Ballarat Basketball director of coaching Brendan Joyce expressed frustration over the NBL1 2020 South fixture, which has Ballarat sides playing most of their opening games on the road - again.
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The Ballarat Miners and Rush will play six of its first eight matches in away venues - two of which will be in Tasmania.
The gruelling schedule is almost identical to last year's fixture, which saw the teams play in front of their fans twice in a six-week span to start the season.
Joyce said the club had no choice but to deal with it.
"We weren't happy with last year's fixture and obviously it's road heavy at the beginning again," he said.
"It's tough because you want to get off to a good start and it's easier to get off to a good start when you're playing at home."
The Miners endured the tough schedule in 2019, winning their opening seven games to shoot to the top of the competition ladder.
But it was a different story for the women, who found themselves playing catch-up after succumbing to early losses.
While the tough start made for an easier run home late in the season for the Miners, Joyce said the Rush were never able to recover.
"The only reason it helped the Miners is because we won," he said.
"But the girls lost and it put them in a lot of bother."
Joyce said long road trips can build chemistry and bring teams together - but only if they're winning games.
"If you're losing games it just builds pressure," he said.
"You've got to make sure you win, that's the reality."
The Hontnto Homes Miners and Selkirk Rush will open the season against Ringwood on April 19.
