The AFL are not the only sporting code benefitting from the grand final public holiday in Melbourne.
NBL clubs South East Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne United played in front of another soldout crowd of 10,225 at John Cain Arena on Thursday night while the Melbourne Storm’s NRL preliminary final against Sydney Roosters at AAMI Park on Friday night is also a sellout with just under 30,000 fans expected.
Matthew Dellavedova of Melbourne United drives past SEM Phoenix’s Derrick Walton jnr on Thursday night.Credit: Getty Images
The two NBL clubs have made their pre-grand final holiday a steady part of the NBL schedule now, as fans have clearly enjoyed the chance to head to the basketball without having to worry about school or work the next morning.
United scored a 96-84 win with Chris Goulding (19 points) and Matthew Dellavedova (18 points) leading the way.
United coach Dean Vickerman said he welcomed the game each year.
“There are a lot of games that are fixtured here now before big events like the Melbourne Cup eve game,” Vickerman said.
“We tack them into these events that Melbourne thrives on and give fans an extra day, extra event to celebrate the occasion. I think we are doing a good job of that.”
Phoenix coach Mike Kelly praised the initiative as well.
“It’s very cool and the crowd was amazing tonight,” Kelly said.
“People in the community have been pretty amped up for this game. Now, we just want to have some wins in these games, show our fans what we are doing here and how we are getting better.”