The Border will stage NBL basketball for the first time in 12 years when the league's newest franchise South East Melbourne Phoenix takes on Illawarra Hawks in September.
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Lauren Jackson Sports Centre will host the pre-season fixture on Sunday, September 15.
Albury-Wodonga Bandits men's coach Brad Chalmers admits it will be a great weekend for all involved in basketball on the Border.
"It's exciting. Obviously the club has worked really hard to build a relationship with South East Melbourne," Chalmers said.
"Obviously those guys (Phoenix) are really keen to get their brand out through North East Victoria.
"The Hawks have a junior program that compete against the (Albury) Cougars locally through the younger ages.
"To have a good regional club and a new franchise is exciting.
"We haven't had a game here for 12 years."
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Both the Hawks and Phoenix will hold open practice sessions on the Saturday before the game and will conduct junior coaching clinics at both Lauren Jackson Sports Centre and Wodonga Sports and Leisure Centre.
"It's obviously pre-season, but to have them here playing, doing some community work, coaching and all those sorts of things with our local players is going to be really good," Chalmers said.
"Both teams will commit resources to work with kids across the weekend."
Chalmers believes he will also get plenty out of the weekend from a coaching perspective.
"I'm looking forward to going along and being able to watch and do some scouting too," he said.
"There's a few kids and players in both of those groups that we'll be trying to look at next year.
"We've already had conversations with a couple of clubs around a couple of our players.
"A couple of guys are on radars, Manny Malou particularly is one.
"The opportunity is there for us to get a look at some talent, and, for me as a coach, it's good to be able to spend some time with them.
"I'll certainly be immersing myself in the weekend to try talk to the coaches Matt Flinn (Hawks) and Simon Mitchell (Phoenix) to see how they're going about it.
"It should be good for everyone to participate in it."
Tickets for the 'Battle of the Border' pre-season clash will be on sale in the coming weeks.
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