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RAMS
NEWS: PRE-SEASON ACTION
by Piet Van Hasselt
11 April 2003
1. WELCOME TO THE NEW SEASON
Welcome everyone to the 2003 season, we hope you’ve
had a good break and are all geared up for another great
year of basketball. This should be an exciting season for
New Zealand Basketball with the success of the Tall
Blacks and the national leagues going from strength to
strength. I hope you enjoy these newsletters and look
forward to receiving more information via the website
(Rampages), game programmes (Ramblings) and your email
inbox. Rest assured if it happens, you’ll hear about
it!
2. PRE-SEASON ACTION: RAMS SET FOR HUGE WEEKEND
Last night the 2003 edition of the Scenic Circle Rams had
their first outing in pre season action. Six exhibition
games over the next four days should give the team a
chance to put into practice what they have been learning
in trainings since assembling in March. It will also give
the coaching staff some useful information for making the
final decisions on the squad for the upcoming season,
beginning on April 26.
The team left Christchurch at lunchtime on Thursday and
played a match in Blenheim that night against South
Island rival the Nelson Giants. They will then trek
across Cook Strait to play in the Hoops Classic, a
Pre-Season tournament in Wellington and Porirua, with all
ten NBL teams participating.
The Rams will play the 2003 NBL rookies, the Taranaki
Mountain Airs, on Friday afternoon, followed by the
two-time defending champion Waikato Titans later in the
evening. Saturday brings a match-up with Saints, who will
be bolstered by the former Ram Terrence Lewis, and a much
changed Auckland Stars team coached by Kenny Stone. On
Sunday afternoon the Rams finish the Hoops Classic with a
match-up against Clifton Bush’s, former team the
Manawatu Jets.
Weekend Schedule (April 10-13):
Thursday vs Nelson (Blenheim)
Friday vs Taranak (4pm), vs Waikato (8:30pm)
Saturday vs Wellington (10am), vs Auckland (6pm)
Sunday vs Manawatu (9am)
The 16-man squad travelling north is: Dave Langrell, Rewi
Manahi, Myles Sutherland, Luke Osborn, Joel Hart, Andrew
Gardiner, Tim Edmonds, Clifton Bush, Carl Nicholson, Glen
Bremner, Ritchie Howell, Mark McLaughlin, Boyd Smart, Ben
Jeffrey, Travis Dixon, Jeremy Kench.
Coaches: John Watson, Dene Robinson, Pete McAllister
Three Canterbury referees, Raewyn Willocks, Gavin
Zimmerman and Hayden Pipe, will be attending the Hoops
Classic and will participate in a Senior Referees’
Clinic.
3. SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season Tickets are available and can be purchased through
Ticketek. This year there will be nine home games (with
the introduction of Taranaki) and packages are available
for nine or five games (red & black options). Child,
student and family pricing is also available. Remember,
if you want to avoid Ticketek charges make sure you
purchase ticket packages through the Christchurch Town
Hall or from the Westpac Centre (used to be the
WestpacTrust Centre).
Make sure you catch another exciting season of the best
value for money entertainment and receive exclusive
benefits including: signed 2003 Team Guide, Rams pen
(these are cool!), free Jr Rams club membership and
invitations to a special function with the players.
Season ticket brochures can now be seen on the main page
of the Rams Website (Rampages) or directly through the
link below.
https://rams.org.nz/23stickets.pdf
For more information about tickets contact the Rams
directly on: (03) 982-3865.
4. CORPORATE INFORMATION
If you’re a company interested in offering great
entertainment to your clients or employees the Rams can
help you. There are a variety of options available
including corporate boxes, floor seating and premiere
reserved seating. For more information on corporate
seating contact Pierre Flavell by phone 982 3864 or
mobile 029 982 3864.
5. FINAL 2003 RAMS SCHEDULE
Please find below the final version of the Rams 2003
National League Basketball season. The first home game is
against the newly renamed Harbour Heat on Saturday 3 May,
tipping off at 7:00pm. The curtain raiser will be the
annual Legends game where Canterbury greats do battle for
bragging rights.
Sat 26 April AWAY vs Auckland Stars
Sun 27 April AWAY vs Harbour Heat
Sat 3 May HOME vs Harbour Heat, 7:00pm
Sat 10 May HOME vs Mighty Hawks, 7:00pm
Sat 17 May AWAY vs Waikato Titans
Sun 18 May AWAY vs Taranaki Stormers
Sat 24 May AWAY vs Wellington Saints
Fri 30 May HOME vs Auckland Stars, 7:30pm
Sat 7 June HOME vs Nelson Giants, 7:00pm
Fri 13 June AWAY vs Manawatu Jets
Sat 14 June AWAY vs Mighty Hawks
Sat 21 June AWAY vs Otago Nuggets
Sun 29 June HOME vs Waikato Titans, 3:30pm
Sat 5 July AWAY vs Nelson Giants
Sat 12 July HOME vs Wellington Saints, 7:00pm
Sun 20 July HOME vs Taranaki Stormers, 3:30pm
Sat 26 July HOME vs Otago Nuggets, 7:00pm
Fri 1 Aug HOME vs Manawatu Jets, 7:30pm
SEMIS – Fri 8 Aug - Sun 10 Aug
FINAL – Sat 16 Aug
6. BRIEF TEAM NEWS:
1) Captain Dave Langrell has returned from a successful
stint with Neptune (Ireland) where his team won the
national championship title – and has a new haircut
that should wow the crowd!
2) Clifton Bush arrived last week after a stint in
Iceland and will play as a Kiwi as soon as citizenship
papers have been finalised.
3) American Big Man John “Pope” Whorton is
currently playing in the German league and will return
after the beginning of the season in May.
4) Former Rams forward Rewi Manahi has rejoined the team
after a break and has looked sharp in practice. Manahi
has been playing with the Nelson Giants and Kaikoura
Whale Riders in the interim.
5) Myles Sutherland will return to the squad this season
after a two year absence. Everyone will remember his
outstanding fourth quarter and tip-in that won the game
against Harbour back in 2000.
… MORE TO COME IN THE NEXT EDITION OF RAMS NEWS
7. NEW CANTERBURY BASKETBALL WEBSITE ONLINE
The Canterbury Basketball Association is pleased to
promote its new website to the New Zealand Basketball
Community. For all information relevant to Canterbury
Basketball – you can’t go past this site:
• Current news stories
• Up to date club draws, results and ladders for all
grades plus all tournament info
• Comprehensive 2003 calendar
• Everything you need to know about the Canterbury
Basketball Association, Club contacts, and Much more
http://www.canterburybasketball.co.nz/
8. RAMS OFFICES AT QEII
The Scenic Circle Rams, Rambo Charitable Trust and
Canterbury Basketball Association now have offices at
QEII Sport & Leisure. Our new contact details: phone
982 3865, fax 982 3863
Newcomers
can subscribe to Rams News by sending an e-mail to [email protected] with "sign me
up" in the subject line. Comments about the
newsletter can be sent to [email protected]
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