 more than the next team which is New Zealand at 22.2 shots from the charity stripe per game.
The Brisbane Bullets and Adelaide 36ers have played out a fierce rivalry over the past two seasons and each team will have an extra reason to claim victory on Saturday afternoon. Both teams enter the clash on the back of streaks of seven games – Brisbane have been close in almost every game but are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, while the 36ers have risen to second on the ladder with a seven-game winning streak. At the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday, one team will either snap the longest current win streak in the NBL team, or send the other to another loss – a story line which will surely add some spice to the match up.
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ANDREJ LEMANIS SEVEN straight losses and now four of them having been games the Brisbane Bullets could have won means the frustration is real for coach Andrej Lemanis and his players, but with six games of the season remaining there is still a chance to finish strongly. The Bullets might currently be on a seven-game losing straight entering Round 16 of the 2017/18 NBL season, but that doesn’t tell the full story of how competitive they've been and how close to winning six of those seven matches lost either side of Christmas and the New Year. Take out the disappointing 22-point loss in Wollongong to the Illawarra Hawks on New Year's Eve and it's not unreasonable to say that the Bullets could have, and in some cases should have, won the other six.
for large periods before the game ended up going to overtime. In the extra period, the Sixers took over and the Bullets lost 84-95. A week later and the Bullets were hosting the two-time defending champion Perth Wildcats and put together an impressive performance for almost the full 40 minutes. Then the Bullets looked to have done enough to hang on for the win when Trice nailed a jumper with time running out. Unfortunately, there was enough time for Perth sharpshooter Bryce Cotton to nail the buzzer-beater for the Bullets to lose the most heartbreaking of all losses, 80-81.
It began back on December 23 at home to the Sydney Kings when the Bullets were in control most of the game before being overrun to lose 95-101.
Brisbane bounced back well with another full week of practice hosting Melbourne last Saturday. The Bullets did a lot of things right again with Daniel Kickert missing his second straight game, but the league-leaders just proved too strong in the finish with Brisbane going down 98-105.
Three days later under the open roof at a sold out Hisense Arena on Boxing Day, the Bullets had the chance of knocking off current ladder-leaders Melbourne United, but went down 68-69.
All six of those performances had a lot to like about them for the Bullets, but ultimately not playing complete games for 40 minutes at both ends of the floor meant that none of them have resulted in victories.
Then to start 2018, it was up to Cairns with Brisbane trying to make it a clean sweep in the Sunshine Stoush with the Taipans. The Bullets made a strong comeback but just fell short with Travis Trice's shot for overtime just rimming out, with Brisbane losing 80-83.
But there are signs there that the Bullets aren't too far away whatsoever from the top teams in the NBL entering the final month of the season.
Two days later coming off that heartbreaking loss, the Bullets bounced back well on their home floor hosting the Adelaide 36ers. The Bullets were on top
Finals might be out of the equation for the Bullets but they do have a chance to finish on a positive note and possibly even upset the finals run of several other teams. The Bullets' last month begins this Saturday night against the
Adelaide 36ers at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. It's then back to Melbourne in Round 17 before two doubleheader weekends to finish starting against Illawarra and Sydney, and then in the last round against the Kings and Sixers. While Lemanis is feeling every bit of the frustration from a sevengame losing streak, he and his Bullets players are keeping positive and looking at these final six matches as a chance to finish the season on a positive note. "The frustration is real now and the reality is that we have six games to go, and we have an opportunity to win all six games," Lemanis said. "We've proven we are capable of that all during the season and we need to keep building, and keep growing as a group. There's something for us to work with and obviously there's things for us to get better at and work on, and there are chances for us to win basketball games. "That's all we can do is go about our process and keep trying to get better, and improve this week and have another crack at it. Hopefully we can be better in those areas we've identified that we have to make improvements in."
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
Adelaide 36ers
Matt Hodgson Centre Booval, QLD
Shannong Shorter Guard Houston, Texas
Daniel Johnson Forward Carnarvon, WA
Brendan Teys Guard Brisbane, QLD
Adam Doyle Guard Adelaide, SA
Mitchell Creek Forward Horsham, VIC
Ronald Roberts Centre Bayonne, New Jersey
Majok Deng Forward Bor, South Sudan
Anthony Drmic Forward Melbourne, VIC
Ramone Moore Guard Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
Nathan Sobey Guard Warrnambool, VIC
Joey Wright Coach 409 games
BRIAN KERLE PROFILE
WHEN people talk about the Brisbane Bullets, one of the first names that come to mind is the legendary coach himself – Brian Kerle.
“You’ll never forget times like that and we were able to build something special. The great thing now about it is, those moments meant so much to everyone in the team and at the club, you still catch up and relive those times and share memories and stories to this day.
For the man, who had such a significant impact with the rise of the Bullets, Kerle said seeing the team fold and not exist for eight seasons was tough. But he also said that it meant a lot to him and others, who had played major roles in the team’s past, to see the Bullets back on the court.
Kerle, known as the godfather of Brisbane basketball, built the Bullets up from a small club playing in front of just hundreds of fans at Auchenflower Stadium to a powerhouse of the National Basketball League.
“Obviously winning the competition is great but it’s the relationships and bonds you build with everyone who was involved which makes it even better.”
“It was extremely disappointing when the Bullets went down in 2008 and for them to be missing from the competition for so long, it was devastating for everyone,” he said.
A powerhouse which went on to sell out the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and claim two titles in 1985 and 1987, when they beat the Perth Wildcats in front of more than 10,000 to solidify themselves as the team of the late 80s.
Kerle remembers the early days when the Brisbane Bullets weren’t a big name in the Australian sporting landscape but that quickly changed, and the master coach believed there was still the potential to return to those glory days.
“But Larry Kestelman has done a great job revamping the NBL and the Bullets club and hopefully that will never happen again and the Bullets can rise like we did back in the 1980s.”
Now 20 years on from the 1987 championship, Kerle still relives the memory of Leroy Loggins and his star-studded team dominating their competition and capturing the imagination of basketball fans around southeast Queensland. “The best thing about those championships was just the support we had from the local community and the relationship we had with them. That’s what made the achievements so special, the atmosphere at the games and just the excitement surrounding the Bullets was incredible,” he said.
“It was such a quick change when everyone involved in the club fought tooth and nail to reach out to the community and in the space of just a couple of years, we were selling out the Entertainment Centre and tickets were the hottest thing in town,” he said. “The atmosphere around the games is probably something the players, coaches, staff and fans who attended will always remember. People look at the Perth Wildcats selling out the Perth Arena, well we were doing that kind of thing 20 years ago. “I think there is still the potential for the Bullets to get back to that point. It’s just the second year of them being back in the competition and it will take a little bit of time but the potential is definitely there.”
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say to him: ‘ put those books away, we’re going out’,” recalled Sibley. “I don’t think he ever opened one, so is some ways I probably stopped him from being a doctor.” Sibley disagrees with Webb’s claim he was only a minor contributor to the 1987 title win.
A wonderful story emerged from Brisbane’s 30-year reunion at the weekend which typifies the special lifelong bond sport can create. When it comes to the Brisbane Bullets -- Paul Webb is the first to admit he is not a household name. And he is right. When I googled him I didn’t find much information other than he was a member of the Brisbane Bullets team which along with legend Leroy Loggins, Larry Sengstock, Robert Sibley and Ron Radliff, won an NBL Championship under Brian Kerle back in 1987. By his own admission he played only a small part in Brisbane’s second NBL crown. But to his teammates -especially his old roomie, Sibley -- he was a key member of the squad and a significant contributor in his own right. Webb made an epic journey from the United States last week to be part of Brisbane’s reunion celebrations. He was warmly welcomed back by several of his former teammates including Loggins, Sengstock and Sibley, who admits his love of a good time, could have prevented Webb from becoming a doctor. “He would probably be a leading specialist saving lives now if it wasn’t for me,” joked Sibley who played almost 400 NBL games, a majority of them with Brisbane. Webb -- who was the youngest player in the '87 Bullets squad -- used to take his books with him on road trips with the intention of studying when he wasn’t training or playing. “I used the
“He might say he didn’t contribute a lot but he was a very important part of what we did, everyone was important,” add a more serious Sibley. “He played his role. His was a very good team man and very important to the team and everyone loved him. “That’s what is important. “The guy jumped on a plane last week to come out here to see us and he is going home on Monday , that is the sort of guy he is “That’s him, that’s what he meant to us. He was a good player, he trained hard every day and to many of us he is one of the success stories of basketball because he is now as a professor of marine biology in the US. Despite losing their Heritage round match 103-95 to NBL leaders Melbourne on Saturday, Webb said the 35,000 kilometre round trip to see his mates had been “everything and more” he had hoped. “Thirty years have passed but it feels like yesterday,” he said. "What’s so great is I played a pretty minor role in the team at the time and was only a small part of it for a year or two, but instantly I felt that camaraderie, it was fantastic.” Missing out on his school reunion two years ago convinced Webb he had to make the effort to attend the Bullets’ reunion. “I missed coming home for my (St Peters) high school reunion in 2016 and I saw all the pictures of it afterwards,” he said. “It made me so nostalgic and upset that I missed that and I didn’t want to experience those feelings again. “I thought, if I don’t go to this one and I see all the photographs of my mates, I will instantly regret it. Webb is currently a Professor of Marine Biology teaching at the Roger Williams University, Rhode Island, where is also studies the behaviourial habits of elephant seals.
“Mostly I am teaching and researching seals, tracking them and monitoring their diving behaviour and patterns,” he said. “The seals around California will swim two thirds of the way to Japan and back which is the equivalent of 11,000 kilometres. “They can dive for two to three hours to depths of 2,200 metre. “Physiologically they are pretty spectacular animals.” Webb decided a month or so ago to make the trip down to Australia to be at the reunion. Last week he drove two hours to the airport, took a six-hour flight to the West Coast of America, endured a 10-hour layover in Los Angeles airport and then completed the journey with a 14 hour flight to Brisbane, arriving on Friday. Before he headed off on the long trip back home he said he would cherish his trip back to Brisbane to see some of his former teammates and good friends. “Danny (Morseu), Larry (Sengstock) Leroy, Brian (Kerle) and Sibs (Sibley), all those guys, champion people,” he said. “It been wonderful. It’s been 30 years since I’ve seen them and I am just so happy I decided to make the trip.” From all the Bullets players past and present and the fans, have a safe trip home Paul and thanks again for coming. * A special mention and thanks must go to Bullets stalwart Ron Bongetti for putting so much effort into organising the 30-year reunion which was a huge success and also to Chris “The Mushroom” Elder for organising the pre-game get together drinks at the Port Office Hotel on Friday.
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