The Sydney Kings enjoyed their biggest crowd of the season in the National Basketball League, but didn’t have enough to repel an offensive juggernaut in the Gold Coast Blaze, who stunned the home team with a 96-79 victory to end their season of rebirth in disappointing fashion.
Nearly 10,000 fans at the Sydney Entertainment Centre came to pay homage to a team that had given them a great deal of pleasure despite the fact they failed to make the playoffs, but unfortunately the Kings were unable to repay their support with a win.
The last time the Kingdome had seen a crowd of that size, Sydney were playing Melbourne in game five of the classic 2008 Grand Final series, and the fact that so many turned up for a game that meant far less in the scheme of things speaks volumes for the incredible work the ownership group, General Manager Bobby Turner, Head Coach Ian ‘Moose’ Robilliard and the players have done in re-engaging the community.
10,000 people to see a last-placed team. It’s never been seen before in the history of the league, and is the clearest indication that the Sydney Kings are truly back and the Harbour City is right behind them as they begin their climb back to becoming a genuine sporting powerhouse, both on and off the floor.
Of course, the game night entertainment was as top notch as ever, with the Royalty Crew doing their thing to the delight of the huge crowd, the Harlequins raising the temperature with their signature dance routines and even an appearance by the Sydney Male Choir, who sang the national anthem and wowed the massive crowd with their emotional, uplifting pre-game performance.
The atmosphere was more befitting a playoff game rather than one between two teams long since out of postseason calculations. But such has been the impact this team has made in the Sydney community that the fans came out in their droves and although the team went down, it was still a special night in the history of this organisation.
The new Premier of New South Wales, the honourable Barry O’Farrell, tossed up the ceremonial tipoff, and the game was on its way.
The big issue for the Kings early was the two quick fouls picked up by franchise centre Julian Khazzouh – that, and a blistering Gold Coast offensive assault keyed by James Harvey, who splashed a pair of threes to help the Blaze jump out to a 12-7 lead with three minutes gone in the opening period.
Moose rolled the dice and left Jules on the floor, hoping he wouldn’t pick up his third foul, and although he managed to avoid it, the Kings looked a bit softer inside and the Blaze took advantage with Ira Clark slamming one home and Harvey nailing one of his patented stepback jumpers to give the visitors a 20-14 advantage.
Sydney’s offence was stagnant and the team overall looked a little flat, but the Blaze were flying, and an 11-3 run powered by Adam Gibson and Pero Vasiljevic gave the Blaze a 31-19 lead at the first break and had the huge crowd feeling more than a bit nervous.
Clark showed he was more than just a spectacular athlete by banging home a triple to start the scoring in the second, and when he grabbed an offensive board and made the putback, Gold Coast had blown the lead out to 15 and the Kings were in serious trouble.
A three from Harvey made it a 19 point margin and Coach Robilliard called for time in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
The big problem was the seeming lack of energy and intensity from the home team, but Ben Madgen tried to pick his team up with some inspired play, and when Trey Gilder jammed off the fast break, Sydney were back in it thanks to a 7-0 run which made it 39-28 with just over six minutes left to halftime.
Sanders buried a triple in transition, Gilder had a pair of buckets, and suddenly it was the Kings on fire as they launched an extraordinary comeback to the cheers of the crowd.
Gilder was in everything, attacking the basket with great energy and shooting the ball with confidence, and the Kings pulled within three, 45-42, with three minutes left to halftime on the back of an overall 19-6 run.
Gibson was playing a lone hand for the Blaze, hitting some clutch baskets to keep his team ahead, and his seven late points offset five from Luke Martin to give the Gold Coast a 55-48 halftime lead.
The Blaze point guard had 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting at intermission, and if the Kings were going to get back in the ballgame, containing him had to be their number one priority.
But Sydney also had to put the ball in the bucket, and Madgen inspired an early 7-2 run in the third quarter to make it a two point ballgame in the first couple of minutes before some poor Kings D allowed Harvey a couple of easy looks, and an 11-5 run pushed the Blaze lead out to eight, 68-60, with four minutes left in the period.
With Mark Dickel struggling to find his range from the perimeter and Sydney again stagnating offensively, the purple and gold needed to get it done at the defensive end, but Harvey knocked down another triple and the Gold Coast advantage was in double figures.
Harvey was white hot from the perimeter, swishing another trey to make it six from six from long distance, and although Jared Scoines came off the bench for an important cameo with five points, the Blaze were well in control at the end of three up 77-68.
The Kings had to get stops, but it was Harvey stopping them in their tracks as he swished an outrageous three to make it a perfect seven from seven, and when Clark went inside for a deuce, it was 82-68 Blaze and the game was slipping away from the home team.
Sydney just couldn’t buy a basket in the opening four minutes of the last quarter, and the Gold Coast took advantage, skipping away to a 20 point lead after the unstoppable Harvey found Tom Garlepp with a behind the back pass that the Blaze forward converted for two, and it was a despondent Kings bench as they called for time with six minutes left in the season.
But things got no better. Try as they may, it was like there was a lid on the basket, and the Kings could only manage five points in nine minutes as the Blaze extended their margin with nearly every possession.
The game petered out down the stretch, with former Sydney player Luke Kendall rubbing it in with a late drive to the basket for the deuce, and the only Kings’ highlight was a late bucket to development player Ben Hollis, who drove to the rack for the final score of the game – and his first field goal in the National Basketball League – as the Blaze came away with a well deserved victory.
Harvey finished with 29 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the field including seven of eight from three point range, while Gibson was outstanding with 20 points and five assists and Clark had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Blaze, who played one of their best games of the season and showed they will be tough to deal with in 2011/12.
Gilder led the Kings with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Khazzouh was held to 14 points and nine rebounds and both Martin and Madgen finished with 13 points for a Sydney team that won the wooden spoon for the first time in franchise history and lost the most games ever in a single season since the Kings were born in 1988.
It’s been an eventful campaign for the purple and gold, and it ended in disappointing fashion. But the important thing is the foundation was laid this season for this organisation’s future success both on and off the floor.
And above all else, 9,535 people on a Friday night at the Kingdome in Sydney proved one absolute truth.
The Sydney Kings are back.
