Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ), in conjunction with Harbour Basketball, are excited to confirm that both the Under 23 Nationals and D-League will be held at Auckland’s Eventfinda Stadium from 17-20 August.
In a new format for this year, the U23’s will be played as a men’s competition while the D-League will be a women’s tournament – with both events to be played under the same roof and at the same time. 16 men’s teams are set to compete across the U23 competition, while 12 women’s teams will take to the court for D-League.
Both tournaments will compete side by side in pool play across the first two days, with the top teams heading to the Men’s and Women’s playoffs on 19 August and the Men’s and Women’s finals held on Sat 20th.The final two days will be broadcast live online at nz.basketball/tv
BBNZ GM Events, David Huxford says that running both competitions as a dual event is great for basketball fans.
“These have both been traditionally well-attended events and it just makes sense to hold them together at the same time; it makes it easier for people to watch both comps – whether in person or online – and it’s logistically easier for us to run them together,” says Huxford.
Huxford says that both competitions will feature some of New Zealand’s brightest young basketball talent.
“The recent success of both the Sal’s NBL and GJ Gardner Tauihi basketball leagues has shown that we have a wealth of young basketball talent here in Aotearoa – and both the U23 Nationals and the D-League will help showcase some of that talent to the public, and show that the future of basketball for this country is in good hands.”
Key Points:
- The U23 Nationals (Men’s) and Women’s D-League will be held as a joint event at Auckland’s Eventfinda Stadium on 17-20 August
- Entry is free for spectators, and all Semi-Finals (Thu 19 Aug) and Grand Finals (Fri 20 Aug) games can be watched online at nz.basketball/tv
- There will be 16 U23 men’s teams and 12 women’s D-League teams; all squads will be available to view from 15 Aug
- View the draw at: https://tinyurl.com/3vujnedn
- Find more information at: https://nz.basketball/competitions/reps/u23-nationals/
