NBL1 Wrap (April 8, 2024)

Monday, April 8, 2024

NBL players are front and centre suiting up for a multitude of teams across all NBL1 conferences.

William Hickey started his NBL1 East season with Albury-Wodonga with a bang, and pulled together a pair of 30-point double doubles fresh off of winning FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup gold.

The Bandits opened their NBL1 East campaign against Sydney, and Hickey’s 32 points and 12 rebounds were in vain as his side fell to the Biwali Bayles-led Comets. Hickey’s Hawks teammate finished the game with 27 points and 13 boards in his side’s 16-point win.

The Bandits emerged from their Round 1 double-header with a win after that defeat to the Comets though, as Hickey’s 36 points and 14 boards saw his side defeat Hornsby by nine points.

Melbourne United’s defeated championship stars got right into the thick of the start of the NBL1 South season, as Sandringham’s Campbell Blogg, Tom Koppens and David Barlow clashed with Kyle Bowen and Malith Machar’s Knox.

Bowen, Machar, college-committed former South East Melbourne forward Austin Rapp and former Phoenix center Anzac Rissetto took bragging rights for the victory. Bowen and Machar both came off the bench and added 13 points in the 16-point win.

The Sabres then suffered their second defeat of the weekend against a 36ers-inspired Mount Gambier. NBL24 development player Akech Aliir starred with 22 points and three blocks in the Pioneers’ 18-point win, while Nick Marshall added a 20-point, 10 rebound double-double after 23 points and 12 rebounds against Waverley.

Recently released Sydney guard Angus Glover performed strongly in Eltham’s opening double-header alongside Owen Foxwell.

The Wildcats opened their season with a 36-point win over Diamond Valley, however the star NBL pair combining for 47 points against Lachlan Barker’s Frankston was not enough, as Barker and recently retired NBL veteran Brad Newley guided the Blues to a 13-point win.

Alex Starling continued his absolute dominance in the early stages of the NBL1 Central campaign. Starling’s South Adelaide side cruised to a 22-point win over North Adelaide, in which the 35-year-old finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, five steals and two blocks.

South East Melbourne’s Gorjok Gak was key in Rockingham continuing its unbeaten start to the NBL1 West season, and he starred alongside former South East Melbourne and Brisbane import Devondrick Walker in the Flames’ breathless 125-116 overtime win over Mandurah.

Both Gak and Walker scored 31 points in the victory, while Gak also added nine rebounds in a game where the Flames added just nine points from their bench.

They then backed up their efforts with a nine-point win over Goldfields, in which Gak finished with a 20-point, 11 rebound double-double.

Recently released former South East Melbourne and Perth forward Rhys Vague also continued his strong start to the NBL1 West season with Cockburn, and added 23 points and nine rebounds in the Cougars’ 12-point defeat to the South West Slammers.

NBL1 North is the only conference to have not been underway this past weekend, and Shaun Bruce’s Logan Thunder will kickstart the men’s action for the season on Thursday, April 11 at 8pm AEST.

DJ Vasiljevic (Waverley) – 22PTS, 2REB, 2AST vs Bendigo | 20PTS, 10REB, 2STL vs Mt Gambier
Fraser Roxburgh (Waverley) – 1REB vs Bendigo | 2PTS vs Mt Gambier
Nick Marshall (Mt Gambier) – 23 PTS, 12 REB, 5AST vs Waverley | 20PTS, 10REBS, STL vs Sandringham
Akech Aliir (Mt Gambier) – 4PTS, 13 REB, 4BLK vs Waverley | 22PTS, 9REB, 3BLK vs Sandringham
Sunday Dech (East Perth) – 20PTS, 7REB, 5AST vs Eastern
Alex Starling (South Adelaide) – 22PTS, 14REB, 5STL vs North Adelaide
Jacob Rigoni (Sturt) – 13PTS, 8REB, 2STL vs Norwood
Harvey White (Southern Tigers) – 7PTS, 2REB, 3AST vs Forestville

AK Gak (West Adelaide) – 21PTS, 12REB, 3AST vs Central Districts

Biwali Bayles (Sydney) – 27PTS, 13REB, 8AST vs Albury-Wodonga
William Hickey (Albury-Wodonga) – 32PTS, 12REB, 4BLK vs Sydney | 36PTS, 14REB, 5AST vs Hornsby
Kyle Adnam (Kilsyth) – 23PTS, 5EB, 3AST vs Ringwood | 12PTS, 4REB, 3AST vs Knox
Mason Peatling (Dandenong)– 19PTS, 5REB, 3BLK vs Casey

Campbell Blogg (Sandringham) – 3PTS, 4REB, 4AST vs Knox | 19PTS, 6REB, 2STL vs Mt Gambier
Tom Koppens (Sandringham) – 11PTS, 7RES vs Knox | 18PTS, 9 REB, 3AST vs Mt Gambier
Kyle Bowen (Knox) – 13PTS, 9REB vs Sandringham | 15PTS, 9REB vs Kilsyth
Malith Machar (Knox) – 13PTS, 6REB vs Sandringham | 11PTS, 4REBS vs Kilsyth

Per

Kyle Zunic (Keilor) - 27PTS, 4REB, 4AST vs Frankston
Michael Harris (Warwick) – 18PTS, 5AST, 4STL vs Perry Lakes
David Okwera (East Perth) – 19PTS, 11REB, 5AST vs Eastern | 20PTS, 13REB, 6AST vs Warwick

Luke Rosendale (Ballarat)– 28PTS, 8REB, 4AST vs Bendigo | 11PTS, 4REB, 2STL vs Geelong
Owen Foxwell (Eltham) – 15PTS, 8AST, 2STL vs Diamond Valley | 26PTS, 3REBS vs Frankston
Gorjok Gak (Rockingham) – 31PTS, 9REB, 2AST vs Madurah | 20PTS, 11REB, 2BLK vs Goldfields