Hadley, Ayre honoured at NBL1 South awards

Saturday, August 12, 2023

Brisbane's Gabe Hadley and South East Melbourne's Ben Ayre have been named to the NBL1 South All-Star Five.

Photo: Ian Knight Photography

South East Melbourne’s Ben Ayre and Brisbane’s Gabe Hadley have been recognised for their strong performances in NBL1 South this season, named in the competition’s All-Star Five ahead of Saturday’s Grand Final.

Ayre joined the Grand Final-bound Sandringham Sabres following a breakout NBL23 campaign for the Cairns Taipans, and averaged 24.3 points per game over 18 appearances.

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New Brisbane signing Hadley finished as the second-leading scorer in the competition, behind Ballarat import and fellow All-Star Five nominee Tyler Rudolph, with 24.7 points per game across 21 appearances for Geelong United.

Former NBL players Jack Purchase and Daniel Trist were named as co-MVP winners and rounded out the All-Star Five.

South East Melbourne development player Luke Rosendale was named the competition’s Youth Player of the Year over Melbourne DP and fellow nominee Campbell Blogg, while Brisbane’s Sam McDaniel was named as Defensive Player of the Year over Breakers centre Dane Pineau and South Sudanese international Deng Acuoth.

Ayre and the Sabres take on the Knox Raiders in the do-or-die Grand Final on Saturday night at 8pm AEST, live and free via Kayo Freebies.