Lightning stars Ally Wilson and Brooke Basham ready to battle in inaugural NBL1 Central season
Ally Wilson and Brooke Basham always had each other’s backs. But the sport that brought the two together is set to tear them apart this NBL1 Central season.
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Ally Wilson and Brooke Basham always have each other’s backs.
They’re the best of friends but have never played basketball against each other.
But the sport that brought the two WNBL stars together is now set to tear them apart — on the court at least.
Wilson will feature with Norwood this NBL1 Central season, which tips off on Saturday night.
Basham, meanwhile, is on Forestville’s roster.
It comes after they spent six weeks last year in the WNBL’s North Queensland hub with the Adelaide Lightning.
They then both lined up with Eastern Mavericks in the 2020 Adelaide Basketball Challenge – a newly-formed, condensed league, comprising of 10 top tier clubs.
Wilson said she decided to move from Mavericks to Norwood to team back up with Flames coach and former Launceston Tornadoes mentor Derrick Washington Jr.
The guard, who averaged 11.3 points per game for the Lightening this past WNBL season, expected there to be some healthy competition between her and Basham.
“Brooke and I are really similar people, we have the same sense of humour and we are both super competitive,” Wilson, 27, said.
“We will guard each other I would imagine, so it will be a good match-up.
“It will be great to get a win in the new colours and I can’t have Brooke beating me.”
SA’s basketball league is finally becoming part of NBL1 – the expanding national second-tier competition.
Clubs were set to join the NBL1 South and NBL1 North in a growing conference-based competition, which would have culminated in a national finals series.
But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NBL and Basketball Australia to pull the pin on last year’s competition.
NBL1 played its inaugural season in 2019 with primarily Victorian clubs drawn from the defunct South East Australian Basketball League.
Basham, 23, said it was a tough decision to switch clubs and conceded playing against Wilson would be strange.
She is also keen to play against her best mate but will have to wait a week, with the Flames and the Eagles not facing off until round two.
“I had been with Mavs forever, so it was weird leaving them and moving to Forestville,” Basham said.
“But I did it for the development side and I know Forestville’s coach (Simon Pritchard) really well and he coached in the WNBL so I had to do what was right for me.
“I never thought I’d play against Ally but it will be really good.
“She’s a superstar, so she’ll push me.
“We have the same amount of fire, we are both really competitive and both hate losing.
“Hopefully we win.”
Forestville’s men’s and women’s campaigns tip off with a clash against Eastern Mavericks at Wayville on Saturday night, while Norwood takes on Woodville at St Clair (see full fixture below).
NBL1 CENTRAL ROUND ONE FIXTURE:
Saturday, April 10
■ Forestville Eagles v Eastern Mavericks at Wayville (women 6.15pm, men 8.00pm)
■ South Adelaide Panthers v North Adelaide Rockets at Marion Stadium (women 6.30pm, men 8.15pm)
■ Southern Tigers v Sturt Sabres at Morphett Vale (women 6.30pm, men 8.15pm)
■ West Adelaide Bearcats v Central Districts Lions at Port Adelaide Recreation Centre (women 6.30pm, men 8:15pm)
■ Woodville Warriors v Norwood Flames at St Clair Recreation Centre (women 6.30pm, men 8:15pm)
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