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IT HAS been a big weekend for the sport of basketball in Bendigo both on and off the court.
The city has another international sporting event to look forward to later this year following the announcement the Australian Boomers are headed to Bendigo in September to play a FIBA World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan
The September 17 match at the Bendigo Stadium will be the first time the Boomers return to the court since the ugly scenes in their match against the Phillipines that was marred by a brawl earlier this month.
It will also be the first major international sporting event to be held at the newly-upgraded Bendigo Stadium.
The new 4000-seat showcourt – which this writer has previously advocated should be named in honour of the city’s greatest basketball product Kristi Harrower – as part of a $22 million upgrade promises to put the Bendigo Stadium in the spotlight for attracting such regular top-level sporting events.
The icing on the cake for the game would be Maryborough’s Matthew Dellavedova – a former Bendigo Braves’ junior – lining up for the Boomers.
Dellavedova’s Milwaukee Bucks’ NBA team-mate Thon Maker won’t be though given he was hit with a three-match ban as part of last week’s sanctions handed down following the Boomers-Phillipines stouch.
As well as the announcement of the Boomers headed to Bendigo, the weekend also featured a superb feat by our Bendigo Braves’ women’s team, who completed the rare feat of an undefeated regular season in the SEABL.
The Braves women’s 78-61 win over Nunawading on Saturday night capped a sensational 20-0 regular season.
Expectations were high going into the season for the Braves’ women given their talent-laden side stacked with WNBL experience, yet to have answered every challenge so far is full credit to first-year coach Megan Moody and her playing group.
But a 20-0 regular season record won’t count for anything if the team doesn’t convert its dominance into a championship next month.
Luke West – sports reporter