East Wrap | Men's Heritage Round

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Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders handed Canberra Gunners another NBL1 East loss as did Central Coast Crusaders while Matt Mims and Todd Blanchfield had another 58 for Illawarra Hawks and Sydney Kings' Tyler Robertson lifted Sutherland Sharks to two wins.

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SATURDAY

Centre of Excellence (87) defeated Newcastle Falcons (58)

Jai Fa'ale continued to star for the Centre of Excellence as they made it eight straight wins for the 87-58 home win against the Newcastle Falcons.

The CoE were back at the Australian Institute of Sport sitting on top of the NBL1 East with seven straight wins ahead of hosting a Falcons team having won just twice so far in 2026.

The Centre of Excellence dominated from the outset to end up leading already 27-8 by quarter-time before another 20 points to 18 in the second term on the way to leading 47-26 by half-time.

That lead for the CoE got out to as much as 32 points in the second half and they ended up winning by 29 to stay in first place at 12-1 with eight wins on the trot.

Jai Fa'ale once again starred in the win for the Centre of Excellence with 24 points, three rebounds and three assists but it was far from a one young man show.

Alex Dickeson added 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals, Ajak Nyuon 13 points, 14 boards, two steals and two blocks, Harry Cook seven points, three rebounds and two assists, Jongkuch Mach six points, seven boards and four blocks, and Curtis Evic 10 rebounds.

The Falcons are now 2-9 with the defeat with Elias Cato finishing with 14 points and five rebounds with Mandrell Worthy adding 14 points and two assists while Jude Jennings had eight points and six rebounds, and Cha'Vez Woods eight points, two assists and two steals.

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (74) defeated Hills Hornets (60)

The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles responded well to their last up loss to beat the Hills Hornets 74-60 at home.

The Sea Eagles lost the Maitland Mustangs last Sunday as they returned home to Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre to host a Hornets team having lost their past five.

Manly Warringah started impressively with 23 points to 12 in the first quarter having gone on a 12-0 scoring run before another 21 to 16 in the second frame to go into half-time leading 44-28.

From there, the Sea Eagles built a 22-point advantage in the second half on the way to the eventual 14-point victory to improve to a 9-3 record as the battle over top four spots heats up.

Quinn Slazinski delivered another 19 points, 14 rebounds and two assists for Manly Warringah with Emmanuel Tshimanga adding 14 points and 12 boards, Stefan Valkovic 12 points and three rebounds, and Jamie Munro seven points, two boards and two assists.

The Hornets have now lost six straight at 3-8 and they sorely missed import point guard Shaun Stewart with Saxon Orsini finishing with 15 points, two rebounds and two steals.

Jacob Foy also had 11 points and 3/6 three-point shooting with Ned Carr contributing 11 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Gum Majak five points and 10 boards, and Pafe Momoisea five points, six assists and three rebounds.

Norths Bears (99) defeated Maitland Mustangs (86)

They have five NBL championships between them and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Fabijan Krslovic combined for 40 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists as the Norths Bears held out the fast-finishing Maitland Mustangs for the 99-86 win.

The Bears were back home at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre attempting to rebound from last week's loss to the Centre of Excellence with the Mustangs arriving having won their past two and starting to build some momentum into their season.

It was a flying start on their home floor for the Bears with 31 points to 15 in the first quarter with 12 of those courtesy of Swaka Lo Buluk.

That lead kept building for Norths and got out to 25 points in the third quarter before the Mustangs did make a charge with 31 fourth quarter points only for the Bears to hold on for the 13-point victory.

The Bears improve to an 11-2 record with the win while the Mustangs are now 6-6 with the seven extra field goal attempts and eight more free throws key to the win in the end for Norths.

Swaka Lo Buluk is settling in nicely at Norths and he had 12 points already in the first quarter and 18 to half-time on his way to 27 for the game with four assists, three rebounds and two steals on 9/15 field goal shooting with 3/6 from downtown and 6/6 at the line.

Iggy Mitchell also had 21 points, four rebounds and four assists with 3/4 three-point shooting for the Bears with Fabijan Krslovic hitting a huge late three ball to see off the Mustangs on his way to 13 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Lachlan Bofinger added 13 points, four assists and three rebounds, and Bailey Hanson seven points.

Two-time MVP Will Cranston-Lown top scored for the Mustangs with 22 points and five assists with 3/4 three-point shooting.

Myles Cherry also delivered 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists on 8/12 shooting with Reyne Smith only making 2/9 from deep but having 15 points with Billy Parsons adding 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Isaac Testoni seven points and five boards.

Central Coast Crusaders (88) defeated Canberra Gunners (73)

The Central Coast Crusaders made it three straight wins and handed the Canberra Gunners consecutive defeats with the 88-73 win.

The Crusaders were back at Guzman y Gomez Stadium fresh off winning their last two games and hosted a Gunners team having had their winning streak dating back last year snapped by Davo Hickey and the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

It was a tight start to the match up with scores tied at 15-15 by quarter-time and then by half-time it was Central Coast clinging to the 35-34 advantage.

It was in the third quarter when the Crusaders got on a stunning role and they went on a 10-0 run and outscored the defending champions 35 points to 17 to open up a 20-point lead.

Central Coast went on to win by 15 from there for a third straight win to improve to 6-7 with Garric Young starring with 23 points and 13 rebounds on 10/20 field goal shooting.

Tom Akamarmoi also had 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals with Matur Maker contributing 14 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals, and Alex Bailey 10 points, two assists and two steals.

Canberra have now lost two straight to be 8-2 with Evan Wardlow finishing with 13 points and three rebounds with Will Mayfield adding 12 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals, and Will Rice 11 points and two steals.

Sydney Comets (62) lost to Sutherland Sharks (87)

The Sutherland Sharks continue to be one of the great enigmas of the competition and they had another uptick with the impressive 87-62 road win against the Sydney Comets.

The Comets were back home at Comets Stadium coming off a win against the Albury Wodonga Bandits while the Sharks were fresh off a loss to the surging Central Coast Crusaders.

It was a flying start away from home for Sutherland with 30 points to 14 in the first quarter and they never looked back from there.

The lead for the Sharks got out to 21 points in the second quarter, 24 in the third and 32 in the fourth before they completed the deal on the 25-point victory to improve to a 3-6 record.

Sydney Kings guard Tyler Robertson was into the line-up returning from a shoulder injury that prematurely ended his NBL26 and produced 22 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals.

 Bailey MacArthur added 19 points, six boards and two steals, Jason Spurgin 14 points and seven rebounds, and Lochlan Hutchison 10 points, three boards, three assists and two steals.

Sydney are now 6-6 following the home defeat with Obi Kyei finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Ahmed Barba-Bey added 18 points, six rebounds and two steals, and Goc Malual nine points, six boards and two blocks.

Albury Wodonga Bandits (102) lost to Illawarra Hawks (111)

The Albury Wodonga Bandits put up a good fight on their home floor but Todd Blanchfield and Matt Mims combined for 58 points and 15 three-pointers for the Illawarra Hawks to prevail 111-102.

The Bandits were back home at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre coming off their first win of the season after 10 straight losses as they hosted a lethal Hawks line-up who had won seven in-a-row.

Illawarra got the better of the start to open up a 12-point lead and to still be on top 32-24 by quarter-time before last year's Grand Finalists had another 28 points to 21 in the second period to go into half-time leading 60-45.

The lead then got out to 22 points early in the third quarter for Illawarra but Albury Wodonga got right back into the contest from there and did get the scores all the way back level when Marcus La Spina hit a three-pointer with five minutes to play.

The Hawks were able to respond enough from there to secure the nine-point win and to make it eight straight at 10-1.

Todd Blanchfield had another 30 points with seven rebounds and four assists on 7/13 three-point shooting with Matt Mims adding 28 points and six assists with 8/12 shooting from behind the arc.

Mohamed Kone also had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Mason Peatling 15 points, eight boards, three assists and two blocks, and Fletcher MacDonald 10 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

The Bandits can take plenty out of that second half performance despite now sitting at 1-11 with Christian Cook having a big night made up of 32 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals with 11/21 shooting from the floor, 4/8 from downtown and 6/7 at the foul line.

Lochlan Cummings also had 20 points and six assists, Marcus La Spina 14 points, two boards and two assists, and Kevion Blaylock 12 points, six rebounds, five steals, four assists and two blocked shots.

SUNDAY

Centre of Excellence (76) defeated Sydney Comets (62)

It was the turn of Alex Dickeson to have a huge performance for the Centre of Excellence leading his team to the 76-62 win against the Sydney Comets.

The Centre of Excellence were back at the Australian Institute of Sport having won eight straight including the day before against the Newcastle Falcons ahead of hosting a Comets team coming off losing to the Sutherland Sharks at home.

The two teams just combined for the 26 points in the first quarter with the CoE leading 14-12 by quarter-time before the home team did add 23 points to 14 in the second term on the way to the 37-26 lead by half-time.

Sydney fired back, though, with 28 points to 20 in the third term to set up a tight race going into the fourth quarter but the Centr of Excellence responded with 19 points to eight on the way to the 14-point victory.

That's nine straight wins for the CoE to be 13-1 on the season with two more wins this weekend with Alex Dickeson delivering 31 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with 5/15 three-point shooting and going 10/10 at the free-throw line.

Isaac Riddle added 10 points with 4/7 shooting, Curtis Evic nine points, six rebounds and two assists, Will Hamilton seven points, seven boards and two assists, Antonio Browne six points, four rebounds and three assists, and Ajak Nyuon six points and six boards.

The Comets have lost twice this weekend to be 6-7 with Akil Douglas ending up with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists, Ahmed Barba-Bey 12 points and 10 boards, Obi Kyei 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Bailey Chambers nine points and two assists.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (109) defeated Canberra Gunners (108)

Davo Hickey hit the monster three to see the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders push the defending champion Canberra Gunners to overtime, and then he sealed the 109-108 win at the foul line in dramatic fashion.

The two teams played only last Saturday with the Spiders ending the winning run of the Gunners that took them to last season's championship and winning the first eight games of 2026.

They had a rematch at The Brickpit with Canberra also trying to hit back from a loss the previous night on the road to the Central Coast Crusaders.

What eventuated was quite the Sunday afternoon contest with no more than nine points separating the teams and that was in favour of Canberra in the fourth quarter.

But the Spiders fired back and eventually it was a huge three with 2.7 seconds left from Davo Hickey that tied scores up. He then blocked James Toohey's shot up the other end to force the extra period.

Then in extra time, it still went down to the wire and Hickey was fouled taking a three just before the buzzer. He made the first two, intentionally missed the third and the Spiders made it two wins over the Gunners in eight days.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai improves to a 3-9 record as a result with Hickey delivering 28 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and two blocks even while only shooting 1/8 from long-range and having another six turnovers.

It was Alex Sidhu who exploded for 30 points with eight rebounds for the Spiders while shooting 12/15 from the field, 3/4 from behind the three-point line and 3/3 at the foul line.

Daniel Tutus also had 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, Nathaniel Chappell 13 points, four boards and three assists, and Martez Brown seven points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

Canberra have now lost three in-a-row to be 8-3 as defending champions despite the 36 points from Will Mayfield to go with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

He shot the ball at 11/24 from the field with 6/14 from beyond the arc and then 8/12 at the free-throw line.

Glenn Morison delivered another 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks for Canberra, Evan Wardlow 20 points, seven assists, six boards and two steals, James Toohey 14 points with 4/6 three-point shooting, and Cameron Pender eight points, nine boards, four steals and three assists.

Hills Hornets (82) defeated Inner West Bulls (74)

The Hills Hornets bounce back from their loss the night before to keep themselves in the playoff mix with the 82-74 win at home to the Inner West Bulls.

The Hornets were playing their second game without import point guard Shaun Stewart and were home at Hills Basketball Stadium attempting to bounce back from the loss the night before to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

The Bulls arrived having not played since losing to the Albury Wodonga Bandits last Sunday and it was the Hornets starting the better with a 10-0 run in the first quarter to lead 21-15 by quarter-time.

Inner West hit back with 25 points to 19 in the second quarter and that saw scores all level at 40-40 by half-time.

Scores were then still level by three quarter-time but then the Hornets pulled away with 23 points to 15 in the last term for the eight-point victory to improve to a 4-8 record.

Pafe Momoisea top scored in the win for Hills with 16 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals on 8/13 shooting with Ned Carr contributing 14 points, 11 boards, two steals and two blocks.

Saxon Orsini also had 13 points and three rebounds with Meekness Payne adding 12 points and 11 boards, Gum Majak eight points, two rebounds and two blocks, and Jacob Foy seven points, six boards, five assists and three steals.

Inner West are now 6-6 following the loss with Malok Majak finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two steals while Cooper Wilks added 16 points on 7/11 shooting, Dominik Subota 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Max Clark six points, five assists, three steals and three rebounds.

Penrith Panthers (80) lost to Sutherland Sharks (102)

Sydney Kings NBL guard Tyler Robertson again starred with 29 points and six three-pointers as the Sutherland Sharks made it a double win weekend with him in the line-up beating the Penrith Panthers 102-80.

The Sharks opened their weekend beating the Sydney Comets with the presence of Robertson as he makes his return from a shoulder injury that happened at the start of the NBL finals before his Kings went on to win the championship.

The Sharks backed up against the Panthers at Minto Indoor Sports Centre with Penrith coming into the match with just one win for the season and having lost their past four.

Sutherland started well to be leading 19-14 by quarter-time before going into half-time on top 41-35 and then the Sharks dominated the second half.

They had 34 points to 22 in the third term and 27 to 23 in the fourth on the way to the 22-point victory to improve to a 5-5 record with the double win weekend.

Robertson starred again for Sutherland with 29 points and four assists with 6/12 three-point shooting and he did that while playing just 27 minutes. The Sharks were +32 in those minutes.

Robertson's Sydney Kings teammate Jason Spurgin also had 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 9/11 shooting with 2/3 from beyond the arc.

Luke Jamieson added 15 points, 15 rebounds and three assists, Lochlan Hutchison 12 points, six assists, five steals and three boards, and James Hunter eight points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers are now 1-10 with five consecutive defeats with Jett Hickson finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

Simun Krpez added 15 points and five rebounds, Ben Kearins 11 points, five boards and two assists, and Angus Ole 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Central Coast Crusaders (86) defeated Bankstown Bruins (79)

The Central Coast Crusaders made it four straight wins with another strong showing to beat the Bankstown Bruins 86-79 on their home floor.

The Crusaders were back home at Guzman y Gomez Stadium having won their past three games including against the Canberra Gunners the previous night with the Bruins arriving having lost their past five.

The Crusaders kept that momentum going from the start with 23 points to 15 in the first quarter before another 25 to 19 in the second term to go into the half-time interval leading 48-34.

The Crusaders maintained a double figure lead most of the second half and even with a late flurry from Bankstown, Central Coast won by seven to make it four straight to improve to 7-7.

Tom Akamarmoi had another impressive outing for the Crusaders with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals even with 6/19 field goal shooting.

Matur Maker also had 17 points, 18 rebounds and two blocked shots, Garric Young 16 points and 10 boards, Haidyn Gunderson 16 points and three rebounds, and Luke Cassidy eight points, five boards and three assists.

The Bruins are now 4-8 with the five straight defeats with Deonte Williams putting up 29 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Anthony Mundine III also had 20 points, four rebounds and three assists, Ted Wolfe 11 points, five assists, three boards and two steals, and Zeke Evans nine points, eight rebounds and two assists.