Noi eyes NBL1 North championship with USC

As the NBL1 North season approaches next weekend’s grand final each game invariably becomes bigger than the last.

Sydney Kings forward Kouat Noi and his USC Rip City take on Lat Mayen’s Cairns Marlins side on Saturday night, with the game being broadcast on Kayo Freebies from 7:30pm here. 

Noi is a player who has talked the talk for much of his career, and when it comes to this NBL1 North campaign, he’s truly been walking the walk.

The recently crowned conference MVP helped his side push past Darwin in the quarter-finals with a near impeccable 30-point, 15 rebound display, and he’s conscious of the quality of this weekend’s opponents.

“NBL1 North is no cupcake league - i’s a very competitive league and every weekend you’re going against NBL players, NBL veterans and some very talented young players,” Noi said.

“For me, I was up for that challenge.

"Before I even played my first NBL1 game I told everyone I was here to dominate the league and was there to get MVP - that’s exactly what I did.”

Just because Noi is aware of the talent on opposing rosters doesn’t mean he’s open to the prospect of defeat.

With NBL1 North representing quite possibly the strongest, on paper, conference in the competition, should Noi lead his Rip City side to the championship it would represent a huge boost before his maiden NBL campaign with the Sydney Kings.

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He already has one eye on the grand final and is looking at the possibility of taking on a former Taipans teammate in a potential mouth-watering one-on-one battle.

“After we get past Cairns [Marlins] this weekend, and I really, truly believe we’ll beat them, I really want to play the Wizards in the grand final,” Noi said.

“They’ve got Keanu Pinder who plays that four position, so I’d be excited to go against him.

"I believe their whole starting five are NBL players so I want to go up against them.

“I want to show that nobody could say anything about all the talking I did because we beat them.”

The Gold Coast Rollers featuring Jason Cadee and Tanner Krebs will host the star-studded Wizards at 7:30pm on Saturday streaming via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App here. 

Watch Kouat Noi take on the Marlins on Kayo Freebies here.