Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena to Host 2026 CODE Sports NBL Blitz Ahead of NBL27 Season

The National Basketball League has confirmed that Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena will host the 2026 CODE Sports NBL Blitz from September 2 to 6, bringing all ten league teams together for a high-stakes five-day pre-season tournament.

Acting as the final competitive hit-out before the official Hungry Jack’s NBL27 campaign tips off, the tournament features each team playing two matches across the five-day schedule, providing clubs with a vital commercial and strategic platform to finalise rotations and integrate high-profile recruits.

A Window for Team Tuning Under High-Performance Competition

Speaking to the Bendigo Times, 2018 NBL champion, Pete Hooley, highlighted the growing anticipation surrounding new player movements and strategic team approaches heading into the tournament.

“I’m really excited to see some of the new faces that are coming down.”

“The Brisbane Bullets just signed a guy out of the G League, Nate Hinton, seeing Joe Ingles running around in a jersey for the first time at Melbourne United is something everyone will want to see,” Hooley said. 

Hooley further emphasised the shift in how clubs approach the pre-season fixture as an in-season dress rehearsal.

“With every year, teams are starting to change a little bit on how they go about approaching the Blitz.”

“In years gone by, the timing of it hasn’t been great as it’s right before the season now, whereas if it’s too early, you don’t always see teams roll out the best roster.

“Now we are at a point where they only play a couple of games, and these are the last hit-outs before it’s real.

“Now, teams are thinking, let’s get our rotations right, let’s get our starting five out there, albeit if everyone is healthy, and let’s make a couple of these games as in-season as possible, so when round one hits, we’re already flying, and we don’t have to catch up to anybody else,” Hooley added. 

The tournament action opens on Wednesday, September 2, with the Cairns Taipans facing the Perth Wildcats, followed by a matchup between the Sydney Kings and the South East Melbourne Phoenix. 

Over the span of four days, all ten franchises, including defending champions the New Zealand Breakers, the Tasmania JackJumpers, the Brisbane Bullets, the Illawarra Hawks, and the Adelaide 36ers, will feature across the comprehensive fixture list culminating on Sunday, September 6, with Melbourne United clashing with the Illawarra Hawks and the Tasmania JackJumpers meeting the New Zealand Breakers.

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