The Wollongong NRE Hawks have signed exciting American Ayinde "Chewy" Ubaka for the remainder of the 2011/12 NBL Season.
Ubaka arrived in Wollongong Sunday and will begin working out with his new team immediately, it is expected he will receive his clearance in time to take on his former team the Melbourne Tigers Friday night at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
"The last few days we've looked to see who we could bring in and join our team as quick as possible. It makes the process a whole lot easier when there's someone available who's currently in the country. Chewy's situation with the Tigers was unfortunate but we think his skill set will really compliment the group" Head Coach Gordie McLeod said.
"We have 11 games remaining in the season, now it's about everyone on our team playing to the level they're capable of playing at. We'll start getting Chewy up to speed with things this week but it's going to take a consistent group effort to put ourselves in the best possible position to win games."
"I think our fans are going to really enjoy his style of play, he brings great enthusiasm and loves feeding off the energy of the crowd." McLeod added.
The Californian native was controversially axed from the Tigers just over a week ago with his NBL career left in limbo. Ubaka led the Cairns Taipans all the way to the Grand Final decider last season and has shown he is a proven point guard in the competition.
"I'm really looking forward to just bringing my skills to the group, working with the guys to finish off our season the best we can." Ayinde Ubaka said.
"The Hawks and Gordie have given me a great opportunity and I can't wait to get out there and give it my all. We've got a tough team here, better than what our record suggests."
"The fans here in Wollongong are great, they're behind their team no matter what. I'm excited to get on that court this Friday night in front of a loud home crowd. We're going to be going out there as a team and working hard for our fans." Ubaka added.
The Hawks are coming off an impressive North Queensland road trip, defeating the Cairns Taipans 80-74 on Friday night then fought hard the following night only to be defeated by the Townsville Crocodiles on the buzzer 65-63.
Wollongong NRE Hawks v Melbourne Tigers on Friday 27th January tipoff at 7.30pm. Tickets to Friday’s game are available from WIN Entertainment Centre Ticketek Box Office, online at ticketek.com.au, Westfield’s Figtree and Warrawong as well as at the Hawks office at the Snakepit or on 4229 7722.
Tickets start from $15 Children, $20 Adult or from a low $55 for a family of four.
For more information about Wollongong NRE Hawks visit www.hawks.com.au
