Fierce rivals on the court as players, Andrew Gaze and Mike Kelly will revive their NBL duel on the sidelines this Sunday.
Cairns Taipans coach Kelly was the defensive lynchpin of the South East Melbourne Magic in the 1996 grand final series against the Melbourne Tigers and won the NBL finals MVP for his work in stopping hall of famer Gaze.
Throwback: Mike Kelly, then playing for Townsville, guards Andrew Gaze.Credit:Sebastian Costanzo
However, the current Sydney Kings coach got revenge a year later when he was able to help guide his side to a championship win against the Magic.
"I think I say we had a great rivalry but I don't know that Drewy says we have a great rivalry," Kelly said following Friday night's loss to the Adelaide 36ers.
"Drewy's great, I really respect him and he's not the godfather – his dad (Lindsay) is the godfather of Melbourne and Australian basketball – but he's right up there sitting at the right hand.
"He's a phenomenal guy and a great representative of the Kings so it's going to be fun to go up against him."
Kelly is hoping star import DJ Newbill will be available for the Kings clash at Qudos Bank Arena.
Newbill missed Friday night's game against Adelaide with a shoulder injury but is expected to fly with the team on Saturday.
The Taipans have not won at Qudos Bank Arena in eight attempts.
Sunday's match will be the Taipans' first NBL double header of the season and Kelly is hoping his side can handle the challenge.
"We built this team to have depth and we have depth," he said.
"A few guys played extended minutes tonight – only a couple really – we'll use that depth against a great Sydney team.
"Kelly will be hoping for another big game from veteran Taipans big man Nate Jawai, who showed he's still got what it takes, scoring 11 and collecting nine rebounds for the Snakes against Adelaide.
The 36ers coach Joey Wright said Sydney could not afford to let Jawai off the leash.
"I thought we gave him too many point blank lay-ups. He's a big boy and he's going to finish strong around the rim and he did," Wright said.
"We needed to fight him for space a little bit better. He got them going a little bit."
Jawai, who was selected in the Boomers squad on Friday, had support from Dexter Kernich-Drew (17 points), while import Devon Hall (11) found his range late.
After being the star of the Taipans side in the opening two rounds, Melo Trimble (10) was quiet against Adelaide and will be keen to fire against the Kings.
AAP MS
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