‘A game like no other’: Gold Coast braces for Ignite Cup Final

The countdown is officially on, with the inaugural NBL Ignite Cup Final tipping off in just a matter of days.

On Sunday, the Adelaide 36ers will battle the New Zealand Breakers at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre for the right to call themselves the first ever Ignite Cup winners.

Ahead of the historic occasion, which has a record $400,000 prize pool, a media event was held on the Gold Coast on Monday, featuring NBL Group CEO David Stevenson, Experience Gold Coast executive director of Events, Avril Harris, former NBA and NBL player Aron Baynes and NBL commentator Ariana Prather.

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Stevenson is particularly excited to crown a champion after the competition’s historic first campaign of the new in-season tournament.

“We are thrilled to be creating history with the first ever Ignite Cup Final this Sunday, in what’s shaping up to be an unmissable game with New Zealand and Adelaide,” Stevenson said on Monday.

“We’ve invested a lot into the in-game experience, so all the fans that attend this Sunday should expect an elevated level of presentation, not to mention the ones on broadcast via Disney+.

“It will be like no NBL game fans have ever been to, and it will be worth every cent.”

On the topic of pricing, Stevenson explained the family-friendly tickets that are on sale, with adults starting from $15 and children $5.

“One of the great things about the NBL is we’re focused on families and entertainment, especially in these times of higher cost of living,” Stevenson said.

“We deliberately wanted to be very affordable for families, and we believe there’s no better value for entertainment [than we’re offering].”

Echoing Stevenson’s sentiments was Harris, who encouraged all hoops fans in the South East Queensland region to attend the historic match.

“This is an amazing opportunity for our huge local basketball fan base to get out and support elite basketball being played right here in our own backyard,” Harris said.

“With both the Adelaide 36ers and the New Zealand Breakers locked in for this match, we will see not only a national but an international audience tuning in to experience elite basketball at its finest this Sunday.”

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One person who knows about playing elite basketball is NBA champion Aaron Baynes, who is confident that Gold Coast’s growing basketball fan base will turn out for Sunday’s historic game.

“It [Gold Coast’s increasing love of basketball] goes back a few years, when we had the NBL Blitz here in the Gold Coast,” Baynes said.

“The amount of engagement we had, with all the teams here on the Gold Coast [was amazing], and this just builds on that.

“You can feel the excitement is continuing to grow, and I'm expecting a really close and intense game come Sunday.”new

Tickets to Sunday’s fixture, which tips off at 4.30pm live on ESPN and 10, are still available here.