Central Recap | Anzac Round Friday

Feature images supplied via NBL1.com.au / @snapshotphotography3 / Snap Shot Photography   

Round 5 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central started with the biggest day on the South Australian calendar in ANZAC Day - reflecting on the qualities of endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour and mateship. The basketball today was certainly one to remember that embodied many of these qualities in the various aspects of exciting play…  

Here are the results of today’s ANZAC day games:

Nicola of time again as Sabres end Rockets unbeaten run         

The Sturt Sabres rode their warrior of blue as she helped end the North Adelaide Rockets unbeaten run in 2025 with a edgy 57-54 low scoring grind at Pro-Bitumen Arena. The Rockets had Brooke Basham out and Sabres import Sydney Mech debuted and started in her opening tip against Tayla Corrigan (Eight points and six rebounds). 

A 13-5 start to the Sabres was quickly erased by the step up from the pine of guard Sarah Warner (Career high of 12 points and four rebounds) as she impacted 13-18 - both teams keeping things tight in a low scoring half of 31-28 

Nicola Mathews then took over the third term for her side as she scored 10 of the team’s 14 points. Jordyn Freer (23 points and 15 rebounds) did the same for the Rockets with nine points of a low total of ten for the term. The last four minutes belonged to Mathews as she finished a tough layup, nailed an outside shot and made a two point shot to help the Sabres win a tight one.

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Nicola Mathews was the ANZAC Round Medallist but also the standout player statistically with 27 points, five rebounds, four assists and steals and was well backed up by Stamatelopoulos with 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals.   

  

STURT SABRES 57 (N Mathews 27, Stamatelopoulos 12, Portus 6)

NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 54 (J Freer 23, Warner 12, Corrigan, McKendrick 8)

 

Warriors channel ANZAC Spirit to break nine year drought         

The Kayo Freebies Game of the Week saw the Woodville Warriors channel their inner spirit to snuff out the Norwood Flames in the final term 60-76 at the ARC in Campbelltown - breaking a nine year losing drought to the Flames in the process.  

The final quarter of 13-27 was enough to guide the Warriors home thanks mainly to Jasmin Fejo who filled all columns of the stats sheet with 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and steals. She had plenty of help with import Ida Andersson finding her range for a season high 13 points with three triples, Genna Anderson-Abbey collected a useful 12 points, nine rebounds and two assists. 

Naomi Allotey (11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and steals) paired nicely with new recruit Laura Erikstrup as well as centre Eliza Joynes to make the front court of the Flames incredibly tough minus Footlocker Player of the Week Emily Saunders for the match. Amanda Paschal led the way again for the Flames with 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists.         

Jordan Hunter (10 points, six rebounds, four assists and steals) was named the ANZAC Round Medallist.  

  

The Warriors have won two in a row for the first time in several years - can they continue their record erasing and end the Sabres dominance of them in the past decade? Find out this Sunday at 12:00pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.

NORWOOD FLAMES 60 (Paschal 15, Shillabeer 10, Kerridge 7)

WOODVILLE WARRIORS 76 (Fejo 19, Andersson 13, Anderson-Abbey 12)

 

Gardiner digs Panthers out of Mavs grasp         

The South Adelaide Panthers had control for the majority of the afternoon however the Eastern Mavericks made some in-roads but couldn’t overcome the Panthers as they won at home 61-53 at the Jungle of Mitchell Park. 

The Panthers minus Darcy Rees garnered an early lead of 14-8 in the first quarter then found a buffer through the green teenager who burst open the Mavericks leading her side to a quickfire 13-6 run to make it a handy 27-14 lead. The Mavs needed an answer and the fightback of 5-9 was led by Morgan Yaeger (with a few fortuitous bounces) and bench player Bella Schaftenaar (five points and eight rebounds) saw it return to a competitive total 32-23 and still game in the balance at halftime.   

Eastern charged back into it after halftime led by Yaeger who exploded for 14 points for the term as she scored 19 of their points but a quick fire seven points from Bianca Stasinowsky (Eight points and seven rebounds), Bella Stratford (12 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two assists) and Keira Gardiner had them just in front 47-42 after three stanzas.   

The Mavs stayed in touch until a quick 8-0 run to the homeside brought it to 10 points the margin and the Panthers who were stronger inside the paint did enough to push across the line. 

The ANZAC Round Medallist was Kiera Gardiner who produced a career best 14 points and rebounds in a breakout game for the teenager was well supported by her sister Hannah Gardiner with nine points and four rebounds. Yaeger finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and two steals but struggled to have any other double figure contributors.    

  

The Panthers took the points at the Jungle - can they continue their run with a run-over the Rockets? Find out this Sunday afternoon at 1:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.

SOUTH ADELAIDE PANTHERS 61 (K Gardiner 14, Cox, Stratford 12)

EASTERN MAVERICKS 53 (Yaeger 24, Constantopoulos 8)

 

Rematch sees Forestville fly away from Lions         

The Forestville Eagles and Central Districts Lions clashed for the first time since their 2024 Grand Final meeting at the Adelaide 36ers Arena at the State Basketball Centre but with two different sides the result was conversely different. The Eagles defeated the Lions for the first time in four matches with a thumping 86-45 performance at the Nest. 

After the Lions 2-13 start - the game was tight to quarter time but two Eagles former and current WNBL players took over as ANZAC Round Medallist Sam Simons (29 points, six assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks) and Maddy Freer (21 points, seven rebounds, two assists and steals) setup the Eagles to a further three terms of 63-27. 

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Jess Simons (11 points, nine rebounds, five assists with three blocks) along with Ella Sawyer (Seven points, nine assists, six rebounds and three steals) continued to pile on the pain as they kept the Lions to less than double figures in two quarters.   

The Lions' Tiahna Sears was the shining light again with 21 points, nine rebounds and five steals with Sydney Wright well contained constricted to 10 points and six rebounds. 

  

FORESTVILLE EAGLES 86 (S Simons 29, M Freer 21, J Simons 11)

CENTRAL DISTRICTS LIONS 45 (Sears 21, Wright 10, Hunt 8)

 

Tigers take it in thriller again over Bearcats          

For the second time in three matches the Southern Tigers held on in a thriller this time leading a majority of the match from start to finish against early championship favourites the West Adelaide Bearcats - stunning them at home to make it four of the last five with a 64-66 win at the Bearcat Cave in Port Adelaide.   

The Tigers asserted the early impetus with a 16-23 opening term led by star guard McKenzie Johnston (12 points for the term to finish with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists) keeping a high percentage from the field. The Bearcats got back as they always have this season through star centre Olivia Levicki as she clocked up 20 first half points along with five rebounds - but was in a fierce contest with former Forestville Eagle teammate Tara Dodman (Nine points on three of five perimeter shooting) in a 35-39 lead to the away side. 

The Bearcats threw a press at the Tigers and it showed up some turnovers but for each turnover created the Tigers continued to play the same way daring and dashing their way to a slender 52-53 lead after three terms. 

After two solid outings - Tiger import Iva Belosevic worked exceptionally hard to gain position inside the paint to finish with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists but was also met with the strong jumper made of Ashlee Strawbridge who showed up with her usual fourth quarter scoring antics.

It came down to another Tiger with the ball in hand to win the game and this time it was Annie Bartsch (14 points, five rebounds, three assists and steals) that delivered…

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Olivia Levicki was named the ANZAC Round Medallist in finishing with 29 points and 14 rebounds in 40 minutes of action battling hard against Dodman and Belosevic - but the Tigers continue to prove they are not to be underestimated despite the outs of previous seasons… 

  

The eye of the Tiger is now on the Eagles - can they tear their way to a third win in the season against a top three favourite??? Find out this Sunday at 1:30pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.

WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 64 (Levicki 20, Strawbridge 12, Lehmann 9)

SOUTHERN TIGERS 66 (Belosevic 20, Johnston 15, Bartsch 14)

Sabres Big Ben breaks run to give Williams first win          

The Sturt Sabres have broken the run of losses at the expense of the North Adelaide Rockets giving head coach Jason Williams his first win with a second half rise 90-77 at Pro-Bitumen Arena. 

In his best game of the season Adelaide 36ers backup centre Ben Griscti had an afternoon out to produce 29 points and 16 rebounds and a fellow teammate posted consecutive double figures in Patrick D’Arcy with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. The Rockets were kept in it by Bijan Johnson (26 points, seven assists and six rebounds) with help from returning Machar Machar with 10 points and eight rebounds. 

The Sabres however got a bunch of contributors after halftime with Griscti and D’Arcy joined by import Sharif Black (13 points and five assists) and ANZAC Round Medallist Sam Daly adding 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Only Koop McCalop coming off the pine could help keep the Rockets responding with 15 points, six rebounds and two assists but 47-33 in the second half wasn’t enough to stop the home side grabbing their first win of the season.       

  

STURT SABRES 90 (Griscti 29, Black, P D’Arcy 13, S Daly 12)

NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 77 (BJ Johnson 26, McCalop 15, Machar 10)

 

Two towers tumble Flames out of fierce contest         

The Kayo Freebies Game of the Week had two towers of Joe Jackson and Tim Troussel of the Woodville Warriors help tumble the Norwood Flames late with a solidifying 87-93 win at the ARC at Campbelltown. 

The Warriors jumped out to the early lead with Troussel (26 points, eight rebounds and three steals) and Nick Wurm (13 points, three rebounds and two assists) guiding them to a handy half time lead. The Warriors of course were doing it by committee even in their transition play…

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Keeping the Flames in touch was Trey McBride with 18 points and 11 assists and the hot hand of former Warrior Cooper Osborne as he amassed a second half of 23 points to finish with a career high 34 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.     

The steady hand of Joe Jackson the ANZAC Round Medallist however guided them home with 20 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals.  

  

Warriors are winning their way towards the top five - can they keep the momentum rolling against the Sturt Sabres??? Find out this Sunday at 1:45pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.

NORWOOD FLAMES 87 (Osborne 34, McBride 18, Harrap 16)

WOODVILLE WARRIORS 93 (Troussel 26, Jackson 20, Wurm 13)

 

Eastern elevate beyond eleven year record to run up Panthers        

A huge statement came from the Eastern Mavericks as they ran over another long standing record drought of theirs defeating the South Adelaide Panthers for the first time since July 19 2014 with a convincing 69-77 at the Jungle of Mitchell Park.

Scores were very tight through the first half with contributions coming from all comers including a career high 17 points, nine rebounds and four steals from Daniel Smith with his first start in Panthers colours. Dom Jackson for the Mavs dealt out the damage with 24 points and 11 rebounds as did BJ Symons with 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Panthers skipper Tom Kubank (13 points, five rebounds and three assists) hit the halftime buzzer beater to give the Panthers momentum at the half despite trailing. 

The Panthers grabbed the ascendancy during the third quarter through import Christian Brandon (14 points and rebounds plus four assists) and Lloyd McVeigh with 15 points and eight rebounds. It took Broderick Robinson the eventual ANZAC Round Medallist to lead the Mavs to the record run-over in the final term 11-22 to finish with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists.  

  

The Mavericks just broke a huge run from the Panthers over them - can they back up when they did it against the Norwood Flames in 2024??? Find out this Sunday at 3:15pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.

SOUTH ADELAIDE PANTHERS 69 (D Smith 17, L McVeigh 15, Brandon 14)

EASTERN MAVERICKS 77 (Jackson 24, Robinson 17, Symons 10)

 

Delightful Dejan crushes Centrals contenders          

A strong offensive output from Adelaide 36ers Captain Dejan Vasiljevic crushed another of the NBL1 Central Contenders in the Central Districts Lions in convincing fashion 103-78 at the Nest at the State Basketball Centre.

Vasiljevic was lit up all afternoon to post a season high 38 points, nine rebounds with four assists. It was his highest score in the NBL1 just pipping his 37 points and 14 rebounds for Diamond Valley Eagles back in 2022 including a game winner against the Keilor Thunder. Another DJ in Daniel Johnson continued to show age is no factor with another 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Alex Starling provided the goods with 16 points and 11 rebounds along with five assists. He even just reminded some of the new younger players coming through to be very aware of his multi-award winning DPOY trail…

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The Lions tried to stay in it to three quarter time through Efe Abogidi with 21 points and six assists and Jack Stanwix collected 16 points, four assists and threw down this left hander…. 

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Vasiljevic the ANZAC Round Medallist helped guide another set of Eagles to a 31-14 final term and see off another challenger to the title for 2025…

  

FORESTVILLE EAGLES 103 (Vasiljevic 38, Johnson 18, Starling 16)

CENTRAL DISTRICTS LIONS 78 (Abogidi 21, Stanwix, Ka Sapwell 16, D Manyang 11)

 

Doles up as Tigers take out Bearcats         

The Southern Tigers sounded a warning throughout the NBL1 Central plains with an all-round display at the Bearcat Cave over the West Adelaide Bearcats 77-89.

In a trend of the day in the ANZAC spirit the first half was tight as scores were level at 38-38. The Tigers however started to find their noses in front frequently through centre Jarvis Doles (23 points, nine rebounds and three assists) fed continuously by Jarvis Summers (17 points, five assists and rebounds). 

The Bearcats Keanu Rasmussen was rallying at each challenge though - cutting his way to 26 points, six rebounds four assists and two steals laden with three upstairs style dunks and an enormous denial of Tiger …

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The duel of the night was between Lat Mayen and Harry Morris as the two matched up at both ends of the floor. Morris claimed 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals and was matched much of the night by Mayen with 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two huge blocks. At the crossroads of the final term Mayen picked up a second technical foul in the match which saw him have an early seat and Morris freed up, benefiting taking the Tigers to their first win in five matches against the Bearcats and claiming the ANZAC Round Medal. 

  

One test down now the Tigers face the ultimate test the defending Champions Forestville - what will they show at the Cage??? Find out this Sunday at 3:15pm local time via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App.

WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 77 (Rasmussen 26, Tryon 18, Mayen 17)

SOUTHERN TIGERS 89 (Doles 23, Morris 18, Summers 17)

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