Preview: Heritage Round vs Illawarra Hawks at Win Entertainment Centre

The Bullets continue their Heritage Round games on the road, following a strong performance in front of their home crowd on Thursday night.

Celebrating the history of the Club in style, Brisbane played in a red heritage jersey, paying homage to the inaugural Bullets red uniform. The team will look to build on their win over playoff contenders, Adelaide 36ers when they take on the Illawarra Hawks on Monday night in Wollongong.

GAME DETAILS

Illawarra Hawks vs Brisbane Bullets

When: Saturday 21 January, 4:30pm AEST

Where: Win Entertainment Centre

Watch: On ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel

LAST TIME MATCHING UP
The Bullets and Hawks last met back in Round 5 and it was a very one sided equation with Brisbane coming out on top in front of their home fans 86-61. Nathan Sobey was a stand out for the Bullets with 22 points, including a 14 point first quarter flurry. A lot has happened since this early encounter, but both teams will come out firing with a lot to prove.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 5

BRISBANE BULLETS 86 (Sobey 22, Froling 13, Cadee 13)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 61 (Deng 11, Siva 9, King 9) 

BOX SCORE

KEY MATCH UP

TYLER JOHNSON VS TYLER HARVEY

It’s the battle of the Tyler’s which will be an exciting match up this game. Both players have shown they are great in the clutch moments, and both made game winning plays on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor down the stretch in their respective Round 16 match ups on Thursday night.

For the Bullets, Johnson starred with 27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in their OT victory over Adelaide. While Harvey was tough for the Hawks with 25 points and 3 steals in their win over the Breakers to begin the Round. The passion and poise these two play with is clear and are key to the success of their team.

ON THE RECORD
Following the Bullets Round 16 win against the Adelaide 36ers, Hostplus Head Coach Greg Vanderjagt said he was “really happy for the group” after their second straight win.

“I think it shows where we’re at in terms of there’s a lot of basketball to be played in the season. The group wants to compete and wants to play for each other, they want to play for the Bullets fans who keep turning out,” Vanderjagt said after the match.

“Our leaders tonight were outstanding, that’s where it starts. We’ve obviously been on a rollercoaster this year but I think our leadership tonight was really, really good.

“Jason in the first half, outstanding; Baynes, 16 and 11 in 31 minutes… Sobes, shots didn’t fall tonight but he gets a slam and a dunk to give the group life.

“We were able to resolve and build together and dig ourselves out of holes which is really pleasing in terms of the growth and what we’ve seen over the past little while.

“I thought we played really good basketball against United, aside from the first quarter; we obviously played well against South East, and we put together tonight which was pretty good.

“Really happy for the group to string a couple together but I think it’s the way we’ve done it on the back of our defence which has been the most pleasing.”