Central Wrap | Men's Heritage Round

Featured image: Melissa Belanic | @justbphotoau

South Adelaide Panthers are on a 10-game NBL1 Central winning run after Lloyd McVeigh had 51 points and 24 rebounds in two big wins while Eastern Mavericks made it a double while Uzo Dibiamaka was the hero for Woodville Warriors and so was Thomas Kurowski for Norwood Flames.

>> CENTRAL SPOTLIGHT | MCVEIGH THE HERO AS PANTHERS WIN IN OT

>> CENTRAL SPOTLIGHT | LIONS BEAT WARRIORS FOR THIRD STRAIGHT

>> HERITAGE ROUND | CENTRALS FAMILY CONNECTION DRIVES SAPWELLS

SATURDAY

Forestville Eagles (95) defeated Sturt Sabres (76)

The Forestville Eagles had six players in double figures on the way to make it back-to-back losses for the Sturt Sabres with the 95-76 victory.

The Eagles were back home on top of the table on a six-game winning streak hosting the Sabres at the State Basketball Centre who were fresh off their first loss of the season against the South Adelaide Panthers.

It was a battle of the top two teams coming into the round and Sturt had the better of proceedings early for the seven-point lead but Forestville responded and by quarter-time were leading 22-19.

Both teams then combined for 61 points in the second quarter with the Sabres scoring 31 of them to cut the Forestville advantage back to 52-50 at half-time.

The Eagles then took charge in the second half with 25 points to 19 in the third frame, and 18 to seven in the fourth on the way to the 19-point victory to retain top spot with a seventh straight win to be 10-1.

Adam Doyle ended up top scoring with 19 points, five assists and three rebounds with 4/7 three-point shooting while Jordan Forbes contributed 13 points, seven boards, seven assists and three steals, and Greg Mays 13 points and five rebounds.

Alex Starling also had 12 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, Daniel Johnson 12 points and eight boards, and Fiston Ipassou 12 points and five rebounds.

The Sabres are now 9-2 having suffered their first two losses of 2026 with DJ Vasiljevic putting up 29 points with 7/13 three-point shooting.

Josh Tomasi added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, Luke Pfitzner 13 points, four boards and three assists, Jacob Rigoni nine points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Joel Spear five points, 10 assists and five boards.

Central Districts Lions (80) defeated Woodville Warriors (77)

Last year's Grand Finalists, Central Districts Lions, are now building 2026 momentum with a third straight win overcoming the Woodville Warriors 80-77 in what was a tight contest all evening.

Central Districts were back home at STARplex fresh off wins against the Norwood Flames and Southern Tigers with the Warriors coming into the contest off a loss to Norwood.

No more than nine points separated the two teams all evening and that was early in the piece from Centrals, but from then on it was never more than a five-point margin across the last three quarters.

But in the end a run of seven straight points in the fourth quarter was enough for the Lions to get on top and end up securing the thrilling three-point victory to make it three in-a-row and improve to a 5-6 record while Woodville are now 6-5.

Central Districts made it three straight and it was on the back of an even contribution across the board with Magok Manyang top scoring with 17 points and nine rebounds including five of those at the offensive end.

Jayden Seymour also had 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals with Koen Sapwell putting up 15 points, six boards, two assists and two steals.

Deng Manyang also had 10 points, nine rebounds and two steals with captain Kalani Sapwell contributing nine points, nine assists and five boards, and Clayton Jewell eight points and eight rebounds.

Woodville have now lost back-to-back games after LJ Booth Jr ended up with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three steals on 8/12 shooting from the floor.

Nick Wurm added 16 points, four assists and three rebounds, Uzo Dibiamaka 14 points, five rebounds and two assists with 4/10 shooting from behind the three-point line.

Riley Meldrum also had 10 points on 3/6 shooting from downtown with Joe Jackson adding eight points and six boards, and Bennett Sherry six points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

North Adelaide Rockets (104) defeated Norwood Flames (75)

The North Adelaide Rockets got off the bottom of the standings with a standout all-round performance to beat the Norwood Flames 104-75.

North Adelaide hosted Norwood at The Lights looking for a third win of the season while the Flames were attempting to consolidate their finals position.

Norwood then had the better of the start with 18 points to 14 in the first quarter but North Adelaide then put up 30 to 23 in the second term on the way to the 44-41 half-time advantage.

It was just a five-point lead by three quarter-time for the Rockets but the home team then totally dominated the last 10 minutes with 30 points to six on the way to the emphatic 29-point win.

North Adelaide are now 3-8 as a result of the victory with Oskar Jones finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Machar Machar added 17 points, nine rebounds and two assists, Burke Smith 16 points and 13 boards, Joel Dyer 15 points, four assists and three rebounds, Jok Bulabek 14 points and five boards, and Kaden Archie 12 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Norwood slips to 4-7 with the loss with Thomas Kurowski producing another 24 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Daniel Webber added 16 points with 4/11 three-point shooting, Inady Legiste 11 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, and Cooper Osborne 10 points, five boards and two assists.

West Adelaide Bearcats (87) lost to South Adelaide Panthers (97)

The South Adelaide Panthers ensured they would be the hottest team in the competition heading into their Sunday battle with the Forestville Eagles by beating the West Adelaide Bearcats 97-87.

The Bearcats were back home at Port Adelaide Recreation Centre trying to make it consecutive wins for the first time in their championship defence while South Adelaide arrived on an eight-game winning run.

West Adelaide started well to lead 24-20 by the end of the first quarter before South Adelaide had 28 points to 24 in the second frame and by half-time scores were all square at 48-48.

The Panthers then took control late in the third quarter with a 6-0 run and that turned into 12 straight points into the fourth quarter on the way to the 10-point victory.

That makes it nine straight wins for South Adelaide who are now 9-2 with Jeremy Smith delivering another 25 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Lloyd McVeigh also had 22 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and two steals, Yevgen Sakhniuk 20 points, five boards, three assists and two blocks, Koby Moir 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Rio Bruton 10 points and five rebounds.

West Adelaide slip to 3-8 on the season with Nick Marshall producing 20 points, nine assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Nik DeSantis added 18 points, six assists and five rebounds, Akok Machar 15 points, five boards and two steals, Sean Stock 13 points, Tom Kubank 11 points, and Braelen Bridges eight points and 12 rebounds.

Southern Tigers (116) lost to Eastern Mavericks (121)

It was a remarkable double overtime contest that saw the Eastern Mavericks end up returning to the winner's list prevailing after 50 minutes 121-116 against the Southern Tigers.

The two teams came into the match up at Morphett Vale Basketball Stadium looking to stay in the finals hunt and it was the Tigers who made their move in the third quarter when they went out by 11 points.

The Tigers were still up 11 in the fourth quarter but the Mavericks were able to fire back to get back level, but once more the home team had gone back on top by six when Che Brogan scored with a minute to play.

Christian Peevy, Dylan Marshall and Peevy again with two free throws then combined for the last six points of regulation to force the game to overtime.

It was then the most dramatic finish to the first overtime period with the Tigers leading by four with a minute to play after Brogan landed a three-pointer, but then Harry Morris responded up the other end for the Mavericks.

Not only did he make the three, but he was fouled and turned it into a four-point play that saw the game go to a second overtime.

And this time, when Peevy landed a triple midway through, the Mavericks were leading by six and from there managed to hold on for the five-point victory to improve to a 4-7 record.

BJ Symons ended up with 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists on 14/21 field goal shooting for the Mavs with Christian Peevy adding 27 points, nine boards and two steals.

Curtis Scott also had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Harry Morris 19 points, 11 boards, four assists and four steals, and Dylan Marshall 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Tigers are now 2-9 following a fourth straight defeat with Che Brogan finishing with 38 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals on 4/9 three-point shooting and 15/22 overall.

Koop McCalop also delivered 30 points, 17 rebounds and two assists with Devin Fortune adding 16 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, Jarrod Molnar 11 points with 3/6 shooting from downtown, and Nick Logan seven points, seven assists and five rebounds.

SUNDAY

Woodville Warriors (97) defeated West Adelaide Bearcats (95)

The Woodville Warriors hit back from their loss the night before to win a thriller over the West Adelaide Bearcats 97-95 with Uzo Dibiamaka the hero hitting the game winner.

Both teams suffered losses the night before with the Warriors losing on the road to the Central Districts Lions while the Bearcats couldn’t win consecutive games for the first time as reigning champions with the loss to the South Adelaide Panthers.

Woodville were leading by two points at quarter-time and by four at the half before West Adelaide had 26 points to 20 in the third, and then opening up a 12-point lead in the final term.

That threw the gauntlet down to the Warriors but they were up for the challenge eventually regaining the lead in the last 10 seconds when Uzo Dibiamaka scored before they held on with a miss from Nick Marshall at the buzzer.

The win improves Woodville to 7-5 with Dibiamaka not only hitting the game winner, but ending up with 25 points and five assists with 4/11 three-point shooting.

Nick Wurm also had 21 points, six rebounds and six assists, Awak Machar 19 points on 3/6 shooting from downtown, Joe Jackson 12 points, five boards, three assists and three steals, and LJ Booth Jr nine points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

West Adelaide are now 3-9 after losing both games this weekend with Braelen Bridges putting up 25 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 10/12 shooting from the floor.

Nick Marshall also had 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds, Akok Machar 21 points and three boards, and Sean Stock eight points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Norwood Flames (102) defeated Southern Tigers (92)

The Norwood Flames hit back from their loss the previous night with Thomas Kurowski putting up 30 points in their 102-92 home win over the Southern Tigers.

Both teams were coming off losses the previous night with the Flames losing by 29 to the North Adelaide Rockets while the Mavericks went down in double overtime at home to the Eastern Mavericks.

Norwood ended up leading 23-21 by quarter-time only for the Tigers to go on an 11-0 run to end up being on top 47-44 by half-time.

The Flames had a huge third term with 34 points to 25 and then from there they opened up a 13-point lead before securing the 10-point victory.

Norwood improves to 5-7 with the win with Thomas Kurowski having a day out with 30 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Cooper Osborne added 21 points, four rebounds and four assists with 4/8 three-point shooting, Oscar Sabine 17 points, five boards and three assists, Inady Legiste 10 points and nine rebounds, Daniel Webber 10 points and two assists, and Aydan Janssan eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.

The Tigers are now 3-9 after the loss with Koop McCalop putting up 29 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals while Che Brogan added 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Devin Fortune 17 points and four boards.

South Adelaide Panthers (86) defeated Forestville Eagles (84)

The teams battled over top spot as the form teams and Lloyd McVeigh hit the winner and Daniel Johnson missed the chance to force a second overtime with the South Adelaide Panthers beating the Forestville Eagles 86-84.

The teams arrived at Mitchell Park Sports and Community Centre on winning streaks including the previous night where South Adelaide beat West Adelaide to make it nine straight while Forestville won their seventh in-a-row beating the Sturt Sabres.

That set the stage for the Sunday clash in the rematch of the 2024 Grand Final and with the individual match up of championship teammates Alex Starling and Jeremy Smith worth the price of admission alone.

Starling did well hounding Smith into a tough afternoon and it proved quite the dramatic contest the whole way with two late huge three-pointers from Jordan Forbes, including one on the buzzer, getting the game to overtime.

Then at the end of the extra period, Smith collected an offensive rebound and dished off to Lloyd McVeigh inside for what proved the winning score when Daniel Johnson missed under the basket up the other end.

South Adelaide scored the two-point win to make it 10 in-a-row to both Forestville and Sturt now on 10-2 records in a game where they only had seven free-throw attempts and conceded 25.

McVeigh not only hit the game winner but finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and three steals while shooting 12/21 from the floor and 4/8 from behind the arc.

Smith had to deal with Starling up in his grill for most of his 43 minutes, but still managed 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals despite 8/26 field goal shooting.

Rio Bruton caught fire late in the third quarter on his way to 15 points, three rebounds and two steals with Daniel Smith contributing eight points, four boards, three steals and two assists, and Jonty Smith eight points and two rebounds.

Forestville split their weekend against their two fellow 10-2 teams with Greg Mays top scoring with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Daniel Johnson also had 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals, Jordan Forbes 18 points, five boards and five assists with 4/8 three-point shooting, and Starling nine points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Eastern Mavericks (105) defeated North Adelaide Rockets (93)

The Eastern Mavericks backed up their double overtime win the night before with the 105-93 home win against the North Adelaide Rockets with another 25 points and 13 rebounds from BJ Symons.

Both teams recorded Saturday night wins with the Mavs downing the Southern Tigers eventual after two overtimes while the Rockets won big against the Norwood Flames.

That set up Sunday's clash at St Francis de Sales Community Sports Centre nicely and they combined for 56 points first quarter points with the Rockets leading 29-27 by quarter-time.

North Adelaide were then leading 54-51 by half-time before the Mavs turned things around with 28 points to 16 in the third frame before getting out to a 12-point advantage by the final buzzer.

The Mavericks are now 5-7 with the double win weekend with BJ Symons putting up another 25 points, 13 rebounds and four assists with 9/17 field goal shooting.

Christian Peevy top scored with 33 points, seven rebounds and four assists with 12/19 shooting while Curtis Scott had 16 points, five assists and four boards, Harry Morris 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Nick Hittle 10 points and five boards.

The Rockets are now 3-9 after splitting their weekend with Kaden Archie finishing with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists with Jok Bulabek adding 19 points and two steals, Machar Machar 14 points and five assists, Jack King 12 points and five boards, and Joel Dyer 11 points and three assists.

Sturt Sabres (84) defeated Central Districts Lions (81)

The Sturt Sabres gave up a 13-point lead in the third quarter but were able to turn the tide once more for the 84-81 home win against the Central Districts Lions.

The Sabres fell to a second straight loss the night before to the Forestville Eagles while the Lions downed the Woodville Warriors to set up their match up at Springbank Secondary College.

Centrals opened up a nine-point lead in the first quarter that got out to 10 in the second before Sturt fired back with a 10-0 and 33 points in the second term overall to lead 49-43 by the half.

It was then the turn of the Lions to turn things back around with a 13-0 run in the third quarter only for Sturt to respond once more and go on to claim the three-point victory.

The win stops the slide of the Sabres at two as they improve to a 10-2 record with Jacob Rigoni finishing with 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals on 10/13 free-throw shooting.

Josh Tomasi added 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, Luke Pfitzner 12 points and two assists, and Joel Spear eight points and seven assists.

Centrals are now 5-7 having split their weekend double header with Koen Sapwell top scoring with 20 points, three assists and three steals.

Jayden Seymour also had 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, Spencer Gaze 14 points on 5/9 shooting, Kalani Sapwell nine points and two steals, Magok Manyang eight points and two rebounds, and Clayton Jewell six points, 14 boards and four steals.