Townsville Heat v Cairns Marlins, Fri 24^th 8:15pm @ NPA Stadium-
In the 2008 Semi Final, this game came down to 3 small points.  The Townsville Heat ended up collecting the win (89-86) going onto the Grand Final where they went down to the Rockhampton Rockets.  With a new season though, comes new skills and abilities and from the outlook this game is a 50-50 split.  Both teams are backed by NBL clubs in their town and therefore hold alot of strength locally.  Being Round 1 this game shouldn't be a make or break, however in the overall scheme of things it could always come back to haunt he who doesn't come out on-top.  Keep an eye on Cedar, Susnjara and Tovey for the Heat.  With the possibility of a Taipans resurrection, expect alot from each and every Marlins player this season- be seen to perform in the QBL and an NBL contact could find its way into your hands.  Brebner, Vale, Williams, Cook and Grabau - plenty of talent still around for the 2007 National Champions.

Toowoomba Mountaineers v Ipswich Force, Sat 25^th 7:00pm @ Toowoomba Basketball Stadium-There is a solid history of these two teams going head to head in Round 1.  In 2008, the Mountaineers managed a 104-93 win, but skip 2 years before that and the Force collected a 109-97 victory.  The Force have had a very productive offseason, recruiting from all over the state.  They pulled in Steven Broom from the Townsville Crocs and Luke Cann out of Bundaberg, and they are suiting up experience in Michael McDaniel.  This is quite an eclectic mix of which Coach Lindeberg will need to carefully manage to ensure the team dynamics work in a productive manner.  A blow to the Mountaineers with David Gurney now on the Gold Coast, but don't count them out of this clash.  Trevor Grieve will back up Coach Petersen from the sidelines, bringing many years of playing experience to the management of the team. 

South West Metro Pirates v Gold Coast Goannas, Sat 25^th 7:00pm @ Hibiscus Sports Complex-
Player / Coach Jason Cameron is back again in 2009 and he will be out to lead his band of Pirates to a Grand Final berth this year.  The team managed to go all the way to the Semi's in '08, so anything less will be a failure in his eyes.  The Pirates are one team who are very consistent in their approach to building a team - promotion of local juniors who show excellence.  This theory has proven wonders for the Association with a prime example being Brendan Teys.  Teys has come through the Junior rep program at the Pirates, and leapt onto the QBL scene growing exponentially in 2 years (11pts a game in 2007 to 20pts a game in 2008).  The Goannas core squad is quite different from recent years- no Zaremba, Darragh or Auccoin.  A new team will hit the floor with the hopes of getting recognition from GC Blaze management.  Based on previous year's performance alone, these two teams will be top 2 favourites in the southern pool. 

Mackay Meteors v Cairns Marlins, Sat 25^th 7:00pm @ Mackay Basketball Stadium-
A huge coup for the Meteors in recruiting Scott Cook out of Cairns.  Considering this game will be his first for 2009 and against his former team mates, Coach King will get a quick insight into how serious he is in performing for the new club.  Teaming up with Cook will be John Fitzgerald (av. 22pts, 8rbs over 3 seasons) who will be expected to carry alot of the offensive drive of the Meteors.  The Meteors have been left wanting in recent years, with injuries seeing them falling off the pace mid-season.  They are undoubtedly in a tough pool and alot of work is required to get noticed with such strong outfits in north Queensland.  The Marlins back up for game number two which will prove alot out of the blocks in week 1.  If they took the easy road in the off-season then expect cracks starting to appear in the latter half of this one.  History suggests Marlins, but there is a sense of Meteor domination in the air in 2009.

Gladstone Power v Bundaberg Bulls, Sat 25^th 7:45pm @ Kev Broome Stadium-
This Power v Bulls clash is always a good way to whet the appetite of basketball  fans in central Queensland.  Michael Kingma returns from a season in Sweden and will play alongside of two new faces in James Cochran (from the USA) and Greg Chadwick (new Guard/Forward).  With a career-to-date average of 23pts, 6rbs Daniel Simanic will be a threat to the positive start to the year for the Bulls.  Player / Coach Blair Smith is an asset to the team and is capable of a quick 25pts if the team has their back against the wall.  The Bulls always recruit hard in the off-season with this year no different.  They've got Matthew Hanson and Jason Moore out of the USA who will lead the charge, and Coach Van Dongen will be looking for a full season out of Lloyd Lewis, something that hasn't happened since 2004.  The Bulls have got off on the wrong foot in recent years so this is a chance to make their own luck. 

Brisbane Capitals v Northside Wizards, Sat 25^th 7:45pm @ Vince Hickey Stadium-
This game is another 2008 Semi Final replay where the Capitals snuck a 3pt victory (106-103).  Since then the Capitals have added experience to their line-up in Tim Smith and Ben Castle, with alot of the regular faces still in their pack - Shaw, Latimer, Beak, Bartholomeaus and Hamilton-Smith.  This one always draws a solid crowd with the expectations here no different.  The Wizards see Cameron Tragardh return to the blue and white army which automatically puts them as finals worthy.  One man doesn't make the team however and with Sykes gone to Maroochydore, this is a real opportunity for a fringe player to stand up and be counted for.  These two teams will be confident of a top 2 finish in their pool. 

Maroochydore Clippers v Caboolture Suns, Sat 25^th 7:45pm @ Maroochydore Basketball Stadium-
Out of all the local derbies of Round 1, this one will probably be the biggest clash.  Despite being neighbours there will be no love lost when the Clippers lock horns with the Suns on Saturday night.  The Clippers will be looking to shake their losing tag from last year with a quick win.  Sykes has jumped out from underneath the wing of the Wizard's Tragardh and will be worth atleast 25pts here.  Alot of pressure on him to resurrect this team to its former glory.  Zane Meehl returns from US college and adds more grunt to the lineup.  The Suns will be flying the red and white flags with Coach Ayanbadejo and imports Martin Ajayi and Duncan Milne all from Canada.  Time to see how they perform on hot Australian soil.  Lucian McGuiness has jumped over from the Capitals while Brent Andrews will be expected to hit his career average of 13pts, 4rbs per game.