BRISBANE import Travis Trice is not expecting a basketball civil war to break out when the Bullets clash with his old club Cairns in Rockhampton on Saturday night.
Trice starred for the Taipans in the NBL last season when he averaged almost 15 points a game for Cairns on the way to the playoffs where they were beaten by eventual champions Perth.
Trice opted to join Brisbane for the 2017-18 season after one campaign with Cairns but is not anticipating a hostile reception from his former comrades in the Bullets’ pre-season opener.
Brisbane Bullet’s new recruit Travis Trice.Source:News Corp Australia
“I still stay in touch with those (Cairns) guys. I’m still friends with them. There’s no blood on my side,’’ Trice said.
“I had fun up there. There’s no hard feelings my way.
“I’m happy to be here. I’m happy just to be playing. Doesn’t matter who we are playing this weekend.
“I’m just excited to be done practising and getting games started.’’
Trice said the pre-season games were vital for Brisbane who need their new recruits to jell with the core of last year’s squad.
He said there was a palpable sense of determination in the Bullets camp after the club was smashed by injuries last season and collected the wooden spoon which “left a bitter taste’’.
Trice in action for Cairns last year.Source:Getty Images
Trice said expectations were high inside the four walls at Brisbane who left for Rockhampton yesterday.
“We are all hungry,’’ he said.
The Bullets will be without bench guard Shaun Bruce for the entire pre-season schedule after he injured his ankle in the QBL grand final last weekend.
MRI scans revealed three ruptured ligaments in his left ankle. He does not require surgery but will be sidelined for up to six weeks.
Bruce was named the QBL’s MVP for 2017 after averaging 24 points and 10 assists a game for Mackay and hurt his ankle just five minutes into game one of the three-game grand final series won by the Townsville Heat.
BRISBANE BULLETS PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE
September 2 – v Cairns – Rockhampton
September 8 – v Sydney – Traralgon, Victoria (NBL Blitz tournament)
September 9 – v Adelaide – Traralgon, Victoria (NBL Blitz tournament)
September 10 – v Cairns – Werribee, Melbourne (NBL Blitz tournament)
September 22 – v Illawarra – Logan
September 24 – v Illawarra – Sunshine Coast
September 27 – v New Zealand – Tauranga (New Zealand)
Originally published as Bullets recruit now Trice as hot as before
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