The Nunawading Spectres have announced that they will be returning 6\u20195\u201d Australian Jacinta Vandenberg for the 2020 NBL1 season, adding to the Spectres frontcourt signing of import Schaquilla Nunn earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Vandenberg last played for the Spectres in the 2018 season before moving to Italian club Andros Palermo followed by a season with the Rockhampton Cyclones.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super excited to be returning to Nunawading,\u201d Vandenberg said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team had such an amazing year last year and I can\u2019t wait to grow and extend on that. I love the culture that Nunawading has built from their domestic competitions and junior representative teams, right through to their senior program and NBL1 teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait to get back into the gym with this amazing group of girls and wonderful coaching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Returning Vandenberg was a logical choice for Spectres Head Coach Paul Flynn, the opportunity to add a player back into the program that possessed an existing on court chemistry with other members of the roster too good to pass up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to welcome Jacinta back into the team at Nunawading,\u201d Flynn commented.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known Jacinta now for almost 10 years and what she\u2019ll bring to the table for us. Back in 2018 she anchored the defensive end and offered great rim protection. She facilitates well out of the post and along with Schaquilla, presents another strong post target for us to work off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would have loved to have brought her back last season but the overlap with her Italian season and our need to have a frontcourt in place at the beginning of last NBL1 season just didn\u2019t allow for that to happen. We\u2019re excited that everything has aligned once again and I\u2019m looking forward to what Jacinta can help us achieve in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vandenberg proved to be one of the league\u2019s premier interior defenders when she last suited for the Spectres in 2018, a year she helped guide her team through to a Preliminary Final appearance. A genuine post with an ability to stretch the floor, Vandenberg graduated from the University of Oregon and brings international experience (Germany and Italy) to join Izzy Chilcott, Rachel Antoniadou, Rachel Brewster and Schaquilla Nunn as Nunawading\u2019s confirmed signings ahead of the NBL1 season.<\/p>\n
In 2020, the Spectres are set to play 11 home game double-headers (women\u2019s \/ men\u2019s) at The Graveyard \u2013 Nunawading Basketball Centre, with the season scheduled to start in April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"