The 2018 Australian Tour (NBL and FIBA)
Round 19, Feb 18: ILL def. MEL (94 - 84)
FIBA Qualifier 1, Feb 22: AUS def. PHI (84 - 68) FIBA Qualifier 2, Feb 25: AUS def. TPE (88 - 68)
Melbourne was the last stop of my Aussie basketball odyssey. The FIBA qualifying calendar coincides with the end of the NBL season so I'd be hanging around to watch 2 games of International play with the Aussie Boomers as well. My plan was to watch the league leaders play the season's final round, roadtrip with a local mate down the Great Ocean Road and return in time for the FIBA games. My stay would total 8 nights in 5 different beds. A combination of hostels, AirBnBs and crashing at a mates. I'd be back home in Sydney for the start of the NBL playoffs.
Being Australia's cultural capital, I've been to Melbourne close to a dozen times for everything from wrestling, comedy and basketball. I made the trip to see freshman Ben Simmons headline his LSU Tigers against his hometown team. I've watched the Aussie Boomers play New Zealand and the PAC-12 All Stars, including exhibition games in neighbouring Bendigo.
Pre-game vibes outside Hisense and Margaret Court Arena
First up was the final round showdown between the Hawks and Melbourne United. Illawarra sat outside playoff contention at a distant fifth but looked to upset the Championship favourites. The game at then-named Hisense Arena was tight until the Hawks broke free in the final stanza. The upset victory meant I finished my NBL roadtrip on a two-game losing streak. I watched the game with my friend Dom, her first basketball game live. We would embark for the Great Ocean Road the following day.
I had a 3 day reprieve from hoops action to hit the road. The trip south allowed me to visit iconic Aussie landmarks like the Twelve Apostles and Bells Beach, as well as do some bushwalking. It also yielded some nice vintage finds. We stocked up on classic CD albums for our drive and I scored some sweet gear. Most notably a South Dragons' Shane Heal jersey.
The first of two FIBA qualifers with the Aussie Boomers was against the Philippines. Being of Filipino heritage and having experienced the fandom behind Gilas Pilipinas firsthand during FIBA Asia, I knew that the visitors would have plenty of support in Melbourne. The game was competitive to start and plenty of fun with the cheeky banter from the Gilas faithful. As many observers reported, the contest "felt more like an away game" for the Boomers. The joviality a far cry from the shameful display their following matchup on Filipino soil. That game made international headlines, tarnishing the reputation of both programs as the contest devolved into a melee which spilled into the stands. I wish people could've witnessed the good spirits of this game instead of the lasting impression from that "basket-brawl".
The following Boomers match against 'Chinese Taipei' was a bit more traditional. A home crowd experience with only pockets of Taiwanese fans in attendance. Despite Taiwan's gutsy showing after the half, the Boomers had a dominant 20 point win over the visitors. Both international qualifiers were held at Margaret Court Arena (7,500 capacity). A smaller venue compared to United's home floor (10, 500) of Hisense Arena, now named Melbourne Arena.
The main highlight of this trip was reconnecting with different hoopsheads as I criss-crossed the country. Annie and her family of Wildcats' fans, as well as German backpackers Jakob and Lars. I met them in different parts of Australia and caught up with each of them over a game. Basketball has been an invaluable way to connect — #ThisisWhyWePlay.
It was an awesome feeling completing my first set of basketball missions. I'm halfway through the NBA cities and have two more FIBA tourneys to go. I wouldn't say I'm a completionist, I just really enjoy these adventures and would like to continue having them whilst I'm able to. Its actually taken me a while to polish off these diaries. Being cooped up with this global pandemic finally giving me the impetus. I realise that I'm driven by creating and living these types of experiences. Recounting these stories whilst the world is on lockdown reminds me of the privilege I've had to explore and why it was all worth it.
The home stretch of my NBL tour took me to Perth and Auckland for Round 17 and 18. These two franchises have shared the NBL trophy the entire decade so far at 4 apiece. I was especially looking forward to Perth as they're widely known for having the most raucous home court in the league.
On my maiden away game in Adelaide, I'd met Annie. She was the matriarch of a die-hard family of Wildcats' fans. I told her I'd be heading to Perth and hoped to reconnect with them for an insider's view of the Red Army.
Perth knows how to put on a show. I've been to a dozen NBA arenas and to games all around the world. I'd rate Perth number one among all my game day experiences. The very blue Perth Arena was awash in red. In the playoffs, it's tradition for teams to outfit spectators with freebie shirts so they're coordinated for the home team and TV audience to feed off. In Perth, it seemed everyone was already decked in a red and white jersey, sporting a members' lanyard.
I met with Annie and the family before the game. She insisted I grab seats early to catch Wilbur the Wildcat's pre-show entertainment. He rappelled from the rafters to unveil a "Welcome to the Jungle" sign.
It had the feel of a playoff game. Sworn enemies the 36ers were in town, the final round of the "Cattalini Cup". The vibe in the city on game day was palpable, red jerseys snaking through the main streets. The game lived up to the hype in spite of Perth's smothering 21 point win. Let's just say, Perth is a hostile environment for the opposing team. Especially if you happen to be Adelaide.
My New Zealand leg was unconventional in that I had a running mate in my close friend Sam. Apart from my maiden NBA trip in 2015, all my hoops adventures have been solo. Having parallel interests in comedy and punk rock would help, I'd also traveled with him previously in Melbourne where I adopted his vegan diet. I did the same during my NBA trip to the Pacific and was looking forward to going plant-based again for Auckland. My first time on the North island.
Foot Locker representing
Western Australia and the North Island
I like gauging the penetration of hoops culture when I travel. The local Footlocker repped the game with a sprawling mural of Auckland, admittedly it only featured NBA talent. Despite the Breakers being perennial contenders, the locals acknowledged that basketball had an uphill climb uprooting the National pastimes of Rugby Union and League.
Whilst I escaped Queensland with two underdog victories, the capable Breakers were set to face championship favourites Melbourne United. My home game winning streak put to an end with the visitors trouncing New Zealand by 18. The loss did sting but the kids excitedly going through the bleachers to scoop up Breakers' balloon sticks cheered me up.
I had a ball visiting the two most remote cities of the NBL. Having the good fortune to experience hoops all around the globe, I still cite this Perth Game Day as my most riveting fan experience. From the loyal fan base to the pre-game presentation, I highly recommend watching a Wildcats home game if you get the chance.
I traveled around Australia in 2018 for NBL basketball. In a few weeks I'll be retracing my steps in Perth and Melbourne as I make return visits for the love of the game. This time for the FIBA World Cup Friendlies featuring Team USA, Canada Basketball, the Tall Blacks and our Aussie Boomers.
Though I watched Team USA during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, this will be the first time I'll see them in FIBA Action. I've gotten a taste of the Canadian team and the Tall Blacks with FIBA Americas and FIBA Oceania respectively. Canada are of particular interest as they have the potential to load their team with NBA stars, much like Australia. Whether they can attract them for this World Cup campaign is another matter.
A bonus of this trip will be reconnecting with a charming family of hoopsheads I first met in Adelaide at the start of my #30HGoztour. I reunited with them pre-game for the Perth leg of my national tour and joined them for dinner. I'll be cheering on the Boomers alongside them this time around.
COMEDY
A Guide to Melbourne’s Comedy Rooms
- Attik [Stand-up in the Attik] (Thursdays, 8pm)
- Basement Comedy Club (Saturday 8pm)
- Catfish Comedy (Tuesdays 8pm)
- Comedy at the Coopers Inn (Fridays 8pm)
- The Comic’s Lounge (Tuesdays to Sunday)
- Crab Lab (Wednesday 8:30pm)
My tour of the NBL cities continued north to Queensland, watching games in Cairns and Brisbane respectively. It'd be the only time on this tour I remained on the road between rounds and my first visit to Australia's Top End. With Cairns being a backpacker haven and entering into the Australia Day weekend, I figured this might be a pretty festive roadtrip.
Both Queensland arenas are held in Convention Centres which gives the game day experience an unconventional sporting feel. Seats were generally wider and the venues were more modern and felt less lived-in.
We the North.
The Queensland teams were largely playing for pride as they resided in the lower half of the standings. The Cairns Taipans couldn't afford a single loss if it stood any chance of squeezing into the playoffs. The Brisbane Bullets were looking to snap their losing streak and build forward momentum for the following season. I've provided good mojo for all my NBA Home Games thus far, going 12-1 with largely underdog victories. I hoped to continue the trend with this NBL tour.
Adelaide and Illawarra beat perennial finalists Perth and New Zealand by a margin of 11 to tip off my tour. The Queensland slate of games was going to be a real test for the 30HomeGames effect. The Bullets in the midst of a 7 game losing streak were set to face a surging Adelaide 36ers, winners of their last 7. It's actually heightened my emotions for game day being fully invested in a home victory.
Fan engagement.
For the Brisbane game I was joined by a Bullets fan from the 'Australian NBL Fans' facebook page. He provided great insight into the rising talent on the team and we mingled on the arena floor after the game as fans got autographs on one end or shot around on the other. In my dozens of arena experiences, I've never seen a court accessible for fans to play on after a game. Felt surreal.
The Taipans have a great culture of supporters being a small market franchise. Taipans fans were greeted to a drumming performance by 'Drum Mugendai' to go with the usual pre-game activities. I'm hoping to return to Queensland for the Commonwealth Games beginning in April. Two former NBL cities in Townsville [Crocodiles] and the Gold Coast [Rollers] will be hosting the basketball alongside Cairns.
In the end my Queensland trip was more subdued than expected. Though it rained my entire time in Cairns, it was great finally experiencing the natural beauty of Australia's Top End. I only visited the Daintree Rainforest but one day hope to add the Great Barrier Reef. Of the NBL cities, I was most impressed by Brisbane. Definitely an underrated capital. I was in town for the Invasion Day and Australia Day activities and got to watch Weezer and the Foo Fighters at the fabled Suncorp Stadium. I'll be back Queensland, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Each week I'll be heading off to a different NBL city until the season wraps up in mid-February. I'd only ever watched NBL games at arenas in Sydney and Melbourne so I'm looking forward to experiencing the basketball community in other markets. My first two stops in Adelaide and Wollongong, both storied franchises didn't disappoint.
Support from the neighbours:
BadBoy Burger Bar in Adelaide and Illawarra Brewery in Wollongong
I shared the bus ride to Titanium Security Arena with a senior 36ers supporter decked in some classic gear. I got off one stop earlier to grab a milkshake at the BadBoy Burger Bar. I customarily check out nearby haunts to soak in the game day lead up with fans and perhaps find some memorabilia. The arena is in an industrial neighborhood and was a lonely walk via public transport. Once you turn the corner you're greeted to a sprawling parking lot and a field teeming with festival atmosphere. Kids shooting around as fans trickle in.
Winning time!
In Wollongong the arena is by the beach with a parade of bars and restaurants filled with Hawkheads getting their fill before the game. The Illawarra Brewery attached to WIN Stadium is where I pre-gamed. I'm always impressed by the amount of local team gear people rock, all the different eras and players being repped. It's a good primer on who the fan favorites are, who to look out for on the court. At the Sixers game, the standout was Majok Deng who piled on 16 fourth quarter points. Igniting the crowd with each clutch three. The Illawarra Hawks fighting for a postseason berth sent back the visiting Breakers. None more impressive than AJ Ogilvy who had the house shaking with his blocks.
The stars interacting with fans after the game
I've been quite the lucky charm on my tours, boosting slumping and underdog home teams to unexpected victories. On my NBA visits I'm 12-1. For this NBL jaunt I've watched consecutive 11-point wins by home teams battling finals contenders. Adelaide over the Wildcats and Illawarra beating the Breakers. Competitive games and team success certainly enhances the game day experience. Both Adelaide and Illawarra showed great initiative in giving supporters intimate access to its players post-match. A team lap of honor signing jerseys and high-fiving awaiting fans soon after the final buzzer.
Jersey finds in Adelaide and Wollongong
As expected there's also plenty of assorted NBA gear to be found. At the Illawarra game I spotted 2 'Nique' throwbacks and even a Pittsburgh Steelers tee. Gotta respect the mascot kinship. Whilst the NBA remains the standard-bearer it's heartening to see a local appreciation for the game being cultivated. One of the things I noticed traveling North America was the prevalence of locals repping their region's sports teams. A strong sense of hometown pride which forms a big part of their identity. It's not something we really do here in Australia.
Street art finds
Game day ultimately accounts for a small part in my experience of a place. Traveling with friends on my first NBA tour, we sometimes spent our lone night somewhere watching a game. I knew moving forward I'd aim for more time in each place to explore and a get a holistic impression of the city. Besides catching the game live. I scavenger hunt for jerseys, hoops and street art. I'll hit up a nice eatery and try the local beer, usually where I can watch sports. I'll seek out the local comedy, pro-wrestling or board game scene when I can. Being on the road is exhausting so indulging in my pet hobbies helps. I like to play it by ear, though I do keep an eye on events and festivals in upcoming cities. Ultimately the memories that endure are the connections I make with people and the moments of serendipity. Basketball's a nice pretext to get me there.
Cairns and Brisbane are my next stops. It'll be the only leg on my tour where I won't be returning home to Sydney in between rounds. I hear they like to party, not to mention Australia Day long weekend is worked in there too. Let's see if I can bring some luck to the Queensland teams. Looking forward to meeting the Orange Army and Brisbane fans up north.
Like plenty of Australians I enjoy a bit of backpacking, I'm on a mission to travel the 30 NBA cities of North America. I began this project in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania after a memorable month around the country watching games for EuroBasket 2011. I had great experiences and made good friends through a shared love of basketball. Fortunately for me, it coincided with the NBA lockout so I got to witness plenty of international stars representing their countries. It was here that I began my fascination with global hoops. Since then I've incorporated basketball in all my travels. I'm drawn to exploration in general, I've found basketball a good pretext to bring me places I might've never considered or overlooked.
I've had the fortune to watch leagues and tournaments around the globe. I've Couchsurfed in Kristaps Porziņģis' hometown and watched their local team play. I got to see Ricky Rubio whilst he honed his game in Barcelona. I was lucky to witness teenagers Enes Kanter (Turkey) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Dominican Republic) play for their respective Countries.
I've watched club games with as little as 250 people in the stands. At arenas big and small in metropolises and quiet villages. The standard of play varies but the impressions that remain are the quality of presentation and the community support behind the game. Football tends to enjoy the most ardent and tribal fan support, it sometimes translates to other sports but usually only a fraction. I found this the case watching raucous League games in Turkey and Spain. Generally speaking basketball fans are smaller in size but just as loyal.
I'm a third of the way through visiting the NBA cities having watched my first game January 2015. I'd always hoped to do the same for Australia by watching the NBL. I initially laid out plans in 2012 but will finally embark on it to tip-off 2018 as the regular season winds down.
The rejuvenated NBL has been a revelation. I visited Melbourne to watch phenom Ben Simmons play in a sold out crowd of 10,000 as his college team LSU toured Down Under. I also ticked off a few NBA cities, watching the NBL's historic partnership with the NBA during this current preseason. 3 exhibition games with Utah, OKC and Phoenix against the NBL's Sydney Kings, Melbourne United and Brisbane Bullets respectively. Whilst the league has gone through its ups and downs, the core love for the game and club pride still endures. I'm hoping to get a taste of it as I travel the country.
For this trip I'll be sharing more of my process in how these trips are accomplished. I'll be laying out my costings and sharing advice on how to achieve similar goals. Follow along on my @30HomeGames IG page and kindly get in touch if you have questions, tips or connections as I'd love to hear from fellow hoopsheads around Australia and the world.
Follow my dispatches on the hashtag #30HGoztour where I'll have daily snapshots of hoops around Australia
@dongmegatron - Simon Valenzuela, Aussie NBA fan, jersey collector
I stumbled onto Simon aka @dongmegatron's collection on Instagram and instantly geeked out. Not only did he have an impressive array of obscure NBA jerseys but better still — was representing Australia.
I've expressed my appreciation for overlooked jerseys, having founded the #Scavenjersey campaign to encourage myself and others to snap novel basketball jerseys in the wild. Interestingly @dongmegatron found himself in my archive when I snapped his Josh Childress Atlanta Hawks jersey at a Sydney Kings game. This was an interesting revelation days after Simon was kind enough to share his process as undoubtedly the most comprehensive collector of Australian NBA jerseys.
Find my interview with Simon below and make sure you check out our entries to be ESPN's Ultimate Fan. 1) The first jersey that started the collection and the moment you decided to dedicate yourself to the cause?
I first started following basketball in 1994. My first jerseys were the ones retailing in Australia made by Starter around 1994/95. I first had Shaq and Penny black Orlando jerseys, but the first jersey I was really proud of was the Champion blue Orlando Horace Grant jersey. Got it from Card Shaq in Parramatta and was stoked to see it in the store. It wasn't til I began part time work that I was able to start buying whatever jerseys I wanted though.
The collection really started to come about when Australian retailers began selling the Concept Sports/Steve Rolton Agencies jerseys that were licensed in Australia. This was around 2001 when they had Jordan Wizards, Kobe, Vince Raptors, KG, Iverson etc. I began buying all of those and then got into the online scene as eBay became more accessible and had much more variety and teams from Nike, Reebok and now Adidas. Soon enough I had a jersey from each of the 30 teams, then a home/away/alternate etc.
2) What percentage of your jerseys were bought when the player was active compared to after. Could you break it down?
In terms of the Australian NBA players, I guess a majority would have been acquired after the player was active or had changed teams. Obviously with the current crop of 7 players it's a lot easier to get the base home/away jerseys of these players. However, with the new style of swingman it's much harder to get role players jerseys made up. Also about half of the Aussies that have played in the NBA are either retired or playing overseas, so all of them I've had to source after they were active.
a) Arena and team store buys (current, physical)
Went to USA for my 30th and went to 6 different arenas, so bought a jersey at each one. But obviously a very small portion as I don't have access.
b) Auctions, outlets (after, physical) Meigray for game-worn jerseys. Bought a few different ones in the last few years. Game worn Mills and Baynes NBA Finals jerseys, Baynes Latin Nights jersey, Baynes Christmas jersey, Dave Andersen jerseys, Mills opening day championship commemoration jersey and the recent Bogut/Delly/Bairstow Christmas jerseys. Still a small percentage.
c) Online retailers (current, online)
Over the years I've bought a decent amount from online retailers. NBA.com when it was easier in the past, FansEdge, Fanzz etc... but prices are high and the ones they sell are generally also available on eBay so these days I don't do retail too often.
d) eBay (after, online)
Majority off eBay. Sellers are much more likely to ship to Australia. Steady supply of blank jerseys which is great for making Aussie players. Prices are much cheaper, especially for players not with that team any more (fullmoonjerseys sell cheap swingmans) as well as plenty of sellers selling authentic jerseys much lower than the $300 retail.
VIDEO: Australia's Biggest NBA Fan presented by ESPN
Find his entry here and make sure to upvote it. (Entries close March 15, 2015)
3) Where do you stand on counterfeits and the ability to customise jerseys with "Insert name" services?
I'm against counterfeits especially the ones you see at Paddy's Markets etc that are so obvious. There's some very high quality fakes online which are much harder to spot, and they're not so bad. I think replica screen prints are absolute garbage. The Reebok/Adidas ones are so cheap looking, have huge wide shoulders which make the dimensions look square.
In terms of customising, I'm all for it. That's how most of my Aussie jerseys have been able to be made, by buying blanks or stripping other players jerseys. This has been a godsend, as NBA.com is quite a headache (shipping so overpriced/don't ship custom jerseys to AUS/limited range of customisable jerseys). This is more evident now a days when teams have all these commemorative jerseys eg. Christmas Day, Spurs military, Warriors Chinese New Year where they only sell the star players jerseys. In the past it wasn't so bad, as I could strip the stitching on a swingman and get it customised but now the 2015 jerseys are heat pressed and I'm not sure they can be removed with any amount of ease. 4) Have any of the players ever reached out to you about your collection?
A few have. Mark Bradtke sent me a DM on Twitter, and I've seen plenty of ex NBA guys at NBL arenas or Boomers events (Schenscher/Heal) or (Jawai/Patty Mills/Dave Andersen) and they've all commented on the jerseys and often told a story or two. 5) If you were to start another collection now, i.e collecting jerseys of every NBA player from Lithuania, would it be possible? How crucial is timing and getting a headstart?
It helps but I have only really been making an effort to collect Australian players the last 5 or 6 years. I think it'll be harder now if you're going for era authenticity as the NBA logo is now on the back of the jersey etc, so current custom swingman jerseys won't be consistent with players prior to this season. But many of the jerseys I've made eg. Longley Timberwolves have had to be customised jerseys (strip name and number off Laettner) and sent to this tailor in the US who does a very good job. So it can still be done but depending how far back you want to go, it obviously gets harder. But using your example it'd be quite easy to find an old Rasheed Wallace Portland swingman and turn it into a Sabonis, a Tim Hardaway or Chris Mullin. A Warriors hardwood classics jersey into a Šarūnas Marčiulionis, so it's not impossible. Just need to know the right place to get the custom name/number sewn on.
6) Talk about the process and rewards. Describe the thrill of the chase to those non-collectors out there. Any "ones that got away"?
There's always ones that got away. In the last year or so there was a game-worn Anstey Bulls and a Longley Suns jerseys that went for only a couple of hundred bucks but as with any hobby there's always a thrill in collecting. You learn to recognise the rarer types of jerseys and appreciate someone else's collection. And by posting my pics on Instagram now I see how many other people out there like the same thing.
7) What is your all-time holy grail? What's your prized possession. Any preferences as far as manufacturers and eras?
I love the Patty Mills finals game worn jersey. It has a place in history and it also fits me so I can wear it in public. Also Horace Grant was the first player I began collecting so I have plenty of game worn Orlando/Lakers jerseys as well as some hard to find ones like authentic Bulls, authentic '94 all-star and authentic Sonics jerseys. But the era I probably like the most is around the '95-99 era, when Champion used a lot of the tie-dye or whatever it was to ink the logos in the jersey. Ones like the Pistons horse head, Hawks Mutombo style, Sonics finals, Rockets Pippen types. Brings back that nostalgic feeling of when I was younger and never had access to these jerseys.
8) Any Jersey collections you look up to or would like to mention?
The way I began getting them customised was when I bought a Sonics blank jersey off eBay and the seller was able to make it into a Horace. After that I kept in contact and found out he could do it to many jerseys, as he had access to old Champion materials and had a good tailor that did a professional job. His name is Jersey Jim and I popped into his place in Fresno California when I was in the States. This dude has one of the most impressive NBA game worn jersey collections in the world. Thousands of jerseys, I could've spent all day there. He obviously has contacts in the league to allow him to get such good gear.
9) Do you have collector peers? Is there a scene, how can someone get involved in it?
Not really into any scene as such, I'm not aware of any. My friends and I all have an abnormally large amount of jerseys, but that's about it. I've come across some nice collections on Instagram, but I'm very new to the app.
Part of the reason I started @30HomeGames was not only to share my love for the game but to find likeminded folks with the same passion and interest. It's been an ethos that has served me well in my travels, bonding through sport and connecting with fellow fans even when language and being an outsider proved a barrier. This connection has been an example of that, the mutual appreciation and willingness to share tricks of the trade to a fellow fan. Realising @dongmegratron and I had already crossed paths says a lot about the "court vision" #UltimateNBAfans share.
