JackJumpers' monumental effort leads into Teal Game

Scott Roth could say how proud he is of the Tasmania JackJumpers a thousand times and it wouldn’t be enough as they stayed clear in NBL sixth spot but basketball takes a backseat on Friday with the Teal Game for the SHE Foundation.

If anything sums up the spirit of the Tasmania JackJumpers it's how deep they dug inside themselves on Sunday afternoon at MyState Bank Arena when they played host to the New Zealand Breakers with sixth spot on the standings for NBL26 on the line.

While the Breakers had also played on Friday night, they had a couple of hours advantage over the JackJumpers who played straight after in Cairns with that game ending up going to overtime.

The JackJumpers then had to fly an extra 1200km to get back to Hobart for the early starting game on Sunday, but all afternoon with the home crowd showing raucous support, they dug deep even short on numbers without Will Magnay, Ben Ayre, Bryce Hamilton and Sean Macdonald.

In the end, David Johnson had the night of his NBL career with seven three-pointers for 33 points including the game winner but he was only one hero on the afternoon in what coach Roth described as a monumental effort.

"It is a monumental effort by our guys to win a game like that and I told them when the game was over that had we lost I would have been just as proud as I could be," Roth said.

"I'm really happy that we don't play New Zealand anymore and the fight was real, and their grind was real also on their side and they've just found a way to keep showing up and it wasn’t pretty at times, it was quite effective to keep our fight where it was against them to maintain the lead most of the game.

"Then as back and forth as it has been in the past with them, we were able to make the play that they made in Game 3 here."

It has been quite the rollercoaster of emotions the past few weeks for the JackJumpers with Magnay, Hamilton and Ayre all now suffering season-ending injuries with a nasty concussion to Majok Deng thrown in the mix too.

On top of that, last week coming out of HoopsFest in Perth they played in Sydney on Thursday before returning home to host the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday, and then this past week they played in overtime in Cairns on Friday before the super short turnaround to hosting New Zealand on Sunday.

Through all of that, being proud doesn’t even sum up Roth's admiration of all his staff, his players and everyone associated with the JackJumpers.

"I'm honestly out of words to describe the emotion of the last few weeks and just reflecting on the fact that the last five years with the energy that's in this building," Roth said.

"Again I walked out there and looked in all four corners and there's people in there, and it's a remarkable statement to the players that we bring in here who the fans adore, and they keep showing up in the good times and the bad times.

"Believe me, we've been in some valleys here and we always continue to just fight and do the right thing, and hopefully we can regroup here in two days and get some rest, and some of these young guys are going to have to play some more minutes moving forward and see what we do.

"But I can say proud a thousand times and it probably wouldn’t be enough of my staff and the work rate that goes into a game that's so crucial for us in our building, and for us to show up that way is just a fantastic effort."

'Defending the Island' is anything but just a motto for Roth and the JackJumpers, it's a responsibility they take seriously and that's why no excuses are ever used no matter what they are going through.

Deng (40), Tyger Campbell (39), Josh Bannan (36) and Johnson (35) all had to play monster minutes on Sunday and that was less than 40 hours after playing an overtime game in Cairns where they also had to log mass minutes.

They are going to have to as well because Magnay, Ayre, Hamilton and Macdonald all won't be back, but to win a game like they did in those circumstances on Sunday against a team also fighting for sixth spot just sums up the culture the JackJumpers have built that Roth is so proud of.

"Our motto is to defend the island and I'm obviously quite passionate about Tasmania, and the statement by the players to continually show up is just a credit about the guys that we get here, and the unselfishness and the warrior mentality of them," Roth said.

"The grit and grind is real, and we're humble and hungry, and we want to defend this place and make Tasmanians proud, and had we lost that game I would have been just as emotional with them because of the fight that they continue to show up with."

While Roth is rightfully proud of the team and he's hoping they can secure sixth spot to earn a finals place over the last three games, this Friday night's home game against the Brisbane Bullets is about more than what happens during the actual match.

It's the annual Teal Game for the JackJumpers to raise funds and awareness for local charity partner SHE Gynaecological Cancer Group inspired by the late Jo Harris and still wonderfully supported by her husband Scott.

Having got to know the Harris family so well since he moved to Hobart, it's a cause very close to Roth on a whole number of levels.

"For me it's the biggest game of the year, Scott Harris and Jo Harris became like family to me, and with Jo passing away, it was quite emotional for me after losing two family members to cancer myself, my sister and my mum," Roth said.

"This has become a monumental game for me just personally to make sure we do everything we can to represent the Harris group, their two boys, the SHE Foundation and Tasmanians because this is not just about us here, it's across the country and especially in Tasmania we want to show up and support Scott and his great initiative to keep Jo's spirit alive moving forward.

"It will be a big night, bigger than basketball, but it's the most important game of the year for me."