Preview | R2 Home v Illawarra

The Brisbane Bullets will look to carry the momentum from their Hungry Jack's NBL27-opening nightwin into Friday night when they host the Illawarra Hawks at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

The Bullets opened their season with two games in Brisbane and got off to a winning start on Monday night, overcoming the New Zealand Breakers 88-85 at a sold-out Pat Rafter Arena.

Now, they return to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre to play host to the Hawks, with the game getting underway at 7:30pm.

It was quite the way for the Bullets to begin the new season, with Brisbane fans packing out a venue hosting NBL action for the very first time.

The Bullets found themselves 11 points down just four minutes into the second half before turning the game on its head, outscoring the Breakers 43-29 the rest of the way to secure the 88-85 victory.

There was plenty to like about Brisbane's performance, too, with the team collecting 15 offensive rebounds, 13 of which came in the second half, while shooting 49 per cent from the field and 11-of-28 from three-point range.

Plenty of players stepped up, led by Lithuanian point guard Arnas Velička, who finished with 23 points, 14 assists and five rebounds.

It was far from a one-man show, though, with Tyrell Harrison adding 22 points, seven rebounds and four blocks; Nate Hinton 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists; Max Mackinnon nine points and seven rebounds; Jacob Holt six points and three rebounds; and Jaylin Williams six points and four rebounds while finishing with a team-high +15 plus/minus.

The Bullets will now look to carry the momentum from the way they closed out Monday night's game into Friday's clash with an Illawarra side that also opened its season on the road, falling 14 points to the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday.

The Hawks still arrive at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre with plenty of weapons, including championship-winning stars Davo Hickey, Milton Doyle, Tyler Harvey and Sam Froling.

Bullets coach Will Weaver couldn't have been happier with the support the team received on Monday night and is now looking forward to taking that atmosphere to the Entertainment Centre on Friday.

"It's everything to be playing for Brisbane, whether it's in the south side, up in Boondall, down at Nissan, and this city loves basketball. I'm a firm believer that if we build it, they will come," Weaver said.

"It looks like tenacity, competitiveness, mateship, camaraderie, commitment, focus, and those are the values that we're trying to embody with the way we defend the pick-and-roll, the way we sub, the way that we recruit, and I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

"The Illawarra scout went out as we finished that first game and these guys got stuck into that after having a beautiful blackout day on Tuesday where they got to rest their bodies and fill up their cups, and study some film.

"And we are very excited to see a lot of these same friendly faces, hopefully with recovered voices, back at BEC on Friday night against the Illawarra Hawks."

GAME INFO

Who: Brisbane Bullets vs Illawarra Hawks

Tip off: 7:30pm (AEST), Friday 25 September, 2026

Where: Brisbane Entertainment Centre

Tickets: Available Here

Watch: ESPN via Foxtel, Kayo and Disney+