What:  iiNet NBL teams – Melbourne Tigers versus Adelaide 36ers
Where: Geelong Arena – Showcourt
When:  Thursday 29th September, tip off 7pm

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Additional Information

The St Laurence Geelong Supercats in conjunction with the City of Greater Geelong are pleased to announce that Geelong will host an iiNet NBL pre-season game at the Geelong Arena in September.

Supercats fans will have a chance to see local star  Nathan Herbert in action with the Adelaide 36ers.The 36ers will take on Melbourne Tigers at the Arena on Thursday 29th September, one week before the iiNet NBL season kicks off.

Herbert re-signed with the 36ers earlier this year, after missing the 2010/2011 NBL season due to knee surgery, an injury from last year’s pre-season.

In his first SEABL game back for the Supercats this year, the co-captain shot 20 points, and took 5 rebounds in just 20 minutes of playing time. Showing no signs of slowing down, Herbert has continued to star in the SEABL season, narrowly missing out on several Player of the Week awards.

The Adelaide 36ers have been keeping a close eye on Nathan’s progress with the Supercats this year and Coach Clarke is very pleased with his rehabilitation and recovery.

Herbert said, “I’m really looking forward to being able to play in front of a Geelong crowd. Having been in Adelaide the past few years it’s been hard to get all of my family together at one time to see me play.. It’s great to have two long time NBL clubs in the Tigers and the 36ers  compete in local communities” He went on to say, “the people of Geelong haven’t had an NBL game here for a long time so it will be fantastic for the community and especially the kids to witness an exciting game.”
 
Geelong has not hosted an NBL game since the now defunct South Dragons played two of their regular season games at the Arena back in 2007. Prior to this, no NBL games had been held in Geelong since 1996 when the Supercats left the League.

Nathan will be the second Herbert to step on to the Arena floor in an NBL jersey, with his father, Craig Herbert, playing 102 games for the Supercats in the NBL between 1982 and 1987.

Supercats General Manager David Hoey said “It’s an exciting event for us, not only to see NBL level basketball brought back to the city of Geelong, but to have the connection with a local player and give people who may not otherwise get the chance to see Nathan playing at this level, in front of a ‘home’ crowd, is a great thing.”

The Melbourne Tigers are looking forward to travelling down the highway and playing at the Arena, arguably the best venue in the SEABL. Having recruited heavily in the off season, spectators can look forward to seeing some highlights from new imports Ronald Dorsey and Ayinde Ubaka, as well as exciting young players Bennie Lewis and Daniel Dillon (who played with Nathan Herbert at the South Dragons).
Playing pre-season matches away from their home court ’the Cage’ in Melbourne will also give the Tigers the opportunity to attract new fans, as well as promoting the NBL and basketball in general to the outer suburbs.

Adelaide 36ers CEO, Leeanne Grantham said, “it is wonderful that the Supercats and the City of Geelong are providing this opportunity to the Geelong community and we are looking forward to playing the Tigers on the 29th. We recognise the value of taking an iiNet NBL match to such a great regional city in particular for the local fans to see one of their own in action; we really hope the locals get behind the match”.