Hawks set to fly back into the NBL

Hawks import Jamie Skeen leans on Taranaki player Dane Brooks - lighting-up the NBL at the PGA in 2018. The 2021 imports are expected to be announced soon. Photo / File

The Hawke's Bay Hawks will bounce back after a Covid year-off with two overseas players in their NBL line-up in 2021.

Few details are yet confirmed, with franchise chairman Keith Price saying no players have yet been named in the squad for a season which tips off on April 24 - pandemic willing.

But the visa process has started with the aim of getting the two-man overseas roster filled following Government approval for critical worker exemptions enabling 18 international players and three coaches to enter New Zealand and complete managed isolation quarantine in time for the games to begin.

It was reported last week that positions in 14-day quarantine had already been booked, and while the Hawks hopes and some other imports haven't been identified publicly, NBL general manager Justin Nelson said 10 of the players had been involved in NBA programmes in the US.

The NBL is in its 40th year, and league managers believe the quality of players about to queue-up at the airports reflects the international reputation of a league rapidly growing as a business now worth over $7 million.

Nelson says it's particularly important this year with New Zealand's top 20 players overseas in leagues which have had their own challenges with the pandemic, impacting on player availability for the NBL.

The Hawks are now planning for a big year, anchored around home games at the Pettigrew-Green Arena (aka the PGA), after being absent from the NBL last year amidst the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown and the uncertainty that followed.