Drive launched to get public fan base in behind Nuggets

Otago Nuggets spokeswoman Angela Ruske and coach Brent Matehaere at the More FM Arena yesterday....
Otago Nuggets spokeswoman Angela Ruske and coach Brent Matehaere at the More FM Arena yesterday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
The team is coming together, the players have started training and the coach has been confirmed.

Now it is the public’s turn to get behind the Nuggets cause.

Season tickets go on sale from today for the Nuggets in their comeback season to the full NBL.

The side won the NBL showdown last year with a stunning run to the finals in Auckland and now the organisation is looking for some loyalty and support from the sporting public.

Otago Nuggets spokeswoman Angela Ruske said the side was well advanced on signing players and some of the members of the team were beginning to train together.

Now the organisation was selling season tickets to the public.

"We want to see the community really get in behind the Nuggets show them some support," she said.

"We are happy where we have got to now. But the next phase is a really important one. We want a real good push for season tickets. Get the people to come along and show their support for the team."

She said there were a lot of different packages for those who wanted to get in behind the team. The tickets to separate games will go on sale at a later date.

She said with tickets as low as $5 for a child and at $20 for an adult the tickets had been reasonably priced. There are also founding members packages and corporate offers.

A big part of the Nuggets getting back into the league was to have a strong season membership base and she hoped it would get good support. There were nine home games.

The first game of the league was set to be played in Dunedin with the home team taking on perennial heavyweights the Saints.

She was hoping for a sell-out crowd of 2500 to the opening game on April 24.

The side was coming together well and players who were in Dunedin had started training together in the mornings.

The side had a bonus last weekend after the league won approval from Government to allow overseas imports into the country. The Nuggets have signed American Isaiah Moss and Australian Geremy McKay and Ruske said it was great to have received approval to get the players into the country.

The Nuggets also confirmed yesterday Brent Matehaere will be the side’s coach this season. He led the Nuggets to the title last year and Ruske said it was an easy decision to get Matehaere back on board.

He was popular in basketball circles and had done so well with the side last year.

Ruske said with the tip-off to the first game getting ever closer, things were getting exciting.

"It is 70-odd days away from that first game and it is coming up fast."

 

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