The 2018 National Basketball League starts for the Southland Sharks on Thursday, when it meets the Bay Hawks in Taradale.
This follows the NBL pre-season three-day "Blitz" tournament played at Palmerston last weekend, where the Sharks won three games but lost to the Nelson Giants 55-50.
Newcomer Lydon Aoake, of Clinton in south Otago, got some court time in the seven-player rotation with the resting of Sharks/Tall Blacks Reuben Te Rangi and import Orlando Coleman, who were nursing minor injuries.
"It was great getting to play against other teams in the league without the pressure of being a season game."