THE Bendigo Braves will start the 2021 NBL1 South season on the road against Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday, 17 April.<\/p>\n
Head coach of the Braves men\u2019s team David Hogan said the squad is preparing for a \u201cmore unique season than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the 2019 championship game lost and the cancellation of the 2020 season, Hogan said the players are eager for redemption.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re all itching to get at it. There\u2019s not many worse feelings for a player than when you don\u2019t get a chance to redeem your loss or your final game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys have all approached the season as a new one, it\u2019s fresh and we\u2019re starting again. Hopefully we can lay the foundation to make that championship game again and go one step further.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Braves tip off the 2021 season at Mount Gambier, with a lengthy road trip Tasmania to face Hobart Chargers pencilled in for round 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cMount Gambier for the first game is always going to be a tough one,\u201d Hogan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re used to playing the teams now, we\u2019ve played them all once. The guys are just looking forward to playing in all honesty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Braves will welcome back 2019 All Star and club MVP Ray Turner to the squad, a \u201cmassive\u201d inclusion according to Hogan.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time we can get a player of Ray\u2019s calibre to stick around in Bendigo is obviously a massive win.\u201d<\/p>\n
With travel restrictions still in place, Hogan said signing overseas imports has been a \u201ctricky situation\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe travel bubble doesn\u2019t look like it will open up until June-July therefore making it hard to get imports because they wouldn\u2019t qualify for finals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That means club will continue its emphasis on local talent, with players from Echuca, Shepparton and Kyneton being looked at for the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good for them to play at the highest level of competition they can for Central Victoria,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When it comes to the women\u2019s squad, the Braves have signed three big names with Abbey Wehrung, Cassidy McLean and Australian Opal Tess Madgen all putting pen to paper in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s coach Mark Alabakov said Tess Madgen will lead the team with her experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the way she goes about it. She\u2019s humble, competes hard, looks after her body and is a great leader in the way she\u2019s able to encourage and nurture the group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
With the team is coming together nicely, the hope is they will poise themselves for a chance at finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal in any season is to present the best version of ourselves\u2026 we\u2019ll back ourselves to be competitive with anybody in the competition,\u201d Alabakov said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be able to take on other NBL1 teams from out of state would be an absolute honour and a privilege and there\u2019s some short-term goals that will keep the wheels turning with momentum in the lead up to something like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Alabakov said the most exciting part of the upcoming season is to be playing in front of home fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming to be able to have games with a packed-out Bendigo stadium and we\u2019re very humbled to be able to get back on the floor in front of Bendigo people.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s season features four conferences with NBL1 North, Central and West joining the South conference.<\/p>\n
The winners of each conference will compete in the inaugural NBL finals series against interstate champions in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
The Braves are set to play 11 home games at Bendigo Stadium, and if you can\u2019t make it down fans will also be able to live stream every game of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Bendigo Braves will start the 2021 NBL1 South season on the road against Mount Gambier Pioneers on Saturday, 17 April. Head coach of the Braves men\u2019s team David Hogan said the squad is preparing for a \u201cmore unique season than ever before.\u201d After the 2019 championship game lost and the cancellation of the 2020 […]<\/p>\n