Following  a thrilling 2009/10 National Basketball League season that marked a renaissance for the NBL and just days after announcing the rebirth of the Sydney Kings, Basketball Australia have unveiled a new broadcast deal with Network Ten and its digital sports channel ONE.

In a move that is set to offer a wide array of commercial opportunities for the NBL, BA has signed a five-year deal to show games live on both ONE and TEN nationally through to the end of the 2014/15 NBL season. 

Basketball Australia Chief Executive Officer Larry Sengstock said the new deal was a great opportunity for future growth of the NBL.

“As a league the NBL has undertaken to reshape itself over the past two years in order to allow us to reform the sport commercially,” said Sengstock.  “This commitment from ONE and TEN is a massive vote of confidence in the advances we have made recently. 

“Coming on top of the success of the 2009/10 season with its 5% increase in attendance and sold-out Grand Final series as well as the recent announcement of the return of the Sydney Kings to the competition for 2010/11, this deal is fantastic news for the NBL and basketball in general.”

“Partnering with ONE and TEN will provide the NBL with significant and valuable cross-promotional opportunities and will be very attractive to sponsors and other prospective commercial partners,” Sengstock added. 

Network Ten General Manager - Sport David White added: “We are very pleased to be partnering with basketball in Australia and we recognise all the hard work that has been going into the reformation of the NBL.  Of course the NBL provides ONE and TEN with great sports content we can showcase throughout the summer months.”

Live coverage of the NBL will grow over the term of the agreement, starting with a minimum of two live games a week on either ONE or TEN in 2010/11 and increasing to five games per round in the final year of the contract.

As per standard Basketball Australia practice the financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The Hawks were never headed once they grabbed the lead at 4-2, and immediately had the Crocs on the back foot after converting 16 points off nine Townsville turnovers in the opening term.

Cam Tragardh (26 points, seven rebounds) and Larry Davidson (17 points, five assists, five steals and five blocks) formed an unstoppable frontline combination, dismantling Townsville at both ends of the floor.

Corey Williams provided the only resistance, playing a lone hand for 12 points on a lacklustre night for Townsville.

With the win, the Hawks have now won their past six playoff bouts against the Crocs, dating back to game three of the 2001 Grand Final Series.

The best-of-three series now moves to The Swamp in Townsville for Game Two on Wednesday.

Wollongong cashed in on three early turnovers by the Crocs to establish an 11-4 advantage with Rhys Martin and Tragardh combining for all 11 points.

Williams hit a tough scoop in the lane to keep Townville in check, but five sudden points from Glen Saville, including a broken-play triple, opened up a 10-point gap at 18-8.

The Hawks continued to swarm on defence and closed the quarter riding a 12-4 surge to hold a commanding 27-12 lead.

The game slowed into a grinding battle in the second, but Townsville was unable to make any inroads into the deficit.

After missing his first six attempts, Mat Campbell connected on a baseline jumper to push the margin to 21 (38-17).

Wollongong was in full control at half-time, leading 50-26.

Tragardh provided 18 points (9-of-10 shooting), while Davidson was the backbone of the defence, producing a rare stat line of four blocks, four steals, four assists, four rebounds and four points in the first two quarters.

The visitors peeled off the opening eight points of the third, behind threes from Cam Tovey and Peter Crawford.

Davidson quickly replied with five points including a fall-away three from the corner to stabilise the home side.

The Crocs clawed back to within 16 points (46-62) on a three by Michael Cedar, but six late points from Davidson once again kept Townsville out of touch trailing 48-70 heading into the fourth.

The Hawks had little difficulty icing the game in the fourth and Illawarra junior products Dan Jackson and Zac Delaney got their first taste of playoff action in the final minutes.

Wollongong Hawks 87 (Tragardh 26, Davidson 17, Saville 11)
Townsville Crocodiles 68 (Crawford 13, Williams 12, Tovey 9)
@ WIN Entertainment Centre, 19/02/2010. Crowd: 4,451.

Williams left rivals in his wake this month polling 38 votes.  The closest anyone came to the Crocs’ guard was Tywain McKee from the Wollongong Hawks with 27 votes, followed by Adam Ballinger from the Adelaide 36ers with 18 votes.

Over Townsville’s five games in the month of December, Williams averaged 22.0 points per game, shooting the ball at a scorching 56% from the field.  Williams also averaged 4.6 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals during the period.

Homicide’s star contributions helped Townsville go 4-1 for the month, allowing them to climb the ladder and move into serious finals contention

A highlight of Williams’ amazing month was his performance against the Perth Wildcats on New Year’s Eve where he had 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists, leaving the Townsville faithful with something to celebrate well into the early hours of 2010.

The Blaze’s Joey Wright must surely now be a hot contender for Coach of the Year after receiving back-to-back Coach of the Month awards.  Wright was a step ahead of the rest yet again this month polling 45 votes, with Townsville’s Trevor Gleeson eight votes behind with 37.  Rob Beveridge from the Perth Wildcats was third with 17 votes.

The Gold Coast Blaze have been on fire of late and Wright has his troops clicking on all cylinders. After recording a 4-1 record in December Wright had helped his team to the top of the NBL ladder by the end of Round 14. During December Wright conducted wins against Cairns, Wollongong, New Zealand and Adelaide. 

 The NBL’s Player and Coach of the Month for December took into account Rounds 11 to 14 inclusive. All NBL Head Coaches and accredited media were eligible to vote for the awards.

NBL Player of the Month - December 2009
  
Corey Williams (Townsville) 38
Tywain McKee (Wollongong) 27
Adam Ballinger (Adelaide) 18
Anthony Petrie (Gold Coast) 12
John Gilchrist (Adelaide) 3
Shawn Redhage (Perth) 3
CJ Bruton (New Zealand) 3
Kirk Penney (New Zealand) 3
Jess Wagstaff (Perth) 2
Cameron Tragardh (Wollongong) 2
Rick Rickert (New Zealand) 2
James Harvey (Gold Coast) 1
  
NBL Coach of the Month - December 2009

Joey Wright (Gold Coast) 45
Trevor Gleeson (Townsville) 37
Rob Beveridge (Perth) 17
Aaron Fearne (Cairns) 14
Gordie McLeod (Wollongong) 1

Taking on a higher-ranked Perth Wildcats team, Homicide scored 24 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.  He also had a game high seven assists as well as three rebounds, helping the Crocs to score a vital 83-74 home victory.  The win saw the Crocs move up into third place on the NBL ladder.

Williams is the only player in the league to have won three NBL weekly honours this season, after previously winning back-to-back awards in Rounds Three and Four.

Gold Coast’s Anthony Petrie was another leading contender for the award in Round 14 after playing a vital role in his team’s 90-83 home win over the New Zealand Breakers. 

Petrie scored 18 points and added seven rebounds, two assist and one block as the Blaze won their ninth straight game at home.

Wollongong’s Cameron Tragardh also had an excellent round, averaging 17.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals in his team’s three matches.

Other contenders for the award in Round 14 included Kirk Penney (New Zealand), Ian Crosswhite (Cairns), Adam Gibson (Gold Coast), Shawn Redhage (Perth), Rolan Roberts (Townsville), Matt Burston (Adelaide), John Gilchrist (Adelaide), Adam Ballinger (Adelaide), Glen Saville (Wollongong), James Harvey (Gold Coast), Mark Worthington (Melbourne) and Damian martin (Perth). 

NBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK 2009/10
Round 1 – CJ Bruton (New Zealand)
Round 2 – Rich Melzer (Cairns)
Round 3 – Corey Williams (Townsville)
Round 4 – Corey Williams (Townsville)
Round 5- Mark Worthington (Melbourne)
Round 6 – John Gilchrist (Adelaide)
Round 7 – Adam Ballinger (Adelaide)
Round 8 – Julius Hodge (Melbourne)
Round 9 – Dusty Rychart (Cairns)
Round 10 – Oscar Forman (New Zealand)
Round 11 – Tywain McKee (Wollongong)
Round 12 – Tywain McKee (Wollongong)
Round 13 – Adam Ballinger (Adelaide)
Round 14 - Corey Williams (Townsville)

Perth knocked Townsville out of the playoffs two seasons ago and the Crocs returned the favour in February this year with a memorable win to eliminate the Cats on The Jungle floor.

That meant the first time the Crocs returned to Perth this season was going to be a heated affair with Corey 'Homicide' Williams Perth's public enemy No. 1 even if it was John Rillie's 10 three-pointers that sunk the Cats.

The game was as physical as any basketball contest is likely to be and certainly tempers were higher given the rivalry between the clubs and Williams, Stephen Hoare and Russell Hinder certainly were the focus with Brad Robbins and Shawn Redhage getting stuck in for Perth.

In the end, the Cats had too many weapons and the five-point victory moves them back to the top of the ladder.

Luke Schenscher had his best game as a Wildcat with 22 points and 12 rebounds. He received great support from Damian Martin (16 points), Redhage (14), Drew Williamson (13) and Jesse Wagstaff (11).

The win broke a two-game losing run for Perth and it will become even stronger with the signing of new import, and former Croc, Galen Young.

Hoare had his best game since joining Townsville this season from Melbourne with 19 points including two threes. Williams also scored 25, Hinder 11 and nine boards, Rolan Roberts eight and seven rebounds and Brad Williamson had 11 points.

Peter Crawford scored seven points and five assists on 2-of-5 shooting in his first game back with Perth after 166 games in five seasons.

The Crocs came out fast with a 7-2 run with Williams, Hinder and Michael Cedar all starting strongly, but the Cats hit back strong to then lead 13-10 after a good run of their own as things became heated early between Williams, Hinder and the Wildcats.

Hoare hit two big shots to get his night started to end the quarter and put the visitors up 19-18.

It was the Hoare and Redhage show to start the second quarter, with both going basket for basket and also getting into it that led to a technical being called on the Townsville player.

Redhage scored eight points in the first five minutes of the period and Hoare seven in the first three and-a-half as he hit his best form since coming to Townsville.

Perth did appear in control early in the second quarter, though, with a 28-21 lead, but Williams, Hinder and Hoare got going to finish the half and the Crocs went on a 16-6 run to lead 45-39.

Schenscher saw Roberts score Townsville's first four points of the third quarter on him and decided to answer by hitting his first three-pointer of the season. That sparked a strong period from the Wildcats as they scored 29 points to 16 to hold a 68-61 advantage.

Brad Williamson scored five quick points to start the last quarter to bring Townsville back within two, but Wagstaff scored four quickly, Drew Williamson hit a three and more threes to Martin Cattalini and Martin answered anything Williams or Crawford could do for Townsville.

Perth led by 10 with five minutes to go and Townsville could not get any closer than six in the closing stages.

Townsville (8-8) returns to play Melbourne at home next Saturday, New Zealand the following Thursday and then to prepare for the rematch with the Cats on New Year's Eve.

Perth (8-5) heads to New Zealand for what is sure to be heated rematch with the Breakers on Thursday and then a big clash in Wollongong against the Hawks on Saturday.

Perth Wildcats 94 (Schenscher 22, Martin 16, Redhage 14) bt
Townsville Crocodiles 89 (Williams 25, Hoare 19, Hinder 11)
at Challenge Stadium, WA
Crowd: 4400.

“It’s been a great experience, it’s been a great life,” said Williams in a phone interview.

“It’s been a blessing to be able to do what you love to do and travel to places that, chances are, I wouldn’t have ever thought about or dreamed about stepping foot in. “

He also recognizes it’s not just all fun and games either.

“You gotta understand its work as well and you gotta find a situation that works for you. [However], all the countries that I’ve been [to], I’ve had the most success here. I finally found a country that appreciates my style of play.”

His “style” is what he acquired while playing on the courts of Harlem. Those explosive first few steps which give him the ability to penetrate the defence and get to the basket at will. That explosion off the dribble is what makes him one of the most dangerous players in the NBL and a nightmare for other guards to try to cover.

“From New York City, what we do is penetrate. That’s just that special talent that we have... if you help off the wings then I’m gonna go to my shooters and they’re gonna hit [that shot] in your face. [Once] they start hitting those then you can’t help that the lanes are wide open, and off I go.”

Corey Williams, however, didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a professional basketball player. As any little kid does, he hung out with his friends and played a variety of pickup games on the streets in his neighbourhood.

“I was pretty much a little rug rat and played anything,” explained Williams. “I didn’t even like basketball [when I was little]. I started playing when I was thirteen.”

Bored one day, he attended one of his brother’s basketball games in Harlem. He explained how during that game it all came into perspective for him, and how it was “love at first sight”.

Being in junior high school, 8th grade, it was soon time for Williams to apply to different high schools around the city. His grades however, prevented him from getting into most of them.

“The school I got into was in the village in New York City. [My mom and I] went to get my student ID, and if there was 20 people in line waiting for ID’s there was like 15 girls. I got in trouble with girls like any young kid so I’m like, “I’m gonna love this”. My mother says, “Oh yeah you think so?” The very next day we went to this all boys private school.”

They were reluctant to let him in with the grades he had. However, as any loving mother would do, his mom begged the Dean of the school and eventually convinced him to give her boy a chance.

“They put me on academic probation the first year. Obviously I had to get good grades or else they couldn’t keep me, and I went straight. I had a B average throughout high school.”

Corey attended Rice High School and little did Williams and his mom know, the all boys high school that she had gotten him into was one of the best high school basketball programs in the nation.

“We didn’t know Rice High School was the number one school in the nation in basketball, it just so happened. Now I’m in slacks and a button up collared shirt with a tie and shoes, but, you know, that was the best move that ever happened to me. That changed my life and made me mature.... and that’s when I really got serious about basketball.”

Rice High School is such a prolific school for basketball talent that it has both an A and a B team which both compete at the Varsity level (the highest in Unites States high school sports). One of the best players to come through Rice High School was NBA star Felipe Lopez and Williams got a chance to see him play on a daily basis.

Lopez was a star player and one of the top ranked athletes coming out of high school in 1994. That year he achieved probably the highest honour that any high school basketball athlete can when he received the McDonalds All-American Game MVP Award.

When talking about his basketball influences, Williams said that Lopez was probably his biggest idol growing up. He stated, “I got a chance to see him play every day and I really was like, “Man. I wish I could be good like him.””

Williams added, “To see a guy every day with that type of talent who literally in high school could’ve went to the NBA was just unbelievable.”

However, his matchups in high school were not what made Williams into the player he is today. The events that had the most impact in shaping his game were the matchups at Rucker Park in New York City. Rucker Park is famous for its street ball type of play and hosts many of New York City’s, as well as the country’s, most talented players. Although, Williams may not be a name that many people around the park may recognize, his nickname of ‘Homicide’ is. This is where Homicide first started taking down opposing defenders.

“There’s a commentator at the Entertainer’s Basketball Classic at Rucker Park named Hannibal ‘Da Most Electrifying One’. He commentates each of the games and has been at all the legendary games since 2000. You go out there, do your thing, and they give you a name.”

It didn’t start out as ‘Homicide’ though, it went from ‘The Hard Worker’ to ‘C-Murder’ to 'C-Homicide’ to finally ‘Homicide’.  This is also were Williams got the nickname, and future name of his signature sneaker, 187. The 187’s are a line of sneakers produced by K1X, a German based company, and can be found in Footlocker stores internationally.

“[They] show a lot of love to street ball all over the world, mainly in New York, so you know they grabbed the best street ball player in the world which is Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams and gave him his own signature shoe.”

Whether it be on the streets of NYC or the hardwood courts of the NBL, Williams continues to play with the same mentality and passion for the game.

”My thing is, do what you do. If you’re a penetrator, then penetrate. If you’re a shooter, then shoot the damn ball. Do what you do, and don’t do anything else.”

Corey’s mid-range jumper is the one aspect of his game that he has continued to try to improve on. He knows that at the end of the day guys are going to start to back off of him because he is so explosive to the basket. With this cushion comes the opportunity for Williams to shot that 12 to 14 foot shot.

“It’s all about taking my time and walking into my shot cause that’s what the defence is allowing me. After I start hitting a couple of those then they gotta play me tight and it’s see ya later, [then I] go to the basket.”

“That’s basically what I try and work on. Not the three, I don’t have to shoot threes. I got three-point shooters around me. That’s not what I do.”

 The mid-range jumper in any league is starting to be a lost art. Most players try to shoot the triple or work right to the basket and forget about the fifteen feet in between the arc and the block. Williams hasn’t. He’s embraced it.

“Nobody wants the mid-range game, but ya know I try to take it.”

Sticking to his game has allowed Williams to enjoy a stellar season thus far. Through eight games he has posted a field goal percentage of 55.4% (62-112), and is also leading the NBL with 161 total points. He also has taken home the NBL Player of The Week Award twice in Rounds 3 and 4. Even though he has started out with a hot hand, Williams is aware of the abundance of talent around the league at his position.

“This is definitely the best year I’ve had as far as point guard matchups. In this league, this is the best crop of point guards, for sure, by far, hands down. There are no nights off. It ain’t like, “Oh okay I got this kid he’s not really that good, so I got the night off”. You gotta come with it every day or there’s a chance you get embarrassed or your ass bust.”

“It makes you focus and come with it on a nightly basis,” Williams added.

So far, Williams and the Crocs have brought it even though they have struggled on the road as of late.

“Most of the teams come out firing in the beginning of the year and you just try to solidify and get off to a good start. I love the fact that we’ve had all of these road games early and the home games late cause that’s when it really counts.”

After their three game road trip during Round 8, Townsville has 10 of their last 16 games at The Swamp where they’ve been phenomenal. In the past 16 home games with Williams in the line-up, the Crocs have posted a mind blowing 15-2 record. Williams explained what it is about being at home that brings out the best in this team.

“Just the pride, you know. [We’ve] got familiar faces like family here in the stands. You don’t want to walk around your city and [have people think] you don’t take care of your home. These are people that come and see you play.”

“Everyone’s like family in this town and you wanna make your family proud.”

Corey feels that playing at home makes all the difference in the world in the NBL, especially this year when there is an abundance of talent on each team.

“Everyone’s all packed up on top of each other right now. Home court advantage is everything, which is why you gotta finish first or second. Period. Nothing else. First or second, that’s it. “

So what makes the Crocs such a dangerous team this year? According to Williams it’s the amount of matchup problems that their club causes on the court. So the other teams around the league better be ready to play every night when facing this team.

“I think between our shooting, our inside with Rolan Roberts, and the fact that you have Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams running the point that’s gonna be tough any night. I don’t care where we play, but we gotta bring it. Bring it every night.”

Townsville has its shot to bring it when the Crocs return to action this week and lure Wollongong to The Swamp for Saturday night’s Round 7 contest, at 7:30pm.

For the week Williams averaged 25.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists as he helped his team to a 1-1 record on the road. 

Williams came tantalisingly close to a rare triple-double (double-figures in three major statistical categories) in the opening game of the Crocs’ road trip against Adelaide, a 90-89 loss on Friday night. 

Going head-to-head with 36ers import guard John Gilchrist, Homicide scored 32 points as well as adding 11 rebounds and nine assists.  It took a clutch shot from Gilchrist (himself a leading contender for the weekly award after his 21-point, five-rebound, three-assist performance) to deny Williams and the Crocs the win. 

Despite the heartbreaker in Adelaide, Williams helped his team bounce back in style when they visited Melbourne the following night with a 103-68 walloping of the Tigers.  Williams scored 19 points and added six rebounds and seven assists in the win.

His Crocs’ teammate Russell Hinder was also in strong consideration for the award after averaging 18.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two matches.  Another in serious contention once again was Wollongong Hawks import Tywain ‘The Sherriff’ McKee.   The mercurial Hawks’ point guard had 20 points, six rebounds, two assists and five steals for the Hawks in their impressive 71-59 home win over the Cairns Taipans on Saturday.

New Gold Coast import Erron Maxey also received consideration after two games in Round Three.  Maxey opened his NBL career with a 16-point, eight-rebound performance in his team’s 83-66 loss to Cairns on Wednesday night.  Against Perth on Saturday, Maxey scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds to show he will be a player to watch this season.

There were a plethora of strong performances in Round Three, and New Zealand’s CJ Bruton (32 points in a victory against Melbourne) and Perth’s Shawn Redhage (32 points in a win over Gold Coast) also staked their claims for the weekly honour.

Other leading contenders for the NBL Player of the Week in Round Three included Julien ‘Skip’ Mills (Cairns), Rick Rickert (New Zealand), Adam Ballinger (Adelaide), Luke Kendall (Melbourne). 

NBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK 2009/10
Round 1 – CJ Bruton (New Zealand)
Round 2 – Rich Melzer (Cairns)
Round 3 – Corey Williams (Townsville)

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

The Perth Wildcats snatched a 91-89 victory from the Crocs at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on Friday night.

Kevin Lisch nailed 16 points in the massive final-quarter display which included a three-pointer with seconds remaining on the clock in to secure victory.

He was well supported by Shawn Redhage (15) and Jesse Wagstaff (11).

Michael Cedar almost shot the visitors out of the water with five three-pointers in his 24-point haul, while Corey Williams (17) and Rolan Roberts (13) were also busy.

Townsville had lead for the majority of the night, winning the first two quarters and tying the third until Perth hit the front briefly with six minutes left in the game.

The visitors shifted a gear in the final term forcing a change in the lead several times but the homeside could not keep up until Lisch pulled the final trigger.

Townsville shot out of the blocks sinking seven straight points and fended off Perth's attempts with gutsy defence to keep them scoreless.

Roberts announced his arrival at The Swamp with a dunk over an army of defenders lined up under the net.

Redhage pulled his side back with hard runs to the net drawing five free throws which he turned into six points for the quarter.

Cedar's radar was on the mark with the big shooter nailing three consecutive three-pointers to give Townsville a 37-28 lead at the first break.

The Crocs raced ahead again stringing five straight points together and could have sounded early alarm bells for Perth but for two long balls launched down the court missed their intended targets.

The Wildcats fought back with nine points in a row with Martin Cattalini joining the scoreboard with six points after a quiet first quarter.

Wagstaff sunk one from beyond the arc to cut the margin to four as Townsville squandered what was a strong lead.

Cedar nailed another long-range bomb with less than a minute on the clock to keep his side in front 57-52 at the half-time break despite being outscored 20-24 for the quarter.

Townsville surged forward again before Perth could blink with six points in a row including a runaway basket to Williams.

Cedar showed why he should never be left unmarked by dropping in another two three-pointers to make it six for the night.

Drew Williamson was injected into the game and with a vital three-pointer and successive free throws kept Townsville's lead to 77-73 at the three-quarter break.

Perth wasn't to be caught off guard in the final term with Lisch registering his first of the night to slash the margin to two before following it up with a three-pointer to give his side the lead.

Cedar attempted to kill the fight back with his bit shooting but failed three times under intense pressure.

Williams dribbled strong to the net for two to keep Townsville ahead and Roberts fought hard in the paint to combat a Perth raid to keep his side on track for their second win of the season.

Lisch stole a ground ball away from several opposition hands to sink the final three-pointer and score of the night.

The Crocs attempted a miracle play after a time out with less than a second on the clock but it wasn't their night

Townsville Crocodiles 89 (Cedar 24, Williams 17, Roberts 13)

Perth Wildcats 91 (Lisch 16, Redhage 15, Wagstaff 11)

@Townsville Entertainment Centre 2/10/09 Attendance 4,276

Season Series
First match
 
Current Standings
Crocs: 2nd
Wildcats: 5th

Townsville has the home court advantage but will be up against a Perth outfit which is desperate to record its first win of the season and exact revenge on the Crocs who knocked them out of last season's play-offs.

The Wildcats were expected to win last year's final and the enduring image of Corey Williams' enthusiastic celebrations after the upset result would've stung the proud club.

Whether Perth can find redemption this weekend is another question.
Townsville made the perfect start to the season by jagging a thrilling away victory against the Gold Coast. The Blaze's James Harvey had a shot to tie the match on the buzzer but the luck was with the Crocs on this occasion.

Rolan Roberts and Williams were Townsville's most impressive players - Roberts scored 11 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and secured a pair of steals while Williams' game featured 15 points and eight assists.

Roberts, who had a good battle with Greg Vanderjagt last week, will have another tough assignment when he goes up against twin towers Paul Rogers and Luke Schenscher.

In contrast Perth was on the other side of a thrilling result, losing 94-92 to the Wollongong Hawks. Shawn Redhage started the season strongly with 20 points and eight rebounds while Kevin Lisch and Schenscher were the other major contributors.

Perth has a tough weekend ahead, Townsville on Friday followed by Cairns on Saturday, so success in the first game is vital. The Wildcats have everything to play for but expect the Crocs to fire-up for their opening game in front of their loyal supporters.

Sportal Tip: Crocodiles by 7 points.

Townsville Crocodiles have overcome a slow start to register an 82-79 win over the Gold Coast Blaze in a thriller at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on Saturday night.

James Harvey had a shot to tie the match at the final buzzer but it rimmed out and the Crocs claimed a well deserved win.

In a see-sawing match it was the visitors - led by Rolan Roberts and Stephen Hoare - who came up with the big plays when required.

In his return to the NBL, former Sydney King Roberts dominated the game with his power as he tallied 11 points, 13 boards and a pair of steals, while putting the clamps on the Blaze big-men.

Fellow import Corey Williams was almost as influential in the victory, threading the needle for his shooters to score, on his way to 15 points and eight assists.

New Gold Coast import Ayinde Ubaka had a good debut, his speed and passing game will ensure that he is a major player in the League.

In the opening minutes the California native showed lightning speed and a magic passing game and finished with 19 points and eight assists.

Point-guards Ubaka and Adam Gibson both started the match and shared the ball-handling duties but it was the import's adrenalin that shot the home side out to a 6-0 lead.

Not to be out-done, Crocs point guard Williams began to penetrate and kept his side in the contest with eight first-quarter points.

But the class of Harvey came to the fore in the second period, the skipper opened with a deep three, followed by a baseline drive and then a mid-range jumper for seven quick points on his way to 14 in the quarter.

Then it was the Crocs turn to use an ace.

Big Roberts came off the bench and changed the flow of the game swatting defenders like flies with his size and strength, his two handed flush was the signal for Joey Wright to send Pero Cameron into the game.

Cameron stemmed the flow of points but the visitors had already evened the score and asserted their physical dominance over the Blaze.

The match got physical after half-time as both teams knuckled down on the defensive end with Roberts and former Hawk Anthony Petrie waging war down low.

But it was a fourth quarter spurt which gave the Crocs the decisive buffer; a three from Crawford, a neat jumper from Kelvin Robertson and a steal and score from Roberts were enough to seal the win.

Gold Coast Blaze 79 (Harvey 24, Ubaka 19, Petrie 12)
Townsville Crocodiles 82 (Williams 15, Cedar 15, Hoare 13, Williamson 13)
@ Gold Coast Convention Centre, 25/09/09.