Recap NBL1 CENTRAL | Round 5 Saturday

Round 5 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central was unpredictable and unwavering with two overtime games including another double overtime classic between two rivals, a bounce back from a multi year finalist and a 20 year drought ending in thrilling circumstances. 

Here are the results from Saturday's games:

Rockets make statement despite Eagles flying in late

The Forestville Eagles flew in late in the piece but couldn’t catch the North Adelaide Rockets after their fast start 70-61 in the Kayo Freebies Game of the Week. The Rockets took off through star Brooke Basham (23 points and six rebounds) to a 26-14 lead at the quarter time break with a 15-0 run.    

The Eagles flew back into the game thanks to returning Katia Stamatelopoulos with 15 points while the contest between the two sisters Maddy Freer (11 points and seven rebounds) and Jordyn Freer (15 points, nine rebounds and three steals) was worth the watch. 

The Rockets however held them off to claim a 5-0 start to the season.  

NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 70 (Basham 23, Freer 15, Anderson 13)

FORESTVILLE EAGLES 61 (Stamatelopoulos 15, Freer 11, King, Simons 10)

 

Sabres show their tenaciousness to end Lions winning run  

The Sabres under pressure coming into this one against the red hot Lions showed why they have been at the top for several years with an order restoring 74-92 win at the Den. DPOY from 2023 in Tayla Brazel led from the front with 15 points, five assists, rebounds and three steals. Meg Prosser produced a solid set of numbers with 14 points and three rebounds with many more vital contributions evening out for the Sabres.  

 

The Lions Casey Samuels (23 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists) and Jasmin Fejo (15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and blocks) kept them in touch all the way to the third but Prosser and import Sydney Brown (13 points and three rebounds) help close out the contest.  

CENTRAL DISTRICT LIONS 74 (Samuels 23, Fejo 15, Dittmar 12)

STURT SABRES 92 (Brazel 15, Prosser 14, Brown 13)

 

Schenck sees Tigers back to winners list over West 

Regan Schenck showed again the challenge of guarding their ability on all cylinders seeing the Southern Tigers back to the winners list 73-81 at the Bearcat Cave. Schenck was sensational through four quarters to finish with 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists ably supported by Abby Beeche who hit 16 points at a high clip of 85 percent from the field.   

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The Bearcats launched a comeback through Ashlee Strawbridge (23 points and eight rebounds) along with Daneesha Provo with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists with a 10-21 second quarter and had it as close as a single basket in the fourth - but ten points to Schenck parried off the comeback and gave the Tigers a much needed win. 

WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 73 (Strawbridge 23, Provo 17, Coleman 12)

SOUTHERN TIGERS 81 (Schenck 28, Beeche 17, Harrison 11) 

 

Jackjumper champion saves Bearcats in overtime 

A Scott Roth infused Anthony Drmic returned to NBL1 Central with a bang to the champions of last year and ran up the scoreboard in the West Adelaide Bearcats 112-107 over the Southern Tigers at the Bearcat Cave.

Drmic’s 47 points with six triples was the second highest men’s score in the NBL1 Central since 2021 only two points shy of Jawan Stepney’s 49 points for the Warriors in 2023. He amassed 18 rebounds and six assists with former NBL player Mirko Djeric joining him in the scoring stakes with 34 points with seven triples, five assists and four steals.       

CHAMPIONSHIP DNA ?

In his first game back from the @JackJumpers’ historic championship, Drmic dropped 4?7? points in an overtime win ?

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.@NBL Champion Anthony Drmic is back! ?

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The Tigers however came to play thanks to import Michael Diggins who kept them consistently in touch despite the Tasmanian Jackjumper’s hot hand - he finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in one of his best performances for the season while Edvard Kristensen produced one of his best games with 14 points and seven assists.    

Diggins had a chance to win it in regulation with one second remaining but was blocked by Akoldah Gak to send it to overtime - Drmic with 10 points of the Bearcats 16-11 in the extra period sealed the match

WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 112 (Drmic 47, Djeric 34, Heading, Stock 8)

SOUTHERN TIGERS 107 (Diggins 26, Abergut 17, Miller 16)

 

Panthers and Warriors produce another classic in double overtime 

If you thought the recent rivalry between the South Adelaide Panthers and the Woodville Warriors couldn’t get better - it added another chapter with the double overtime classic taken out by the Panthers 104-100 at the Jungle. In one of the games of the season so far both teams answered bucket for bucket throughout the evening but it came down to the final minute of regulation

Nick Wurm (33 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and four steals) made the contested triple against Sam Johns with 1.2 seconds to go with the Warriors able to force Adelaide 36er Alex Starling’s shot wide to take it to overtime 78-78. 

Wurm continued to hit big shots answered by import Jalen Jaspers (18 points and six rebounds) for the Panthers but it again came down to the final minute with Starling (18 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and three blocks) fouling out and Wurm to the free throw line. He made both and out of a timeout the Panthers inexplicably turned the ball over to give Riley Meldrum a look which he hit to bring it back to 90-89. Johns answered with free throws but it wasn’t done yet…

After Sharif Black’s huge off-balance triple to tie it at 92-92 we were heading for a second overtime…   

The second overtime saw key moments with Jaspers missing an open layup, Black (16 points and 10 rebounds) blocked his second chance rebound but the Warriors were forced to foul Johns and Jaspers who each made both and this time the Warriors couldn’t find another tying basket and the Panthers escaped 104-100 in the finish.

SOUTH ADELAIDE PANTHERS 104 (Starling, Jaspers 18, Kubank 15)

WOODVILLE WARRIORS (Wurm 33, McGee 25, Black 16)

 

20 year streak over as Moses parts Flames to guide Mavs to thriller 

It’s been a long time since the Eastern Mavericks Men defeated the Norwood Flames and this afternoon it happened - after 20 years the Mavs defeated the Flames 79-82 in an absolute thriller at the Furnace. Former Flame Moses Nuangki torched his former side parting defence and shooting the lights out with a pulsating 28 points with five steals and a couple of huge slams to guide the Mavs to as many as 19 points in front.   

Moses Nuangki out ran the entire defence ?

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Jack Stanwix tried to ignite the Flames with this…

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But it was the Flames Isaac Miller-Jose who lifted a gear further with 12 points, nine rebounds, six steals and two assists to launch a final quarter of 23-8 but a couple of sealing free throws for Freddy Webb down the stretch broke the stranglehold since 2004. 

Jordan Rawls played his best game for the Mavs with 20 points and five rebounds and was efficient all afternoon while Owen Raneburg when needed answered with 13 points and eight rebounds.   

NORWOOD FLAMES 79 (Harrap 14, Morrow 13, Hemphill, Miller-Jose 12)

EASTERN MAVERICKS 82 (Nuangki 28, Rawls 20, Raneburg 13)

 

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