First double-header of season excites Vasiljevic

This Sunday will mark the first of four blockbuster double-headers that Hoops Capital will host with its Sydney Kings and Sydney Flames during the 2022-23 season.

One person particularly excited for the afternoon of hoops at Qudos Bank Arena is Kings sharpshooter Dejan Vasiljevic.

"This is the Flames' first home game, despite it being a couple of weeks into the season - which they've spent the majority of on the road," Vasiljevic said.

"So it'll be great for them to get back in front of their home fans, especially as they play after us - it'll be a big day for the whole club.

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"Hopefully we can draw another crowd upwards of 10,000 and most of them can stick around and watch the Flames, as I know myself and a few of the Kings will be.

"They're a really talented team and I know they'll get it going sooner rather than later - which I'm confident can be on Sunday against Bendigo."

As Australia Boomer Vasiljevic touched on, his second-placed Kings will start proceedings on Sunday, fresh off a tough loss to Cairns on Monday.

"In our eyes, we kind of gifted Cairns that win - we were doing a lot of great things as a team but also hurt ourselves down the stretch," said the guard, who admits his team were guilty of fouling certain guys at the wrong time in the six-point defeat.

"Obviously Keanu [Pinder] hurt us and we struggled to contain him, sending him to the line 20 times - with Cairns as a team having 36 free-throws.

"To that, as a group, we've got to learnt to keep our hands out of the cookie jar and make opponent's shots more difficult by using our body.

"We also gave them a lot of second-chance points and the ball become stagnant on offence, which I'll take most of the blame for, with my shot selection was a little bit poor at times.

"We just got to make sure we learn from it and make sure it doesn't happen again."

By his own admissions, Vasiljevic knows he's currently in a shooting slump but is finding other ways to impact the game on the floor for the Hoops Capital side.

"I'm 0/16 the past two games from the three and a lot of that is teams are running me off the three-point line and taking tough shots," the Miami University alum said.

"I think I'm taking some of the toughest shots in the league right now, so I've got the fix that by watching a lot of film to pick out when I should and shouldn't shoot.

"Against Cairns, I went 4/17 from the field and there were five or so shots I shouldn't have taken - maybe on another day, we get another couple of points if the possession went another way.

"Despite that, I still feel I'm playing alright and obviously Chase [Buford] does too or he wouldn't have played me 37 minutes on Monday.

"From defence to rebounding the best I probably ever had and playmaking out of the pick and roll, I'm being a team player and impacting the game in other ways."

The harbour city side will get the chance to return to the winner's circle from 2pm Sunday against Adelaide - one of just two teams to defeat the Kings in NBL23.

"Last time the Sixers were here, they killed us on the offensive rebounds and their pick-and-pop play," Vasiljevic said.

"As a group, we'll have to cover that better, especially with players as dangerous as DJ [Daniel Johnson] and Robert Franks shooting as well as they are right now.

"Obviously they had Craig Randall last time they were here too but I feel they are a different type of team now - one in which plays better offensive and defensively.

"We know they'll come out hungry, so it's up to us to be ready to go come Sunday."

Sunday double-header will also see the club celebrate the WNBL's Fighting Period Poverty Round, which is supporting Share The Dignity.

To grab your tickets to the huge afternoon of hoops, visit here.