Ben Ayre ruled out as JackJumpers prepare for Code Sports NBL Blitz in Bendigo

Tasmania JackJumpers Ben Ayre has today been ruled out of playing in the Code Sports NBL Blitz in Bendigo.  

Ayre has a hip flexor injury and will be reviewed prior to round one of the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 regular season.  

The JackJumpers arrived in Victoria today for the pre-season hit out where the new look roster will be put to the test.  

It’s the first time fans can see newcomers Taran Armstrong, Dakota Mathias and Ben Gold in the JackJumpers colours, along with new Development Players Jed Richardson and Ryley Haywood.  

Coach Scott Roth said the Blitz was more about preparation for the regular season and less about the score.

“The biggest thing is we have internal things we want to accomplish while we’re there and the score is irrelevant to what we’re doing,” Roth said.  

“We’re probably about two or three weeks behind in that area of conditioning, so we’ll have a good swing at it in these next few games, and we’ll continue to work on that side.”

Bryce Hamilton continues to recover from his ACL injury, with Nominated Replacement Player Nick Stoddart taking to the court for the Blitz and the start of the scheduled season.  

The five-day Blitz will see each team play two games as part of their final preparations for the upcoming season.  

The JackJumpers will be taking on the Brisbane Bullets on Thursday September 3 at 5:30pm, and the New Zealand Breakers on Sunday September 6 at 5:00pm.  

Every game will be live on ESPN via Disney+, Kayo Sports and 9Now. Live scores, stats and game highlights are available via the free NBL App and NBL.com.au.

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