Friend or Foe? Cooks, Vodanovich Bromance On Hold

Friday, March 3, 2023

Friends and previous teammates Xavier Cooks and Tom Vodanovich will have to put their friendship on hold whilst facing each other in the upcoming Championship Series.

Great mates, former teammates - Xavier Cooks and Tom Vodanovich will be forced to put their friendship on hold, at least temporarily, as they face off in the Championship Series starting Friday night.

The pair celebrated together after the Kings tasted glory last season, but now, they're wearing opposing jerseys.

"Every time we step on the court, we talk a bit of trash to one another and have a lot of fun - I'm excited about it,” Cooks told Sydney's website.

"The one thing about Tommy ... he's ultra-competitive and doesn't care that we're friends off the court as he's throwing elbows and doing whatever he needs to help his team."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Xavier Cooks and Tom Vodanovich have enjoyed great successes on the court together, from winning the NBL22 Championship to partnering in the NZNBL. <br><br>Today they put their bromance on hold and focus on winning the NBL23 trophy for their side. <br><br>?<a href="https://t.co/nBGPsk7NVC">https://t.co/nBGPsk7NVC</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> <a href="https://t.co/Jukp7t0wZp">pic.twitter.com/Jukp7t0wZp</a></p>— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1631424907874557953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

New Zealand-born Vodanovich joined the Breakers in the off-season and said while he and Cooks had great respect for each other, on the court friendships were put to the side.

"It's a little strange (facing Sydney) I must say, but I am so grateful for the Kings and what we were able to accomplish last year, but now I'm with the New Zealand Breakers, my home and we’re coming for the trophy,” he said.

The Kings will host the Breakers in Game 1 of the Championship Series on Friday night at Qudos Bank Arena from 7:30pm AEDT.

Watch the game live and free on ESPN via Kayo Freebies, 10 Peach and 10 play, or buy tickets here.

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