‘No Way Out’ Wins Inaugural NBA 2K League Australia Invitational

Monday, November 7, 2022

The best Australian NBA 2K23 players went toe-to-toe in an exhilarating day of action at the NBA 2K League Australia Invitational on Saturday.

The weekend’s event was integral in the hunt for the first NBL Oz Gaming player, making the stakes as high as ever.

‘No Way Out’ dominated proceedings, winning the invitational with an undefeated record. Not only did they take home $5,000 prizemoney but point guard Harry Spierings aka RealHvzn impressed as a standout performer.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/RealHvzn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealHvzn</a> is clutch??<br><br>His three late in the 4th QT helped secure the game! <a href="https://t.co/J4gfpH1NC5">pic.twitter.com/J4gfpH1NC5</a></p>— NBA 2K League (@NBA2KLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA2KLeague/status/1588785378764460032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

RealHvzn led the tournament in assists with 8.86 per game to go along with 15.71 points, including a clutch step-back three-pointer in Game 1 of the Grand Final.

“Hopefully I showed a little bit today. I have the IQ required, I have the stick skill required, so hopefully that showed a bit,” RealHvzn told the NBA 2K League Instagram page about why he should be offered the inaugural contract.

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RealHvzn was joined on the winning squad by Kriistaps- (Kristian Jensen Marshall), DLaey (Dylan Lay), xBaldinho (Eugene Pillai) and xMonaa- (Solomona Faitaua-Nanai).

Former Pistons GT player xMiLo lived up to his billing as one of the nation’s best players, averaging a double-double of 18.14 points and a tournament high 10.57 rebounds per game.

DLaey was the invitational’s leading scorer at 18.71 points per game, playing a vital role in No Way Out’s undefeated campaign.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger was in attendance helping scout for NBL Oz Gaming’s inaugural roster and he revealed the first player needs to embrace an Australian mentality.

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“We are looking for someone who looks forward to the big moments, who isn’t intimidated, who doesn’t back down, who is composed,” Loeliger told the NBA 2K League Instagram page.

“Many of the same characteristics you would look for in a basketball player on an NBL team, that’s what we are looking for with NBL Oz Gaming as well.

“There’s an Australian style of basketball and we want to establish an Australian style of NBA 2K player as well.”

The inaugural NBL Oz Gaming contract is expected to be signed this week.