36ers’ ultimate Blitz test

Saturday, September 16, 2023

"We’ve been getting after it this week on the practice court pretty hard."

The Hungry Jack’s NBL Blitz is the ultimate pre-season test for all ten new-look rosters.

For the Adelaide 36ers, it's a chance to make improvements on a disappointing pre-season loss to Brisbane, and with less than two weeks until the season proper, fine-tune their squad.

“I think this weekend is going to be a good test to be able to see where different lineups will match with what, and how certain guys play with each other,” Sunday Dech said.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JOyIm36fQuM?si=JPb0K88J2jgFSSVD" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Coming off a strong showing at the FIBA World Cup for South Sudan, Dech has to quickly turn his attention to the Blitz. For the 29-year-old, that means putting his hand up for more court-time, after career-low minutes last season.

Dech has been a mainstay at the 36ers for the past three seasons, but will be keen to use the Blitz to solidify a spot in a guard rotation with significant depth.

“We do have a really good team this year, and one where I need to keep working my way into the lineup,” he said.

“I think I’m pretty fortunate, and some of the NBL guys that I’ve played, we’ve got about 12-13 games under our belt, so we’ve hit the ground running.

“For me personally it’s been great - we’re on a high at the moment and we want to keep riding those coattails, and bring that energy and attitude into the NBL season.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The NBL Blitz in Gold Coast starts THIS weekend - here are the start times of every match the 36ers will be playing ??<br><br>Make sure you’re tuning in via Kayo Freebies to catch all the action ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreSixers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreSixers</a> <a href="https://t.co/oKLHmNfioI">pic.twitter.com/oKLHmNfioI</a></p>— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1702215457519153620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

After going into the season as one of the Championship favourites in NBL23, the 36ers faltered, eventually finishing eighth.

Now, with just five players remaining from last year's roster, it's almost like they're starting from scratch. But Dech says he and his teammates couldn't be better prepared.

“We’ve been getting after it this week on the practice court pretty hard,” he said.

“We want to go to the Blitz and put our processes into place and play the right way, and gear up for the start of the season where it tips off in a couple of weeks.

“A lot of that is on the coaches to mix and match and see how we go, and make sure we’re ready for Round 1.”

The 36ers’ first Blitz game is this Sunday at 1pm AEST against the New Zealand Breakers.

The Hungry Jack's NBL Blitz tips-off on Saturday, September 16. You can catch all the action live and free via Kayo Freebies.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The NBL Blitz kicks off tomorrow at 5pm ?<br><br>Check out the full schedule below ??<br><br>Don’t miss out on the action, purchase tickets now ?? <a href="https://t.co/7fwWn1T0U0">https://t.co/7fwWn1T0U0</a> <a href="https://t.co/2zyXt23jUg">pic.twitter.com/2zyXt23jUg</a></p>— NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1702491971292664318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>