NBL Blitz on hold as Gold Coast Exhibition Centre evacuated, White stars as United makes statement
Steam in a kitchen forced the evacuation of the Gold Coast Indoor Sports Centre in the middle of the NBL Blitz clash between Perth Wildcats and Cairns Taipans on Thursday night.
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Add an evacuation to the bucket list for fans, players and officials who hit the Gold Coast to watch Perth take on Cairns.
Steam in a kitchen forced everyone out of the Gold Coast Indoor Sports Centre in the middle of Thursday night’s NBL Blitz clash.
As Perth big man Keanu Pinder shot a free throw, alarms blared inside the venue, the Wildcats players and coaches initially aggrieved, believing the noise was a sound effect coming through the courtside speakers that distracted the big man.
But it was quickly established the alarm was legitimate as a recording shouted “emergency” and the courtside announcer asked everyone to exit the building.
Players and officials from both teams and the NBL were ushered off the court and many fans left the venue all together once they exited.
Cairns held a 49-40 lead when play was stopped with 7.05 left in the third quarter.
Less than 10 minutes later, the cause was established — steam in a kitchen that set off the fire alarm — and fans who remained congregated outside were told it was safe to return.
After a short warm-up, play was resumed.
The stoppage worked in Perth’s favour and the Wildcats came out breathing fire on resumption, reeling off 49 points to just 27 to run out 89-76 winners.
Not that guard Tai Webster was overly pleased by the stoppage — he felt it actually curtailed his team’s momentum.
“I felt like we were going right before the break, you know, KP came down, had almost back-to-back dunks, you know, we were playing some really tough defense going into that, so we almost were like upset that that happened.
“But, you know, luckily we brought it back.”
So, has the Kiwi ever been evacuated, mid-game? “Nah, never. First time fire alarm in the game, first time evacuation.”
Next Star Izan Almansa gave the clearest sign of the Blitz so far there’s good reason he is being touted as a potential NBA lottery pick, the polished Spaniard using his long arms and excellent athleticism to leap all over the court and produce 15 points, eight rebounds, a couple of steals and a block. Fellow young recruit Elijah Pepper continued his high-scoring pre-season with 15 points.
The Taipans are 0-3 in their Blitz campaign, with one to go on Saturday, but did get good service again from imports Rob Edwards (16 points), Pedro Bradshaw (15 points, 6 rebounds) and Tanner Groves (9 rebounds).
Massive flex: White explodes as United strong-arm Hawks
A-minute-and-a-half of playoff intensity basketball was all it took for Melbourne United to bust open Illawarra in a physical pre-season arm-wrestle that underlined why the beaten grand finalists are going to be tough to beat in NBL25.
With Melbourne captain Chris Goulding hopping a plane home with illness and star Illawarra import Trey Kell crook, Illawarra bounced out of the blocks and led for almost 30 minutes of the 40-minute game but it was battle-hardened United who flexed hardest late.
And what a flex it was, dynamic defensive guards Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova turning the blowtorch on the less experienced Hawks, keying 11 unanswered points in the last 1min26secs of the game.
United’s level-up turned a five-point deficit into a 6-point win in the blink of an eye, 106-100.
Jack White’s slow build into his return turned incendiary as he became the focal point of the United offence, his superior athleticism helping him plunder 24 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.
White was responsible for six of those last 11 points that sealed the win.
Ili wheeled and dealed to the tune of nine assists, while Dellavedova and Clark carried the rest of the offensive load with 14 each.
Without Goulding, who flew back to Melbourne this morning to recuperate from illness as a precaution to ensure it didn’t spread through the group, United showed great togetherness, dishing out 29 assists on 26 made shots.
ANOTHER STAR EMERGES
A night after 20-year-old Sydney Kings Next Star Alex Toohey ignited the Gold Coast, it was young Hawks’ prodigy Lachlan Olbrich’s turn to put his case forward as Aussie hoops’ next big thing.
The 208cm tower has enjoyed a meteoric rise heading into his second season as a pro and boy did he make some noise in front of a large contingent of NBA scouts in the stands.
Olbrich had the perfect night, draining all nine of his shots on the way to 22 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and two steals — numbers the best players in the league would gladly bank.
He might not be a Next Star, but the South Australian is a budding star with perhaps the only consistent skill required of today’s NBA big men we’re yet to see in the NBL high-level volume three-point shooting.
The jumpshot looks solid and repeatable, so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility Olbrich — who has missed just two shots through his three Blitz contests (15.3 points on 19-21 shooting) — makes an appearance on mock draft boards.
GOOD DAYS WORK — UNTIL IT WASN’T
Late arriving American import Darius Days continues to show he will be a formidable force in NBL25 for the Hawks.
Charged with filling the big shoes of MVP-level forward Gary Clark, the 24-year-old produced the kind of near-complete power forward game that will have Hawks’ fans buoyant about their team’s chances.
The 198cm ball of muscle churned out a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double and drained three triples.
I say near-complete because Days missed a pair of late free throws with 17.9 seconds to go that would have trimmed the United lead to one, virtually gifting Melbourne the win.
With Kell out, sharpshooter Tyler Harvey added a little playmaking to his usual sharpshooting, lacing his 22 points with four assists.
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