Taranaki Mountainairs to open NBL season

The Taranaki Mountainairs will open the new National Basketball League season in a condensed competition, it’s been announced today.

Taranaki will play the Nelson Giants on Tuesday June 23 in a competition which will feature 56 games, all broadcast on Sky Sport.

The new look competition has been jammed into just over a month with two games per night, five nights a week all based in Auckland.

Seven teams, including the Nelson Giants, Auckland Huskies, Canterbury Rams, Manawatu Jets, Otago Nuggets and the Franklin Bulls will join the Mountainairs in the competition.

NBL General Manager Justin Nelson said the presence of this league is not only going to have a fantastic reach for all fans throughout New Zealand, but also globally.

“Now that we have released the official fixture, it all becomes a lot more real. Many of these players are going to be seen overseas too, as we are in discussions about how this will be made available to markets abroad. Auckland will provide the perfect backdrop for this event too – it will be a great showcase of sport for New Zealand.”

The final will be held on Saturday 1 August.

Where and when you can watch:

Tuesdays – two games live on Sky Sport 3

Wednesdays – two games live on Sky Sport 3

Thursdays – two games live on Sky Sport 3 / the second game will also be shown on Prime TV at the later time of 9:30pm

Saturdays – two games live on Sky Sport 9 / also on Sky Sport Next, Stuff and Tribe Sport (Stuff & Tribe Sport will take the Sky Sport Next embed)

Sundays - two games live on Sky Sport 9 / also on Sky Sport Next, Stuff and Tribe Sport (Stuff & Tribe Sport will take the Sky Sport Next embed)

STEELFORMERS TARANAKI MOUNTAINAIRS
Tuesday June 23 vs Giants @ 5:30pm
Wednesday June 24 vs Bulls @ 7:30pm
Saturday June 27 vs Rams @ 7:30pm
Tuesday June 30 vs Huskies @ 5:30pm
Wednesday July 1 vs Nuggets @ 5:30pm
Sunday July 5 vs Jets @ 7:30pm
Tuesday July 7 vs Bulls @ 7:30pm
Thursday July 9 vs Giants @ 5:30pm
Saturday July 11 vs Rams @ 7:30pm
Tuesday July 14 vs Nuggets @ 7:30pm
Thursday July 16 vs Huskies @ 5:30pm
Sunday July 19 vs Jets @ 7:30pm
Wednesday July 22 vs Giants @ 5:30pm
Thursday July 23 vs Bulls @ 5:30pm