The Illawarra Hawks have once again been forced to cancel a pre-season match, with the Saturday night clash against the Sydney Kings being scrapped following a reported positive COVID-19 case in the Hawks camp.
This comes a week after the Hawks game against the New Zealand Breakers was cancelled due to positive cases within the Breakers camp. This means both games set to be played in Wollongong have now been abandoned.
In a statement, the NBL claimed all Hawks players and staff are fully vaccinated, and the case attended a training session during the week.
"All Illawarra players and staff are double vaccinated. The positive case attended Hawks training earlier this week," the statement read.
"The decision to cancel tonight’s game at the WIN Entertainment Centre has been made in line with the NBL’s health and safety protocols.
"The health and safety of the players, coaches, clubs, staff and fans is the League’s number one priority.
"The NBL will continue to follow the advice of governments and health authorities and further testing will be carried out on any individuals impacted or those deemed close contacts."
Both the Hawks and Kings will receive three and a half points for the NBL Blitz standings, the pre-season tournament which is currently taking place across multiple locations in Australia, including Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.
The Hawks currently sit third on the Blitz standings with a 2-0 record, whilst the Kings are eighth, sporting a 1-2 record.
This was both teams' last hit out before the season begins on December third, and is especially disappointing for Illawarra, who were only able to play two games before their season debut against South East Melbourne on December 4. The Kings open their account on the 5th, taking on a Melbourne team which now sports former NBA player Matthew Dellavedova.
As for the Sydney-Illawarra rivalry, fans will need to wait until the very end of the year, with the Kings making the journey down the coast to face off against the Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre on December 31st.
