South Spotlight | Gandolfo the hero as Spectres win stunner

Featured image: Trent Moore Sports Photography

The Nunawading Spectres stormed back from a 13-point last quarter deficit and Jack Gandolfo was the hero with a huge final play to deliver the 112-109 win in a cracking contest over the Frankston Blues.

Both teams came into the match up at Jubilee Park Stadium with winning form and they were ready to put on a Saturday night show.

The Spectres did open up a 10-point lead in the second quarter but scores were locked at 54-54 by half-time before the Blues worked on top by 13 points several times in the second half including early in the fourth term.

Then Nunawading hit back to set up the frantic finish.

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In the end when scores were tied, the Spectres had possession and took the ball out of a timeout the full length of the floor with Gandolfo trusted to make the play, and he delivered.

He nailed one crossover going to his left to get by Lucas Barker, he then produced another going the other way to get by Daniel Trist, and then he finished at the basket while fouled and completed the three-point play.

That delivered the three-point win for Nunawading as they make it three on the trot to improve to 6-2 while Frankston are now 5-3 with their three-match winning run coming to an end.

It was a stunning comeback win from Nunawading on the road and on top of playing the hero on the last play, Gandolfo delivered 21 points, three rebounds and two assists with 8/14 shooting from the floor, 3/9 from downtown and 2/2 at the stripe.

Dylan Penn top-scored with 25 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals while Christian D'Angelo added 23 points, four boards and three assists with 4/9 shooting from downtown.

Joe Mutimer also had 13 points and two rebounds, Kingsley Box 12 points and two boards, Ben Griscti 10 points and six rebounds, and Daniel Baxter six points, 12 boards and four assists.

It was a tough loss to take for Frankston given the winning position they put themselves in with Tom Garrett finishing with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists with 5/8 from behind the arc.

Daniel Trist added 20 points, 10 rebounds and two assists, Dibaji Walker 19 points and three boards, Jack Stanwix 14 points and five rebounds, Austin Shelley 12 points and two assists, and Lucas Barker 11 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals.

The Blues came into the match up on a three-game winning run and the Spectres their past two, and there was no more than four points the difference in an entertaining first quarter.

Nunawading were leading 27-24 by the end of it and the impressive play and scoring output of both teams continued when they combined for 57 points in the second term.

That saw Frankston put up 30 points to the 27 from Nunawading and as a result the scores were all locked at 54-54 by the half-time break.

Going into the locker room, Tom Garrett had 11 points and Dibaji Walker 10 for Frankston while Dylan Penn had 14 points and Christian D'Angelo 12 for the Spectres in what had been quite an enjoyable first half.

And both teams were just getting warmed up and Frankston put up 33 points to 23 in the third quarter to build a 13-point advantage with the Blues scoring 12/19 from the field and 4/8 from behind the arc.

Frankston were leading by 10 at three quarter-time and were up by 13 once more early in the fourth but Nunawading hit back to set up the dramatic finish.

With just over a minute to play, Jack Gandolfo hit a three ball to give the Spectres the four-point lead only for Frankston to respond with a bucket to Austin Shelley and then a pair of free throws to Walker.

That gave Nunawading possession with 20 seconds to go and the ball was in Gandolfo's hand, and he produced two mesmerising crossovers to get by Lucas Barker and Daniel Trist, and finished at the rack while also drawing the foul.

He completed the three-point play with 6.3 seconds left and Frankston couldn’t land a response with Garrett missing a three and the Spectres won a cracking contest by three.

Frankston have a week before they get the chance to bounce back when they host Keilor Thunder next Saturday with Nunawading having the super quick turnaround to hosting the Diamond Valley Eagles on Sunday.

NBL1 SOUTH 2026 SEASON | ROUND 5

FRANKSTON BLUES 109 (Garrett 23, Trist 20, Walker 19)

NUNAWADING SPECTRES 112 (Penn 25, D'Angelo 23, Gandolfo 21)