Sky Sport will be taking women’s basketball to a new level this August and September with the full Sal’s NBL season (33 games) to be broadcast live across New Zealand.
The 2021 season will be played at Pulman Arena in south Auckland where six teams will be in action across six weeks, playing games between Thursday and Sunday each week. The full schedule is listed below.
Harbour Breeze, Auckland Dream, Waikato Wizards, Capital Swish, Canterbury Wildcats and Otago Gold Rush are set to battle it out for the national title.
Players include Sky Sport Tall Ferns stars Stella Beck (Swish), Charlisse Leger-Walker (Wizards), Krystal Leger-Walker (Wizards), Tessa Boagni (Wildcats), Ash Kelman-Poto (Breeze), Ella Fotu (Breeze) and NBA Global Academy youngster Lilly Taulelei (Swish).
In announcing the broadcast agreement, Sky Sport Chief Executive Sophie Moloney said, “We’re so excited to be part of the growth of women’s basketball in Aotearoa and just can’t wait to see superstars like the Leger-Walkers shine here in New Zealand, as they have done in the USA. This deal is an important part of our long-held commitment to increase the profile of women in sport – ‘if you see, you know you can be’.
“The Sal’s NBL and the Tall Ferns show there is a pathway for young women in one of the world’s fastest growing sports and it’s our privilege to work with the team at Basketball New Zealand to bring this to life on Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now.”
Proudly presented by SkyCity and Auckland Unlimited, the Sal’s NBL competition continues to grow each year and League General Manager Justin Nelson believes the partnership with Sky Sport is playing an integral part in helping the competition to expand and grow.
“It is incredibly important to the growth of girls and women’s basketball across New Zealand that our national league is on television and there is no better place than on Sky Sport, the home of basketball,” said Nelson.
“This year’s competition will see plenty of top-end talent on court, plus an amazing number of rising stars. The depth of women’s basketball is growing very quickly and the chance for young girls to watch these elite athletes is incredible.
“We value our relationship with Sky Sport very highly, they continue to be a huge supporter of women’s sport. I cannot understate how important that is for our athletes, fans and the community,” added Nelson.
Sal’s NBL Schedule
Thursday August 12
7pm: Auckland Dream vs Waikato Wizards
Friday August 13
6pm: Otago Gold Rush vs Capital Swish
8pm: Harbour Breeze vs Canterbury Wildcats
Saturday August 14
6pm: Waikato Wizards vs Otago Gold Rush
8pm: Harbour Breeze vs Auckland Dream
Sunday August 15
3pm: D-League Grand Final
6pm: Waikato Wizards vs Capital Swish
8pm: Auckland Dream vs Canterbury Wildcats
Thursday August 19
6pm: Harbour Breeze vs Otago Gold Rush
8pm: Capital Swish vs Canterbury Wildcats
Friday August 20
6pm: Waikato Wizards vs Harbour Breeze
8pm: Auckland Dream vs Capital Swish
Saturday August 21
6pm: Canterbury Wildcats vs Waikato Wizards
8pm: Auckland Dream vs Otago Gold Rush
Sunday August 22
6pm: Capital Swish vs Harbour Breeze
8pm: Otago Gold Rush vs Canterbury Wildcats
Thursday August 26
7pm: Waikato Wizards vs Auckland Dream
Friday August 27
6pm: Capital Swish vs Otago Gold Rush
8pm: Canterbury Wildcats vs Harbour Breeze
Saturday August 28
6pm: Capital Swish vs Waikato Wizards
8pm: Canterbury Wildcats vs Auckland Dream
Sunday August 29
6pm: Otago Gold Rush vs Waikato Wizards
8pm: Auckland Dream vs Harbour Breeze
Thursday September 2
6pm: Canterbury Wildcats vs Capital Swish
8pm: Otago Gold Rush vs Harbour Breeze
Friday September 3
6pm: Capital Swish vs Auckland Dream
8pm: Harbour Breeze vs Waikato Wizards
Saturday September 4
6pm: Otago Gold Rush vs Auckland Dream
8pm: Waikato Wizards vs Canterbury Wildcats
Sunday September 5
6pm: Harbour Breeze vs Capital Swish
8pm: Canterbury Wildcats vs Otago Gold Rush
Thursday September 9
7pm: Semi-Final 1 (1st vs 4th)
Friday September 10
7pm: Semi-Final 2 (2nd vs 3rd)
Saturday September 11
7pm: Grand Final (SF1 winner vs SF2 winner)
