Castec Rural Pioneers | Round 1 Recap

The Castec Rural Pioneers tipped off their 2024 NBL1 South campaign at the weekend with a double header on the road against two of last year finalist teams the Sandringham Sabers and Waverley Falcons.

Whilst a number of Sandringham’s NBL talent were to miss the first weeks of the season. Early predictions around the league have predicted the Sabres to be competing at the very end for a championship. The Waverley Falcons had also had a strong off season of recruiting secured a number of returning stars along with added Adelaide 36ers sharpshooter Dejan Vasiljevic.

The first round of the 2024 season was a good test for the Castec Rural Pioneers as the quality of competition will again be fierce across the competition.

Saturday 6th of April V Sandringham Sabres

Sandringham opened their season on Wednesday night in what was a rematch of last years grand final against the Knox Raiders.

The opening quarter was hotly contested by both teams with the Pioneers having a three-point advantage at the end of the 1^st quarter. Akech Aliir started the game of hot from beyond the arc making three consecutive three pointers in his first game in Pioneer colours.

In the second quarter the game begun to open up for the Pioneers with Mount Gambier outscoring Sandringham 11 to 25.

The Pioneers went on to win he game by 18 points with Akech Aliir leading all scorers in the game with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and three blocks.

Offensively the Pioneers had a good spread of scorers with Adelaide 36ers guard Nick Marshall contributing 20 points and American forward Christina Peevey in his first game with the Pioneers contributing 19 points.

Final Score: Sandringham Sabres 79 v Mount Gambier Pioneers 97.

Game Boxscore & Video is available via the NBL1South website by clicking here.

Sunday 7th of April V Waverley Falcons

Backing up from Saturday night the Pioneers took on the Waverley Falcons.

At the end of the first half both teams were tied at 34 points each and struggling to put points on the board.

The defensive slog carried over to the second half as the Pioneers worked hard to contain Waverley.

Waverley had an opportunity with 30 seconds on the clock following two missed free throws from Nick Marshall gave Waverley possession and an opportunity to tie or win the game. A missed contested lay-up by Dejan Vasiljevic secured passion and the win for the Pioneers.

Nick Marshall led the Pioneers with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Austin Shelley and Titus Robinson contributed 13 and 12 points respectively.

Dejan Vasiljevic finished the game with 20 points and Malik Meunier 18 points for the Falcons.

Final Score: Waverley Falcons 63 v Mount Gambier Pioneers 67.

Game Boxscore & Video is available via the NBL1South website by clicking here.