NBL1 Wrap (June 3, 2024)

The West Adelaide Bearcats may have been missing the services of star wing Anthony Drmic this weekend, but bigs AK Gak and Fabijan Krslovic stepped up to push their side to a dominant win over Woodville in NBL1 Central.

Cairns’ Gak top scored for the game with an immense 37 points, and came within touching distance of a double double by adding nine boards, three assists and a pair of blocks.

Krslovic almost ended the game with a triple double thanks to his 26 points, 12 boards and nine assists, while former Cairns Taipan Mirko Djeric ended the game with 10 points, 10 boards and 12 assists.

The win has pushed the Bearcats up into fourth position on the ladder and within striking distance of leaders Forestville, Sturt and South Adelaide.

Forestville had the opportunity to extend its lead at the top of the ladder, but a high-scoring defeat to Sturt saw the Eagles dragged back into the race for top spot.

Jacob Rigoni starred in the victory for the Sabres with 32 points. The sharpshooter scored a game-high 32 points on a remarkable 13-18 shooting, including connecting with nine of his 11 looks from inside the arc.

Recent Adelaide signing Ben Griscti battled with childhood hero Daniel Johnson in the post and acquitted himself well against the veteran. The former UC Riverside Highlander added 14 points and six rebounds in his return game for his childhood club.

Jackson Makoi’s Northside Wizards played out a double-overtime classic against the Townsville Heat in NBL1 North, with the Wizards earning a seven-point win to break their recent losing run.

Makoi was shifted to the bench to start the clash but was crucial in the victory during his 34 minutes on the court. He added 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Former Brisbane Bullet Lual Diing continued his strong form with a team-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Sam McDaniel stuffed the stat-sheet in the Brisbane Capitals’ victory over the Cairns Marlins.

The NBL24 Best Defensive Player nominee stuffed the stat-sheet with a game-high 34 points alongside five rebounds, five assists and five steals. Bullets NBL24 development player Gabe Hadley scored 27 points in the win, while Kody Stattmann added 23 points in defeat for the Marlins.

Shaun Bruce pulled together an exceptional game in Logan’s victory over Ipswich, and turned provider for his teammates with an incredible 17 assists as five Thunder players – including Bruce – finished the game in double-digit scoring.

Bruce scored 13 points while former Melbourne United guard Zac Triplett top-scored with 18 points.

Sunday Dech pulled his East Perth Eagles to victory in NBL1 West with a triple-double against the Perth Redbacks.

The Eagles emerged as 12-point victors behind Dech’s 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Wildcat David Okwera finished with 10 points and nine boards alongside Dech, and against his former side.

Despite another 21 points for Dech in the Eagles’ next clash with Goldfields, East Perth fell to a 21-point defeat to Goldfields.

Michael Harris continued to push his case to be named the NBL1 West MVP with another strong showing for Warwick, despite the Senators suffering a five-point defeat to the Eastern Suns.

Harris once again top-scored for his side with 35 points in the defeat. Only Mandurah’s Joel Murray is averaging more than his 26.7 points per game at this stage of the season.

With NBL1 South’s Heritage Round taking place over two weeks, a handful of teams took a well-earned rest over this past weekend, but reigning national champions Knox kept the good times rolling with a hard-fought victory over Kilsyth.

Phoenix NBL24 development player Austin Rapp starred for the Raiders with a game-high 24 points, while Kyle Bowen registered an 11-point, 13-rebound triple double against the Cobras side that featured Kyle Adnam off the bench.

DJ Vasiljevic added 27 points in a 13-point win over Nunawading. The sharpshooter struggled with his three-point shot in the victory and only connected on three of 12 attempts, however he was a force inside the arc and shot 9-11 from the interior. 

Rising star Malik Meunier added 24 points, six rebounds and six steals for the Falcons. 

William Hickey continued his dominant form in NBL1 East, and came within a hair of registering yet another triple double for the Albury-Wodonga Bandits. 

He added 26 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in a win over Central Coast, however he was restricted to just 16 points in the Bandits’ 33-point follow-up loss to Manly Warringah.

Jason Cadee (Gold Coast) – 12PTS, 3REB, 10AST vs Ipswich
Akech Aliir (Mt Gambier) – 12PTS, REB, 2AST vs Geelong
Nick Marshall (Mt Gambier) – 30PTS, 8REB, 3STL vs Geelong
DJ Vasiljevic (Waverley) – 27PTS, 5REB, 3AST vs Nunawading
Fraser Roxburgh (Waverley) – 2PTS vs Nunawading
Sunday Dech (East Perth) – 20PTS, 11REB, 10AST vs Perth | 21PTS, 4AST, 3STL vs Goldfields
Jacob Rigoni (Sturt) – 32PTS, 3REB, 3AST vs Forestville
Ben Gristci (Sturt) – 14PTS, 6REB, 2AST vs Forestville
Harvey White (Southern) – 19PTS, 8REB, 3AST vs South Adelaide 
Alex Starling (South Adelaide) – 19PTS, 10REB, 2AST vs Southern

Gabe Hadley (Brisbane) – 27PTS, 5AST, 4STL vs Cairns
Matthew Johns (Brisbane) – 13PTS, 11REB, 1AST vs Cairns
Sam McDaniel (Brisbane) – 34PTS, 5REB, 5STL vs Cairns
DJ Mitchell (Ipswich) – 8PTS, 3REB, 1AST vs Logan | 6PTS, 2REB vs Gold Coast
Isaac White (Mackay) – 25PTS, 4REB, 2STL vs Darwin
Mitch Norton (Southern Districts) – 27PTS, 4REB, 4AST vs Cairns
Tyrell Harrison (Southern Districts) – 22PTS, 15REB, 3BLK vs Cairns
Kye Savage (BA CoE) – 15PTS, 5REB, 2AST vs Penrith

Alex Mudronja (Cairns) – 17PTS, 3REB, 3AST vs Brisbane | 22PTS, 3REB, 5STL vs Southern Districts
Kian Dennis (Cairns) – 22PTS, 9REB, 3AST vs Brisbane
Jackson Makoi (Northside) – 15PTS, 7REBm 7AST vs Townsville
AK Gak (West Adelaide) – 37PTS, 9REB, 3AST vs Woodville

Todd Blanchfield (Mackay) – 13PTS, 9REB, 3AST vs Darwin
Luca Yates (Mackay) – 9PTS, 7REB vs Darwin
Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (Darwin) – 23PTS, 1REB, 1AST vs Mackay | 7PTS, 2REB, 4AST vs Rockhampton
William Hickey (Albury-Wodonga) – 26PTS, 8REB, 9AST vs Central Coast | 16PTS, 6REB, 7AST vs Manly Warringah
Kyle Adnam (Illawarra) – 9PTS, 4AST, 2STL vs Knox

Kyle Bowen (Knox) – 11PTS, 13REB, 3AST vs Kilsyth

David Okwera (East Perth) – 10PTS, 9REB, 4AST vs Perth
Michael Harris (Warwick) – 35PTS, 3REB, 2AST vs Eastern

Kody Stattmann (Cairns) – 23PTS, 9REB, 3AST vs Brisbane | 15PTS, 1REB, 3AST
Nathan Sobey (Ipswich) – 10PTS, 4REB, 5AST vs Logan | 22PTS, 5REB, 6AST vs Gold Coast
Matt Kenyon (North Gold Coast) – 20PTS, 8REB, 5STL vs SW Metro
Luke Fennell (BA CoE) – 7PTS 2REB, 4AST vs Penrith
Luke Rosendale (Ballarat) – 9PTS, 3REB, 4STL vs Bendigo
Angus Glover (Eltham) – 17PTS, 7REB, 5AST vs Diamond Valley | 22PTS, 6REB, 3AST vs Geelong
Owen Foxwell (Eltham) – 9PTS, 5REB, 3AST vs Diamond Valley | 20PTS, 4AST, 5STL vs Geelong
Austin Rapp (Knox) – 24PTS, 9REB, 1STL vs Kilsyth

Shaun Bruce (Logan) – 13PTS, 17AST, 3REB vs Ipswich
Makuach Maluach (Darwin) – 14PTS, 9REB, 3AST vs Mackay | 23PTS, 7REB, 2AST vs Rockhampton
Kouat Noi (Darwin) – 15PTS, 4REB, 3STL vs Mackay | 28PTS, 6REB, 2AST vs Rockhampton

Sean Macdonald (Darwin) – 16PTS, 3REB, 5AST vs Mackay | 14PTS, 4REB, 4AST vs Rockhampton
Will Magnay (Gold Coast) – 19PTS, 14REB, 1BLK vs Ipswich
Jacob Richards (Hobart) – 5PTS, 3REB, 6AST vs NW Tasmania
Gorjok Gak (Rockingham) – 14PTS, 7REB, 1BLK vs Goldfields
Fabijan Krslovic (West Adelaide) – 26PTS, 12REB, 9AST vs Woodville