North Spotlight | Caps beat Phoenix to stay alive

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The Brisbane Capitals had lost their past four games and couldn’t afford to make it five if they wanted to stay in the NBL1 North finals hunt and they got the win they needed beating the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 99-92.

The Caps were back home at Auchenflower Stadium needing to snap that losing slide against a Phoenix team in third place and having won their last couple but also without a couple of key players.

Jamaal Robateau was again unavailable while Earnest Ross was in Perth at the same time representing Guam against the Australian Boomers, and the Caps were in control most of the night.

The home team led by as much as 29 points in the third quarter but Sunshine Coast came storming back to get within through the final term before Brisbane did steady enough to win by seven and improve to a 7-7 record with the Phoenix now 9-4.

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The Caps did breathe some life back into their season with the win on the back of shooting 12/27 from three-point range to 5/20 from the Phoenix which by the finish was the major difference between the teams.

Kai Bloom already had 12 points in the first quarter and finished with 28 for the game for Brisbane along with six assists, five rebounds and five steals on 12/15 field goal shooting.

Brendan Teys also delivered 22 points, five rebounds and three assists with 4/9 three-point shooting with Kai Woodfall contributing 21 points on 6/11 shooting from downtown.

Jarred Bairstow had another 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals as he gears up to be part of the Australian Gangurrus 3x3 team at the Commonwealth Games.

The Phoenix were missing Earnest Ross and Jamaal Robateau with Luke Anderson into the starting line-up and top scoring with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists on 9/12 shooting.

DeShawn Ross-Paiwan also had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, Darnell Robateau 13 points, 10 boards, five assists and three steals, Nelson Kahler 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks, and Erik Kafritsas nine points, four boards and four assists.

With Brisbane needing to win to stay alive and Sunshine Coast up against it with Earnest Ross playing for Guam on the other side of the country, and the Caps did have the better of the start with a 27-20 lead by quarter-time with Kai Bloom already up to 12 points.

It was a scorching 67 per cent shooting start from Brisbane with Sunshine Coast gong 50 per cent from the field before the Capitals piled on another 32 points in the second term with Bloom adding another eight and Jarred Bairstow up to 13 by half-time

Brisbane were leading 59-41 at half-time on the back of 61 per cent shooting with 7/12 from behind the three-point line with Sunshine Coast shooting at 47 per cent with 0/6 from beyond the while having 10 turnovers.

The Caps then made it a 14-0 run during the third quarter as the lead blew out to 14 points and by three quarter-time the home team were still leading 84-64 but the Phoenix dug deep to make things interesting in the last term.

Sunshine Coast got all the way back within three points with 3:30 to play when Nelson Kahler threw down a dunk and the visitors had all the momentum.

But with their season on the line, the Capitals responded with the next four points from Bairstow and Bloom and from there were able to secure the eventual seven-point victory after a triple from Brendan Teys and three-point play from Bloom sealed the deal.

The Capitals now don't play again until being away to the Northside Wizards next Sunday while the Phoenix are on the road to the Rockhampton Rockets next Saturday night.

NBL1 NORTH 2026 SEASON | FIRST NATIONS ROUND

BRISBANE CAPITALS 99 (Bloom 28, Teys 22, Woodfall 21)

SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 92 (Anderson 20, Ross-Paiwan 15, Robateau 13)