Locals will get their first chance to see the 2017 Illawarra Hawks on Saturday night.
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The Hawks will host arch rivals, the Sydney Kings, at the Snakepit in their only home game of the pre-season for the 2017-18 National Basketball League season.
The game, which tips off at 6.30 pm, will help quench the thirst of parched basketball fans after their Hawks’ grand final campaign last season.
The Hawks have retained the bulk of their squad from last year with the addition of two new imports in Demetrius Conger and Delvon Johnson.
Star import guard Rotnei Clarke is back and the team is now under the guidance of new skipper Kevin White, who will no doubt relish the challenge of leading the Hawks against his old team the Kings.
There will be no loved lost between these two sides.
The Kings, as per usual, have gone hard with the wallet in the off season in the hope of securing an outfit to make them competitive against the league’s best.
The Hawks scored a solid win over the Kings last week in the NBL Blitz, the pre-season tournament held in regional Victoria.
It was a tournament the Hawks only narrowly missed winning, with the much-fancied Melbourne United just taking out the title.
Tickets are still available via the Hawks website.
Once again this season, the Illawarra Mercury will be a proud and passionate partner of the Illawarra’s only national sporting team and a proud player sponsor of Illawarra Hawk Cody Ellis.
WALKING FOR A CAUSE
While the Hawks are plying their trade at the Snakepit, at Beaton Park people will be walking to raise Cancer Council’s research, prevention, information and support services.
The Cancer Council’s Wollongong Relay for Life will be held at Beaton Park across the weekend, starting at 9 am on Saturday and finishing at 10 am on Sunday.
Congratulations to all of those people who have signed up to take part in the event or donated to the cause.
A special thank you to those who have donated to the Illawarra Mercury team, the Illawarra Mercurians, which includes Mercury deputy editor and Relay for Life ambassador Cydonee Mardon who has shared her own cancer story with reader and will walk for he entire 24 hours of the event.