NBL1 Wrap (May 20, 2024)

Cover image: Gordon Greaves

Alex Mudronja is currently an uncontracted free agent following his debut season at the Cairns Taipans, but the former Illawarra and Adelaide development player starred for an undermanned Marlins side in their three-point win over Townsville.

Star forward Kody Stattmann and Taipan Kian Dennis were both missing from the Marlins’ triumph, but Mudronja stepped up with a game-high 29 points in the victory – including a long-range winner in the final seconds.

He also added five rebounds and four assists and hit 11 of his 16 field goal attempts on the night.

His former Hawks teammate, Harry Morris, top-scored for the Heat with 19 points.

Veteran guards Shaun Bruce and Jason Cadee clashed when Logan hosted Gold Coast, and while it was the Thunder who emerged victorious, the NBL pair each registered 40-minute iron man performances.

Neither player went to the bench for the entirety of the 93-79 result. Bruce led his side with 22 points and 10 assists, and although Cadee matched his counterpart with double-digit assists, he failed to find his shot and finished with just eight points on 3-15 shooting.

Tasmania’s Will Magnay chipped in with 10 points and seven boards for the defeated Rollers.

West Adelaide’s NBL trio of Anthony Drmic, AK Gak and Fabijan Krslovic continued their dominance of the Central conference, and starred in the Bearcats’ 23-point dismantling of Sturt.

All three surpassed the 20-point mark, with Drmic falling just short of his hunt of a triple-double. The JackJumpers champion ended the clash with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Gak ended the game with 23 points and nine boards, while Krslovic was the only one of the trio to finish the game with a double-double.

Adelaide’s Jacob Rigoni had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Sturt in the defeat.

Mt Gambier continued their exceptional form in NBL1 South, and 36ers pair Nick Marshall and Akech Alliir led the Pioneers to a pair of strong wins to improve their record to 9-2 on the season.

First, Marshall added 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 21-point win over Knox, despite a stat-sheet stuffing 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three blocks from Raider Kyle Bowen.

Then, Aliir got to work on the interior against Casey and former Tasmania development player Josh Tomasi, and recorded a 20-point, 11 rebound double double to lead the Pioneers to a 12-point win.

New Zealand’s Dane Pineau made his return to the Sandringham Sabres for his first game this season, and played a key role in his side’s comeback victory over Eltham.

The Sabres outscored the Wildcats by eight points in the final quarter of their five-point win, in which Pineau registered eight points, 12 boards and three blocks.

Tanner Krebs continued his scoring form with a team-high 23 points, while Tom Koppens also added 18 points for the victorious Sabres.

Owen Foxwell starred for the defeated Wildcats and flirted with a triple-double to end the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

A pair of defeats for William Hickey and the Albury-Wodonga Bandits has seen them slip out of the top four of NBL1 East, but the Hawks favourite has continued to establish his early case as the competition’s MVP with another pair of immense performances.

Hickey registered yet another triple double in his side’s 18-point defeat to Canberra. He led the game in points (27), rebounds (17) and assists (10) while also added four steals and two blocks in the defeat.

He then fell to the Luke Fennell and Kye Savage-led Centre of Excellence. South East Melbourne development player Fennell scored a game-high 21 points, while Brisbane’s Savage added 16 points.

Hickey’s FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup winning teammate James O’Donnell registered a double-double for the Centre of Excellence with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Hickey ended the game with 16 points and 10 boards.

Former Perth and South East Melbourne forward Rhys Vague continued his exceptional form for Cockburn in NBL1 West, despite the Cougars suffering a pair of heavy defeats to NBL-led opposition.

David Okwera had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the East Perth Eagles to a 14-point win over Vague’s Cougars, despite his 29-point effort.

Then, Michael Harris and the Warwick Senators silenced Vague en route to a huge 24-point win, in which Harris added 21 points behind teammate Todd Withers, who had a 35-point, 11 rebound masterclass.

Jason Cadee (Gold Coast) – 8PTS, 10AST, 4REB vs Logan
Nick Marshall (Mt Gambier) – 21PTS, 10REB, 2AST vs Knox | 18PTS, 7REB, 5AST vs Casey
Akech Aliir (Mt Gambier) – 17PTS, 8REB, 2BLK vs Knox | 20PTS, 11REB, 1BLK vs Casey
DJ Vasiljevic (Waverley) – 28PTS, 3REB, 6AST vs Kilsyth
Sunday Dech (East Perth) – 13PTS, 6AST, 2REB vs Cockburn
Alex Starling (South Adelaide) – 19PTS, 7REB, 4BLK
Jacob Rigoni (Sturt) – 14PTS, 10REB vs West Adelaide

Mitch Norton (Southern Districts) – 14PTS, 11AST, 5REB vs South West Metro
Tyrell Harrison (Southern Districts) – 21PTS, 12REB, 3BLK vs South West Metro
DJ Mitchell (Ipswich) – 29PTS, 8REB, 2ASR vs Darwin
Isaac White (Mackay) – 20PTS, 7REB, 4AST vs Northside
Gabe Hadley (Brisbane) – 21PTS, 3REB, 3AST vs Sunshine Coast
Matthew Johns (Brisbane) – 12PTS, 7REB, 5AST vs Sunshine Coast
Sam McDaniel (Brisbane) – 21PTS, 12REB, 4STL vs Brisbane
Kye Savage (BA CoE) – 17PTS, 1AST, 3STL vs Sutherland | 16PTS, 7REB, 2AST vs Albury-Wodonga

Alex Mudronja (Cairns) – 29PTS, 5REB, 4AST vs Townsville
Jackson Makoi (Northside) – 4PTS, 6REB, 5AST vs Mackay
AK Gak (West Adelaide) – 23PTS, 9REB, 2STL vs Sturt

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (Darwin) – 12PTS, 4REB, 5AST vs Ipswich
Harry Morris (Cairns) – 19PTS, REB, 2AST vs Cairns
Todd Blanchfield (Mackay) – 25PTS, 7REB, 4STL vs Northside
Luca Yates (Mackay) – 14PTS, 5REB, 2AST vs Northside
William Hickey (Albury-Wodonga) – 27PTS, 17REB, 10AST vs Canberra | 16PTS, 10REB, 6AST vs BA CoE
Mason Peatling (Dandenong) – 24PTS, 11REB, 3BLK vs Diamond Valley | 9PTS, 16REB, 3BLK vs Bendigo
Kyle Adnam (Kilsyth) – 14PTS, 4REB, 6AST vs Waverley | 15PTS, 6AST vs NW Tasmania

Tanner Krebs (Sandringham) – 23PTS, 9REB, 5AST vs Eltham
Tom Koppens (Sandringham) – 18PTS, 6REB, 5AST vs Eltham
Shea Ili (Eltham) – 8PTS, 1STL vs Eltham
Kyle Bowen (Knox) – 13PTS, 14REB, 3BLK vs Mt Gambier | 15PTS, 12REB, 9AST vs Hobart

Dane Pineau (Sandringham) – 8PTS, 12REB, 3BLK vs Eltham

David Okwera (East Perth) – 19PTS, 11REB, 6AST vs Cockburn
Michael Harris (Warwick) – 21PTS, 8REB, 6AST vs Cockburn

Nathan Sobey (Ipswich) – 25PTS, 6AST, 3REB
Matt Kenyon (North Gold Coast) – 11PTS, 7REB, 4AST vs South West Metro
Luke Fennell (BA CoE) – 5PTS, 2REB, 2AST vs Sutherland | 21PTS, 3REB, 2AST vs Albury-Wodonga
Luke Rosendale (Ballarat) – 20PTS, 5REB, 2STL vs Melbourne
Angus Glover (Eltham) – 18PTS, 9REB, 4STL vs Sandringham
Owen Foxwell (Eltham) – 23PTS, 10REB, 8AST vs Sandringham
Austin Rapp (Knox) – 9PTS, 6REB, 2BLK vs Mt Gambier | 19PTS, 4REB, 1AST vs Hobart

Shaun Bruce (Logan) – 22PTS, 10AST, 3REB vs Gold Coast
Makuach Maluach (Darwin) – 26PTS, 11REB, 4STL vs Ipswich
Kouat Noi (Darwin) – 26PTS, 5REB, 4AST vs Ipswich
Klairus Amir (Sutherland) – 3PTS, 1BLK vs BA CoE

Will Magnay (Gold Coast) – 10PTS, 7REB, 3BLK vs Logan
Sean Macdonald (Darwin) – 13PTS, 8AST, 5REB vs Ipswich
Majok Majok (Ballarat) – 9PTS, 13REB, 1AST vs Melbourne
Clint Steindl (Hobart) – 19PTS, 6REB, 1STL vs Keilor | 11PTS, 4REB, 1AST vs Knox
Jacob Richards (Hobart) – 2PTS, 8REB, 1STL vs Keilor | 16PTS, 6REB, 1AST vs Knox
Anthony Drmic (West Adelaide) – 24PTS, 8REB, 7AST vs Sturt
Fabijan Krslovic (West Adelaide) – 22PTS, 13REB, 6AST vs Sturt