Basketball On The Internet.

YOU know what is best about basketball's passionate fans in Australia? They're smart. BS them at your peril ... which brings me to ticket prices for the Oceania Series.

They went up yesterday, Twitter accounts for the Aussie Boomers, Aussie Opals, Basketball Australia and its CEO Kristina Keneally all providing a link to where tickets for the series versus New Zealand's Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns could be purchased.

I took a quick look, was shocked at the (high) cost of tix and tweeted something to that effect.

Much to my surprise and delight, BA tweeted back to tell me: "it's a double-header with two Australian teams - both in top ten in the world."

OK. Fair enough. How often do you get a chance to see the Boomers and Opals on the same program (not including last year's London Olympics build-up)?

But let me raise the following. Will the Boomers team be including Andrew Bogut, and Joe Ingles, and Patty Mills, and, say Matthew Dellavedova?

Will the Opals be led by Lozza, Suzy, Penny, Lizzie, Kristi and Co?

And yes, while it will be Game 2 in both instances in the two-game series against New Zealand, there isn't a basketball fan in Australia who doesn't expect the Opals to beat the Tall Ferns fairly handily.

On top of that, in all fairness, the Boomers-Tall Blacks battles are relatively meaningless as both have qualified for the 2014 World Championship and are playing for "higher seeding" ... whatever the hell that means.

For 2010 when the Tall Blacks won the Oceania Series, does anyone even recall what that meant at the World Championship in terms of how vital that higher seeding proved?

So, at the risk of sounding unpatriotic - which I am not - is it realistic to expect a fan to pay $62.35 (+booking fees) for a Gold seat at AIS Arena on Sunday, August 18?

Or for a 3-to-16 year-old's folks to shell out $43.70, or $168.60 for the family?

The Green section is $51.70 per adult, $31.90 for those 3-to-16ers and $135 for the family.

(Plus, don't forget to add those ubiquitous booking fees.)

Sorry but that's an expensive Sunday afternoon at the basketball. Throw in a hotdog or two and a few drinks... whoa.

No sooner had I tweeted about the prices being inordinate than I got the following: "Agreed. Thought there would be some cheap ones at $25" from @smokinjoemisiti. Then: "And the mens team is a B team" from @SkipStrudwicke.

Derek Rucker weighed in from the US with: "those rankings are meaningless. #nostars. Here in LA I can watch a Clips game for that $". (Nice to hear from you Derek.)

"You realize that justification makes you sound ridiculous, right?" tweeted @mattanderson05 to BA's "top 10s" response.

He followed up with: "Why would you price most fans out of the market? Its insane." @ItsMattShorrock said: "my London Olympic tickets were cheaper and I got to see the A teams play!"

I could go on, because there were more. Those were just a few which summarised the mood.

That said, there was ONE dissenter, Grant Keys, who asked in his tweet whether I could talk the NZ Series down anymore?

Making prices unrealistic for the calibre of opponent is not talking down the series. It's talking down the price fans are expected to pay. We all want to see our national teams live in action. But at a reasonable price. 

 

IT still troubles me that people do not appear to learn from history and the rush to make a buck overwhelms the best interests of the game.

In the Oceania Series, surely those best interests would be to have the place full with people clamoring to see our best in action.

BA can hype the passion of the Trans-Tasman rivalry if it wants but in truth, this isn't rugby, cricket or even netball.

Until this century, Australia smashing the Kiwis in basketball was a foregone conclusion and it was only in 2001 that changed with the Tall Blacks shocking the Boomers 2-1 in the best-of-three Oceania Series.

It actually meant something then too - not some piddly "seeding" - because New Zealand's win took it on to the 2002 World Championship in Indianapolis while the Aussies sat at home, twiddling their thumbs.

(The Tall Blacks went on to reach the medal round too, Pero Cameron named in the All Star Five of the Worlds.)

Here's a little more history. Way back in 1978, before the World Championship in nearby Manila, the USA came to Australia to face the Boomers in a series of "Tests" as part of both national teams' preparations.

The series was given over to a sports management firm to run and ticket prices went through the roof. That was a great shame because many just simply couldn't afford to go watch the matches. They were very competitive too, even if the US did sweep.

Nine years later, the Soviet Union toured, prices were reasonable and every match a sell-out. A year later, in the lead-up to the Seoul Olympics, the USSR came out again, the cost was realistic, the series again a sell-out.

Sabonis, Marciulionis, Kurtinaitis and that monster 7-4 man-mountain - seeing those guys in our backyards against our finest was an absolute treat.

The lessons learnt from the USA series, then transferred into the USSR tours were forgotten within a few years when Magic Johnson brought his All Stars to Oz to play the Boomers in the early 90s.

Again, tickets were outrageously priced and it was a case of our 8,000-capacity Clipsal Powerhouse in Adelaide - at a time when the 36ers sold out every game for several years in succession - was half empty.

Yeah, that wasn't a half-full situation at all. It was half empty because the city and state were full of thousands who would have gone if the ticket prices were around half what they were asking.

What's better? A full venue of rabid fans who paid less or a half-full venue of fans who could afford it?

 

THE Boomers lead China 2-1 after winning Game 3 of the four-game Sino-Australia Challenge series 68-65 yesterday in Tianjin City.

After losing Game 1 55-61, then winning Game 2 85-60, the Aussies also own a +22 points advantage, meaning China must win Game 4 tomorrow by 23 to steal the series.

Anthony Petrie with 14, Chris Goulding 13 and Luke Nevill 12, led the Boomers' scoring.

 

 

WEDNESDAY or Thursday next week - that's when Perth Wildcats expect to announce Rob Beveridge's successor at Australia's most successful NBL club.

You can rule out Al Westover and Adam Caporn but Trevor Gleeson, David Patrick - these are names worth tossing around at your next "who's it going to be? conversation".

The Wildcats also have released Everard Barlett from the second year of his contract.

 

TONY Cochrane, the Superman of V8 Supercars, is being linked to the new NBL, Ben Madgen out for upto six months, the Spurs rolling - it's been a big week so far.

If you have missed any of it, bang on to some of these links:

The Madge on the sidelines: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/sydney-kings-and-boomers-basketball-star-ben-madgen-out-for-up-to-six-months-with-dislocated-ankle/story-fne5rbqn-1226662666034

Supercars to the rescue! http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/ex-v8-supercars-chief-tony-cochrane-linked-to-new-nbl/story-fndekpx4-1226662061373

Ervin, 2Hard2Guard on 36ers radar: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/adelaide-36ers-coach-joey-wright-says-club-in-talks-with-gary-ervin-adris-deleon-as-it-looks-for-guards/story-fne5r4t9-1226662699281

Backflip by City of Sydney Council rocks Alexandria: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/sydney-basketball-stadiums-40-million-upgrade-axed-by-lord-mayor-clover-moore/story-fndekpx4-1226662058591

Kings check out 36ers guard: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/adelaide-36ers8217-tom-daly-to-trial-with-sydney-kings/story-fne5r4t9-1226662722313