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Melbourne Tigers import Julius Hodge - Source: Getty -
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As the closest competition ever in the ANBL draws towards a thrilling climax, some big crowds have been flocking to games in recent weeks, with a season high of almost 7,000 people at a recent Adelaide 36ers home game and the Gold Coast Blaze drawing their second-biggest crowd ever on Friday night.
21,620 fans attended the six games in the penultimate Round 19 of competition last week, with several teams recording season highs in attendance.
The ANBL is also currently enjoying a 7 percent increase in average attendance at games over last season.
The second largest ANBL crowd ever recorded at the Gold Coast Convention Centre was on hand Friday night as 4,588 people saw the Gold Coast Blaze score an 86-73 victory over the Perth Wildcats in a top-of-the-table clash.
The attendance was only marginally short of the largest crowd ever at a Blaze game (4,612 on 8 February 2008).
The Blaze have been strong performers all season in the attendance stakes, enjoying a whopping 30 percent increase in their average attendance this season. In 2008/09 the Blaze averaged 2,572 people per game, but this season have grown that figure to 3,261.
The 2009/10 ANBL season enters its final round of home-and-away play this week and five of the eight teams are still in the title race.
Only Perth have secured a guaranteed trip to the 2010 Finals, with Townsville, Gold Coast, Wollongong and the New Zealand Breakers all battling it out for the remaining three berths.
The 2009/10 season is officially on track to be the closest ever in the ANBL's 31-year history, with the differential between first and last in the current season being the closest ever on record.
