South Spotlight | Reigning champs dominate Cobras

Featured image: Mitchell Barlow

The Sandringham Sabres are now showing what they are capable of in the hunt of back-to-back NBL1 South championships with an emphatic Sunday display to beat the Kilsyth Cobras 110-64.

Both teams arrived at Southern Basketball Stadium having played the previous night with the Sabres beating the Nunawading Spectres by 10 points on the road while the Cobras went down at home to the Melbourne Tigers.

Sandringham made a blistering start with 31 points in the first quarter with 15 of those from Malith Machar on 5/5 three-point shooting and the Sabres never looked back.

Another 24 points to nine in the last quarter saw them win by 46 in the finish to improve to 7-5 on the season and ending the afternoon shooting 59 per cent from the floor and 15/32 from downtown while limiting the now 7-5 Cobras to 31 per cent shooting and 6/27 from downtown with eight free-throw attempts.

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Even without the presence of 288-game NBL veteran Shea Ili, it was a dominant all-round performance from Sandringham showing that there's plenty of life still in their championship defence.

Malith Machar had 15 points in the first quarter on his way to 24 for the game with three rebounds and two assists on 6/9 three-point shooting.

Kyle Adnam also had 20 points, six assists and three rebounds on 4/10 three-point shooting, Kaylan Kitto 20 points, three boards and three assists with 4/5 from downtown, and Kyle Bowen 17 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two blocked shots.

Elliott Brown added 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists, CJ Asuncion-Byrd nine points and two boards, and Dane Pineau 15 rebounds with seven of those offensive to go with six blocks, four points and two assists.

The Cobras were once again without Dillon Stith and Corey Jeffs, and just couldn't go with the Sabres on the back of the loss the previous night to the other Grand Final team from 2025.

Chris Payton Jr finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists for Kilsyth with Isaiah Harvey adding 10 points and three assists, Malik McKinney 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Jamie Ahale 10 points and three boards.

Sandringham were fresh off beating the Nunawading Spectres the night before with Kilsyth having struggled against the Melbourne Tigers, and that form carried into Sunday with a blistering first quarter from the Sabres.

The reigning champions put up 31 points in the opening term with Malith Machar delivering 15 of those on the back of hitting all five three-point attempts with Kilsyth managing just 14 points on 6/20 shooting up the other end.

It was another 26 points to 16 in the second frame too for Sandringham even with Machar only adding three more points on another triple to go to 6/6 by half-time.

The Sabres were leading 57-30 at the main break with 10/20 three-point shooting to 2/11, and going 56 per cent overall to just 33 per cent from the Cobras.

That lead for Sandringham grew to 36 points in the third quarter when they completed an 11-0 scoring run and then it was 46 in the last term thanks to 24 points to nine in final stanza for the Sabres to romp to the 46-point victory in the finish.

The Sabres now don't play again until Friday June 5 against the Frankston Blues while the Cobras face the Knox Raiders at home next Saturday night.

NBL1 SOUTH 2026 SEASON | ROUND 8

SANDRINGHAM SABRES 110 (Machar 24, Adnam 20, Kitto 20)

KILSYTH COBRAS 64 (Payton Jr 12, Harvey 10, McKinney 10, Ahale 10)