East Wrap | Men's Round 2

Featured image: @eshots__ (Eyal Shorer)

Quinn Slazinski had 57 points in a pair of NBL1 East wins for Manly Warringah Sea Eagles with Matur Maker lifting Central Coast Crusaders to a double with the Norths Bears winning twice and Jason Spurgin returning to help the Sutherland Sharks open their account.

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>> NEWLY MARRIED STEWART EMBRACING LIFE IN THE EAST

FRIDAY

Hills Hornets (75) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (93)

Quinn Slazinski had 29 points to three quarters, Emmanuel Tshimanga 13 points and 13 rebounds to half-time and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles opened their account with the 93-75 road win over the Hills Hornets.

The Hornets were playing their first home game of the season at Hills Basketball Stadium after splitting their first two games on the road to open the 2026 campaign prior to the Easter break.

The Sea Eagles opened their season with a home loss to the defending champion Canberra Gunners but they arrived for the Friday night match up with the Hornets on a mission.

Manly Warringah were leading by nine at quarter-time, 17 at half-time and then 25 at three quarter-time on the way to the eventual 18-point win to improve to 1-1.

Quinn Slazinski wasn’t needed to add to his scoring tally in the last quarter with the win secured but he was outstanding for Manly Warringah with 29 points, 14 rebounds and two steals with 10/20 shooting from the field, 2/3 from deep and 7/8 at the stripe.

Emmanuel Tshimanga also didn’t score in the second half but still had a significant impact with 13 points, 17 rebounds and four assists in just 23 minutes.

Isaiah Lee added 12 points, two rebounds and two steals, Jake Hyman 11 points, three boards and two assists, Jack Giddens eight points and four rebounds, and Stefan Valkovic eight points and four boards.

Meekness Payne top-scored with 20 points and five rebounds for the Hornets with Saxon Orsini having 19 points, three rebounds and two steals, Edward Carr seven points, four boards and four blocks, Gum Majak seven points, six rebounds and five blocks, and Shaun Stewart four points and seven assists.

SATURDAY

Central Coast Crusaders (108) defeated Albury Wodonga Bandits (68)

The Central Coast Crusaders opened their double-header weekend with the dominant 108-68 win over the Albury Wodonga Bandits.

The Crusaders split their first two games of the season ahead of hosting a Bandits team at Guzman y Gomez Stadium who started their campaign with a home defeat to the Bankstown Bruins.

Albury Wodonga then started well on the road with 27 points to 21 in the first quarter, but Central Coast took control the rest of the way to outscore the Bandits 87 points to 41 after quarter-time.

That saw the Crusaders secure the 40-oint victory with Matur Maker outstanding with 33 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals on 14/21 shooting from the floor.

Shareef Saipaia added 15 points, two rebounds and two assists, Aaron Redhead 12 points and 12 boards, Jamal Shoaib 11 points, two rebounds and two steals, and Garric Young 11 points, seven boards and three assists with Luke Casidy adding four points and seven assists.

Marcus La Spina finished with 14 points and four rebounds for Albury Wodonga with Kevion Blaylock adding 14 points, nine boards and three assists, Christian Cook 13 points and three assists, and Majok Majok 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

Sutherland Sharks (93) defeated Maitland Mustangs (79)

Jason Spurgin returned an NBL champion and put up 22 points and 14 rebounds as the Sutherland Sharks beat the Maitland Mustangs 93-79 for their first win of 2026.

The Sharks welcomed back not only Spurgin but also head coach Shaun Roger with the pair both part of the NBL championship triumph for the Sydney Kings back on Sunday.

It was the Mustangs who started the game on fire, though, with 32 points to 19 in the first quarter before also leading 52-37 by the half-time break.

The Sharks took back control in the second frame with 26 points to 11 and then 30 to 16 in the fourth to end up winning by 14.

Spurgin finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and two assists in the win for Sutherland with Lochlan Hutchison putting up 24 points and six assists with 10/12 free-throw shooting.

Adrian Cabrera went 3/3 from downtown for 15 points with Bailey MacArthur adding 10 points and four rebounds, and Ryan Abbott eight points, three boards and two assists.

The Mustangs managed just the 27 points in the second half with Reyne Smith ending up with 27 points on 4/13 three-point shooting.

Will Cranston-Lown also had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Billy Parsons eight points and 12 boards.

Norths Bears (87) defeated Bankstown Bruins (71)

Teenage gun Bailey Hanson lit it up while Lachlan Bofinger and Fabijan Krslovic combined for 29 points and 32 rebounds as the Norths Bears stayed unbeaten defeating the Bankstown Bruins 87-71.

Both teams played twice back in the opening round with the Bears scoring a pair of road victories against the Newcastle Falcons and Central Coast Crusaders while the Bruins beat the Albury Wodonga Bandits but lost to the Centre of Excellence.

That set the stage for them to return to action on Saturday night at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre and after the Bruins made a flying start thanks to Jason Cadee, the Bears took over in the second half.

It was just a one-point lead at half-time for Norths but they outscored Bankstown 45 point to 31 from there on the way to the 16-point victory to improve to 3-0 on the season with Sydney Kings NBL championship winner Hunter Goodrick still to come back in.

Bailey Hanson might be yet to even turn 18 years of age, but showed what an exciting emerging talent he is by putting up 24 points, four rebounds and three assists in the win for Norths.

NBL veteran big man Fabijan Krslovic has returned home to the Bears in 2026 for the first time since before college. In his first home game in more than a decade, he delivered 15 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

Lachlan Bofinger also had 14 points, 16 rebounds and five assists for the Bears, Robert Moore eight points, five boards and three assists, Ben Gill eight points on 4/6 shooting, and Iggy Mitchell eight points despite going 2/10.

Jason Cadee still showed the way for Bankstown with 21 points and two assists with 4/9 three-point shooting.

Anthony Mundine III had a tough shooting night going 3/10 from deep but still had 12 points and two assists with Alex Higgins-Titsha finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals as he works back after injury ended his NBL26 early at the Cairns Taipans.

Inner West Bulls (90) defeated Penrith Panthers (79)

Malok Majak starred with 32 points and 12 rebounds as the Inner West Bulls continued their impressive start to the season with the 90-79 victory against the Penrith Panthers.

The Bulls started the season beating the Hills Hornets two weeks ago while the Panthers lost to the Centre of Excellence with Inner West on their home floor at Sydney Uni Sports and Aquatics Centre.

Penrith did start the better to be leading by a point at both quarter and half-time, but then the Bulls put up 24 points to 10 in the third frame on the way to the eventual 11-point victory.

Majak was the star in the win for Inner West with 32 points, 12 rebounds and two assists with 11/18 shooting from the field, 3/5 from three-point range and 7/10 at the foul line.

Jasper Rentoy added 15 points, five assists and four rebounds, Louis Bleechmore 12 points and eight boards, and Kobe Shannon 12 points, three rebounds and two steals.

Ben Kearins finished with 22 points, three rebounds and two assists for Penrith with Simun Krpez delivering 21 points, seven boards and two steals, Jonah Pares 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Jett Hickson nine points and nine boards.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders (64) lost to Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (98)

Quinn Slazinski continued his hot form for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles with another 28 points and 11 rebounds on perfect free-throw shooting in his team's 98-64 road win over the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.

The Spiders beat the Hills Hornets on Friday night with Slazinski playing a starring role as they backed up on Saturday against the Spiders at The Brickpit.

Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai came into the match up at home having lost their two opening round matches, and it wasn’t going to be easy to change that with the Sea Eagles up 23-16 by quarter-time.

Manly Warringah continued to build on that advantage the rest of the way to end up winning by 34 points and improve to a 2-1 record to start the season.

Slazinski starred once again in the win for the Sea Eagles with 28 points, 11 rebounds and two assists with 11/11 free-throw shooting.

Stefan Valkovic added 17 points, Isaiah Lee 15 points, 14 assists and six rebounds, Emmanuel Tshimanga 12 points, 10 boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks, and Jack Giddens 10 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Daniel Titus finished with 16 points and two steals for the Spiders, Nathaniel Chappell 13 points and three assists, and Jackson Smyth 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Sydney Comets (87) defeated Newcastle Falcons (64)

The Sydney Comets played their first of two games for the round with the emphatic 87-64 home victory against the Newcastle Falcons.

The Comets opened their season with a road win over the Sutherland Sharks and hosted the Falcons at Comets Stadium who arrived after two first up home losses to the Norths Bears and Hills Hornets.

Sydney were then leading by four points at quarter-time and had stretched that to 14 by half-time, and then by as much as during the second half before winning by 23 in the finish.

Obi Kyei finished with 21 points and seven rebounds on 8/12 shooting for the Comets with Akil Douglas adding 18 points and two boards, Goc Malual 13 points and 11 rebounds, Isaac Gundi eight points and three steals, and Ahmed Barba-Bey seven points, six assists and five rebounds.

Ryan Beisty top-scored for Newcastle with 16 points with eight rebounds and five assists with Mandrell Worthy adding 13 points and three boards, and Jude Jennings 10 points and seven rebounds.

Canberra Gunners (105) defeated Illawarra Hawks (95)

The Canberra Gunners celebrated last season's championship in their home opener by winning their Grand Final rematch 105-95 against the Illawarra Hawks.

The Gunners won on the road to start the season over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, but their first home game at Tuggeranong to celebrate both the NBL1 East and National Finals championship successes of last year took place on Saturday night.

It just happened to be against the team they beat in last year's Grand Final too and the Gunners put up 30 points to 23 in the first quarter.

Canberra then made sure of the win with 30 points to 23 in the fourth quarter to win by 10 and start their championship defence in style at 2-0.

Will Mayfield delivered 18 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals in the win for the Gunners with James Toohey adding 17 points, six boards and two blocks, Evan Wardlow 14 points and four assists, Glenn Morison 14 points, two assists and two blocks, and Cameron Pender 11 points, eight boards and three assists.

Illawarra are now 2-1 to start the season with Todd Blanchfield delivering another 29 points, 15 rebounds and three assists with Matthew Mims adding 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, Ethan Moss 16 points on 4/5 three-point shooting, and Phillip Dopud 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

SUNDAY

Norths Bears (94) defeated Albury Wodonga Bandits (51)

The Norths Bears continued their hot start to the season with another dominant showing to beat the Albury Wodonga Bandits 94-51.

The Bears were back home at North Sydney Indoor Sports Centre having won their first three matches of 2026 including on Saturday at home to the Bankstown Bruins as they hosted a Bandits team having lost their first two games.

Norths took charge early with 19 points to 11 in the first quarter before another 29 to 15 in the second frame to go into half-time leading 48-26.

It was another 46 points to 25 across the second half from the Bears as they won by 43 points to improve to a 4-0 record with Lachlan Bofinger producing 18 points, 15 rebounds and three assists.

Fabijan Krslovic also had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Iggy Mitchell 16 points and six boards, Robert Moore 11 points on 3/5 three-point shooting, and Lewis Holey nine points and nine rebounds.

Albury Wodonga are now 0-3 to start the new season with Christian Cook finishing with 11 points and two assists while Kevion Blaylock added 10 points, five boards and four blocks, and Lochlan Cummings nine points and three rebounds.

Central Coast Crusaders (85) defeated Sydney Comets (83)

Matur Maker made an immediate impact in his NBL1 East debut weekend helping his team to a second win in less than 24 hours with Luke Cassidy the Central Coast Crusaders hero as they beat the Sydney Comets 85-83.

The Crusaders had won two of their first three games of the NBL1 East season before adding in Maker on Saturday in the win against Albury Wodonga and backing up hosting the Comets at Guzman y Gomez Stadium.

Sydney arrived having won the first two games of their season as well and then the Comets built a 16-point lead during the second quarter.

The Crusaders then put up 20 points to 10 in the third quarter but still it was a thrilling finish and in the end it was Cassidy scoring Central Coast's last six points including two free throws right before the buzzer when he was fouled on the drive that delivered the two-point victory.

Matur Maker made an immediate impact with the Crusaders as he plays in Australia for the first time since the 2024 NBL1 North season with the Rockhampton Rockets, and prior to that with the Sydney Kings in NBL22.

He has played in New Zealand and Saudi Arabia since then with the former NBA big man producing 23 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes in his second game for Central Coast.

Cassidy finished with 17 points and five assists for the Crusaders with Aaron Redhead adding 18 points and seven rebounds, and Jamal Shoaib 11 points, six boards, three assists and two steals.

Akil Douglas top-scored for the Comets with 21 points with four rebounds and two assists but only two of those points came after half-time when he didn't attempt a three-point shot after being 3/6 at the half.

Ahmed Barba-Bey also had 20 points, four rebounds and two assists with 4/8 three-point shooting, Obi Kyei 17 points, seven boards and four steals, Goc Malual nine points, six rebounds and two steals, and Chol Adup eight points and six boards.

Inner West Bulls (68) lost to Maitland Mustangs (90)

The Maitland Mustangs hit back from their Saturday night loss with the 90-68 Sunday victory against the Inner West Bulls.

The Mustangs lost to start their road double against the Sutherland Sharks on Saturday while the Bulls scored a home victory against the Penrith Panthers.

They backed up at home again at Concord Recreational Centre on Sunday and the Mustangs managed to build a four-point edge by quarter-time.

It was another 19 points to 11 to Maitland in the second quarter that saw them leading 46-34 by half-time.

The Mustangs then blew the game apart in the last quarter with 30 points to 16 to secure the eventual 22-point win to improve to 1-2 on the season.

Reyne Smith delivered 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the win while Billy Parsons added 17 points and 14 boards, Will Cranston-Lown 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Myles Cherry 15 points, 14 boards and four assists.

The Bulls are now 1-2 as well with Malok Majak putting up 26 points on 4/7 three-point shooting while Kobe Shannon contributed 13 points and four rebounds, and Jasper Rentoy six points and five assists.