South Wrap | Men's Round 5

Featured image: MJB Photography

Ryley Haywood scored 53 points and hit 14 threes over two NBL1 South games but went winless with Diamond Valley Eagles while there were doubles for Sandringham Sabres, Keilor Thunder and Nunawading Spectres with Luke Rosendale putting up 39 for Hobart Chargers.

>> SOUTH SPOTLIGHT | SABRES STARS FIRE IN WIN OVER PIONEERS

>> SOUTH SPOTLIGHT | GANDOLFO THE HERO AS SPECTRES WIN STUNNER

>> SOUTH SPOTLIGHT | BAYLES, BRAVES BEAT FORCE, SAVAGE

>> SOUTH WRAP | MEN'S ANZAC ROUND

FRIDAY

Northern Force (84) lost to Bendigo Braves (93)

Kye Savage did all he could to lift the Northern Force to a first home win but Biwali Bayles led the Bendigo Braves to a dominant second half for the 93-84 victory.

The Force were back in Launceston at Elphin Sports Stadium trying to win at home for the first time while the Braves arrived to start their Tasmanian road trip trying to bounce back from losing their past two.

Savage then scored 19 points in the first half for the home team to help them head into the break leading by five, but the Force couldn’t quite keep it up with the Braves taking over with Bayles leading the charge.

Bendigo went on to outscore the Force 51 points to 37 after half-time on the way to the nine-point win to improve to 4-2 on the season with the Force now slipping to 1-6.

Bayles continued his brilliant start to his time in the NBL1 South leading Bendigo to the win with 24 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds with 11/22 shooting from the field and despite going just 1/8 from downtown and 1/4 at the foul line.

Jarvis Doles added 23 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for the Braves, Billy Smythe 13 points and seven boards, Dashiel Walker 10 points and five rebounds, and Dylan McCauley nine points and three boards.

Despite the loss, Savage had a monster night for the Force with 36 points, three rebounds and two assists on shooting 12/26 from the field, 6/15 from behind the three-point line and 6/7 at the free-throw line.

Aaron Ridley III added 18 points, three rebounds and two assists, Logan Gibson 13 points, 20 boards and three assists, and Vincent DeAngelo 12 points and four rebounds.

SATURDAY

Hobart Chargers (104) defeated Bendigo Braves (79)

The Bendigo Braves couldn’t make it a Tasmanian double with the Hobart Chargers putting in a blistering second half and Luke Rosendale and Jacob Richards finished with 66 points between them in the 104-79 win.

The Braves had scored a win the previous night against the Northern Force while Hobart were at home at Hutchins School trying to bounce back from a loss to Casey Cavaliers.

Bendigo were leading by four at quarter-time and then went up by seven in the second term but from there the Chargers took over including narrowly leading 41-37 by half-time.

Hobart then managed 31 points to 23 in the third period and 32 to in the fourth on the way to the 25-point win having outscored Bendigo 63-42 in the second half.

The Chargers improve to 5-2 with the win with Rosendale proving unstoppable to end up with 39 points with three rebounds and three assists on 11/18 shooting from the field, 4/9 from three-point range and 13/14 at the foul line.

Richards also had 27 points, 12 rebounds and three assists with 4/8 shooting from deep while Xavier Clarke contributed 14 points and three assists.

Bendigo split their Tasmania double to now sit at 4-3 with Biwali Bayles producing another 30 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Jarvis Doles also had 12 points and eight rebounds, Jake Lloyd nine points and four boards, and Jordan Straatsma eight points and six rebounds.

Geelong United (70) lost to Sandringham Sabres (94)

Kyle Adnam and Malith Machar were back for the Sandringham Sabres and combined for 42 points to lead the defending champions to the 94-70 road win over Geelong United.

United were back home at The Geelong Arena hunting a second win of the season while the Sabres were trying to get their championship defence on track with the return of key players after losing their past three.

Sandringham started well with 23 points to 16 in the first quarter before another 26 to 14 in the second term to head into the half-time break leading 49-30.

It was another 22 points to 12 in the third term for the Sabres and their lead grew to 36 in the final quarter before they completed the eventual 24-point win to improve to 3-4 as a result.

Adnam returned from his time in the NZ NBL with 23 points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds with Machar also back for 19 points, five boards, two assists and two blocked shots.

CJ Asuncion-Byrd added 15 points, two rebounds and two assists, Kyle Bowen 14 points, 11 boards, three assists and two steals, Sammy Cartwright 10 points and 10 boards, and Dane Pineau pulled down 14 rebounds including five at the offensive end.

Geelong are now 1-5 with a third consecutive loss with Lachlan Barker finishing with nine points and two rebounds, Ryan Drinkwater nine points and two boards, and Liam Herbert eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Casey Cavaliers (82) lost to Eltham Wildcats (88)

TJ Weeks hit five three-pointers on his way to 24 points to lead the Eltham Wildcats to the 88-82 victory against the Casey Cavaliers.

The Cavs were back home at Casey Stadium on the back of a three-game winning streak with Eltham arriving also having won their past three.

It was a strong start at home from the Cavaliers with 28 points to 22 in the first quarter and the home team were back up 10 in the second term before the Wildcats began to take over.

They went on a 10-0 run and by half-time had assumed the 43-39 edge.

Eltham maintained that advantage throughout the second half on the way to the eventual six-point win to improve to 6-2 on the season with the four wins in-a-row.

Weeks delivered 24 points with 5/11 three-point shooting in the win for the Wildcats with Sam Short finishing with 12 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Mitch McCarron 13 points, three boards, three assists and three steals.

Harry Hornery added 12 points and five rebounds with Leonardo Colimerio also having 10 points and five boards.

Casey are now 3-4 having missed out on a fourth consecutive victory with Ibrahima Diallo putting up 19 points with 10 rebounds and four blocks with Tanner Krebs contributing 19 points, eight boards, four steals and two assists.

Preston Bungei also had 17 points, eight rebounds and two assists, and Jesse Ghee 16 points and five assists.

Kilsyth Cobras (98) defeated Ballarat Miners (67)

The Kilsyth Cobras had five players in double figures and dominated the Ballarat Miners for the 98-67 home victory.

The Cobras were back home at Kilsyth Sports Centre trying to snap a two-game losing run as they hosted a Miners team having lost five straight with just one win so far in 2026.

Kilsyth started strongly on their home floor with 24 points to 14 in the first quarter having led by as much as 15 and they were still leading 48-38 by half-time.

It was another 23 points to 11 in the third period and then 27 to 18 in the fourth with the Cobras romping to the 31-point victory to improve to a 4-3 record.

Jamie Ahale finished with 22 points and three assists with 5/11 three-point shooting for Kilsyth with Dillon Stith adding 19 points, 11 boards, four steals and three assists, and Adrian Tomada 13 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Malik McKinney also had 13 points, five assists and four rebounds, Chris Payton Jr 11 points and nine boards, and Corey Jeffs eight points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Ballarat remained anchored to bottom spot at 1-7 with Brookly Bruton top-scoring with 16 points while Lachlan Dent added 14 points and six assists, and Ethan Fiegert 11 points and seven rebounds.

Dandenong Rangers (91) lost to Ringwood Hawks (102)

Jonathan Lawton had 30 points and Chris Brandon an impressive double double for the Ringwood Hawks to get a second win of the season beating the Dandenong Rangers 102-91.

The Rangers were back home at Dandenong Basketball Stadium having so far won four of six games in 2026 with the Hawks arriving with just one win in seven and having lost their past two.

Ringwood started well away from home with 30 points to 23 and then the Hawks added another 25 to 21 in the second term to head into half-time leading 55-44.

The Hawks then took further control in the third frame with 24 points to 16 to open up a 22-point edge and then going on to win by 11 despite the 31 fourth quarter points from Dandenong.

Ringwood improve to 2-6 with the win with Lawton delivering 30 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals with 4/7 shooting from deep and 8/10 at the charity stripe.

Brandon also had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Uche Dibiamaka 15 points, four boards and three assists, Harry Sealey nine points and six assists, and Tom Carroll nine points, five boards and five assists.

The Rangers are now 4-3 with the loss with Joe Palmer finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists with Ryan Rapp contributing 16 points, six boards, four assists and two steals, Michael Meadows 12 points and four assists, and Josh Kunen 10 points and five rebounds.

Knox Raiders (108) lost to Mount Gambier Pioneers (111)

The Mount Gambier Pioneers had plenty of work to do with seven minutes to play but they took over from there on the way to the thrilling 111-108 win over a Knox Raiders team who were sitting in top spot.

The Raiders were back home at the State Basketball Centre with six wins from seven matches so far while the Pioneers arrived trying to build some momentum with just two wins in six games so far.

The Pioneers started strongly with 30 points to 21 in the first quarter but then the Raiders responded with 30 to 22 and it was Mount Gambier narrowly leading 52-51 at the half.

Knox then had 33 points to 29 in the third period and then three-pointers to start the last quarter from Tad Dufelmeier and Henry Sewell put Knox up seven.

They were still up six with seven minutes to play but just two minutes later and a triple from Ngor Manyang put Mount Gambier back up two.

The lead continued to exchange hands but the Pioneers did get up four a couple of times late but after free throws from Collin Moore, it was a three-point Mount Gambier lead.

Knox didn’t have much time without a timeout and Trazarien White couldn’t knock down his prayer to force overtime and the Pioneers held on to win by three.

Mount Gambier are now 3-4 after the win with Moore delivering 24 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals, and Gordon 22 points and 15 boards.

Alex Mudronja also had 22 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Manyang 21 points and three boards.

Knox slip to 6-2 after the loss with White finishing with 25 points and eight rebounds with Dufelmeier adding 23 points, 12 boards, five assists and three steals with 5/10 shooting from behind the arc.

Brandon Slater also had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Kobe Williamson 11 points, four boards, three blocks and two assists.

Frankston Blues (109) lost to Nunawading Spectres (112)

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.

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.

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.

Tom Garrett finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists with 5/8 from behind the arc for Frankston.

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.

Diamond Valley Eagles (98) lost to Keilor Thunder (101)

Mirko Djeric and Noah Todd hit two three-pointers each in the last three minutes, and Ryley Haywood three in quick time just before that, but it wasn’t quite enough with Keilor Thunder holding out the Diamond Valley Eagles for the 101-98 win.

The Eagles were back home at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre looking for a bounce back win while Keilor arrived on the back of beating the Ballarat Miners.

The two teams put on quite the entertaining show starting with a combined 59 points in the first quarter with Keilor leading 31-28 by quarter-time.

The Thunder were still leading 50-47 by half-time and then 72-67 at three quarter-time before it was quite the spectacular fourth quarter from both teams.

A couple of buckets to Landon Seaman saw Keilor up nine three minutes into the quarter but then Haywood landed three triples for Diamond Valley in the space of a minute to make it a two-point ball game.

Keilor kept on having the answers and Tana Kopa hit a three-pointer and Seaman hit a jumper to push their lead back out to nine before the Eagles kept themselves close with a pair of long bombs from Todd and Djeric over the next couple of minutes.

Mitch Blackburn then scored for Diamond Valley to bring scores level with a minute to play but two free throws each to Matthew Johns and Deng Dut, and finally Daniel Foster was enough for Keilor to hold on for the three-point win.

The Thunder improve to 4-3 with the victory with Seaman producing 31 points and four rebounds on 14/22 field goal shooting with Kopa adding 21 points on 5/9 shooting from behind the three-point line.

Foster also had 15 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals, and Deng Dut 13 points, seven assists, three boards and two steals.

Diamond Valley are now 2-5 after the defeat with Haywood producing 28 points and three rebounds on 8/13 three-point shooting.

Todd also had 19 points and seven rebounds with 4/8 shooting from downtown while Daniel Poelsma contributed 17 points and five boards, Blackburn 15 points and seven rebounds, Aleksandar Bandilovski 10 points and five boards, and Djeric nine points and 10 assists.

SUNDAY

Waverley Falcons (85) lost to Dandenong Rangers (98)

The Dandenong Rangers hit back from their loss the previous night to beat the Waverley Falcons 98-85 on the road on Sunday.

The Rangers had played the previous night and lost at home to the Ringwood Hawks while the Falcons were playing their first game since beating the Mount Gambier Pioneers on Anzac Day.

The two teams locked horns at Waverley Basketball Centre and it was the Rangers leading by just a point at quarter-time and then it was the Falcons up by five at half-time.

It was then just a four-point lead for Waverley by three quarter-time and then Dandenong took charge with 34 points to 17 in the final stanza to go from four points down to winning by 13.

The victory improves the Rangers to a 5-3 record with Harry Froling providing 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists with Joe Palmer adding 22 points, seven boards and two assists.

Sam Davidson also had 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, Justin Bieker 10 points, five boards, three assists and three steals, and Joe Lubarsky nine points and seven rebounds.

Waverley are now 3-4 on the season with Gabe Hadley finishing with 20 points and three assists, Miles Gibson 19 points and six boards, Bennie Lewis 15 points on 3/5 three-point shooting, Michael Harper nine points and five rebounds, and Matthew McCarthy nine points, five boards and two assists.

Keilor Thunder (91) defeated Geelong United (75)

Tana Kopa scored 22 points and hit four triples to help Keilor Thunder back up their thrilling win from the night before to beat Geelong United 91-75.

Both teams played on Saturday night with Keilor winning a heartstopper over the Diamond Valley Eagles while Geelong went down at home to the Sandringham Sabres.

The Thunder started well with 27 points to 20 in the opening term before going into half-time on top 43-34 and then pulling away further with 28 to 12 in the third frame.

That included Keilor going on a 15-0 run to open up a 29-point lead and then going on to score the 16-point victory from there to improve to 5-3 with the double win weekend.

Kopa hit another 4/10 from three-point territory for the Thunder on his way to 22 points and eight rebounds with Daniel Foster contributing 20 points, seven boards and five assists, and Deng Dut 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Landon Seaman also had nine points, six rebounds and two assists, and Zach Hinton seven points and four boards.

It's a pair of losses on the weekend for Geelong who are now 1-6 with Lachlan Barker delivering 28 points, five rebounds and two steals with 5/13 shooting from three-point territory.

Liam Herbert added 11 points with Malik Hunt contributing 10 points and six rebounds, and Deng Riak eight points and eight boards.

Melbourne Tigers (80) lost to Knox Raiders (105)

The Knox Raiders hit back emphatically from their loss on Saturday night to hammer the previously on fire Melbourne Tigers 105-80 on Sunday.

The Tigers were playing their lone game on the weekend and were on a four-game winning run when hosting the Raiders at Melbourne Sport and Aquatic Centre.

Knox arrived having lost a thriller the night before at home to the Mount Gambier Pioneers but they didn’t take long to take out that frustration on the Tigers.

The Raiders put up 39 points to 23 in the first quarter on the back of shooting 91 per cent inside the arc and 71 outside it before then pushing that lead out to 21 in the second term, and still leading 57-42 at the half.

Knox were in cruise control from there and went up by as much as 31 before winning by 25 and improving to a 7-2 record as a result.

Trazarien White delivered 23 points, five rebounds and two assists on 10/16 shooting for the Raiders with Kobe Williamson putting up 19 points and 14 boards, and Brody Nunn 19 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals.

Brandon Slater contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Henry Sewell 16 points on 3/3 three-point shooting.

The Tigers are now 5-2 following the defeat with George Blagojevic top-scoring with 20 points and six rebounds with Jack Purchase adding 18 points and four assists, Tom Wilson 16 points and five assists, and Michael Wearne seven points, eight rebound, four assists and four steals.

Sandringham Sabres (112) defeated Mount Gambier Pioneers (99)

The Sandringham Sabres at full strength showed that there's plenty of life left in their championship defence with Kyle Adnam and Malith Machar back for a double this weekend after Sunday's 110-97 win over the Mount Gambier Pioneers.

When Adnam went for a short stint in the NZ NBL and Machar was sidelined at the same time and even Dane Pineau missed a couple of games, suddenly the Sabres were just hanging on for dear life.

They showed what they were capable of with a dominant road win on Saturday against Geelong United ahead of hosting the Pioneers at Southern Basketball Stadium on Sunday.

Mount Gambier have also welcomed back captain Alex Mudronja this weekend and they beat the Knox Raiders in a high-scoring thriller on Saturday.

The Sabres scored the first 10 points of the game and even though it was just a two-point lead by half-time, the reigning champs took over in the season half to build a 26-point lead before winning by 13 and improving to 4-4 as a result with the Pioneers now 3-5.

Sandringham completed a double-win weekend in style with Machar top-scoring with 24 points, three rebounds and three steals including hitting 3/5 from behind the three-point line.

His Melbourne United NBL26 teammate Kyle Bowen also had 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 10/17 shooting with Elliott Brown adding 18 points, five boards and five assists with 6/9 field goal shooting and going 5/5 at the free-throw line.

CJ Asuncion-Byrd also had 12 points and two assists, Pineau 12 points, 13 rebounds and two steals, and Adnam 11 points, five boards and five assists.

Mount Gambier couldn’t quite back up their stunning win the night before over the Knox Raiders to now be 3-5 on the season despite having six players that all scored between 12 and 20 points in the game.

Scott Telfer led the way with 20 points with three rebounds and three steals with Mudronja having made his return this weekend and providing 19 points and two boards with 3/6 three-point shooting.

Elijah Saifaleupolu added 17 points on 6/9 shooting from the field and 3/4 from downtown with Lucas Gordon contributing 15 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Collin Moore provided 16 points and four rebounds while Ngor Manyang had 10 points in the first period and 12 for the game with two assists.

Nunawading Spectres (102) defeated Diamond Valley Eagles (80)

The Nunawading Spectres won a thriller on Saturday night and backed up with a dominant showing after quarter-time to beat the Diamond Valley Eagles 102-80 on Sunday.

Both teams played on Saturday night with the Spectres winning with a buzzer-beating play from Jack Gandolfo over the Frankston Blues while the Eagles lost at home in similarly thrilling circumstances against Keilor Thunder.

Both teams backed up at Nunawading Basketball Centre and it was Diamond Valley starting the better with 21 points to 13 in the opening period.

Nunawading then produced a blistering second term with 36 points to 14 to open up a 17-point lead and to be on top 49-35 at the interval.

The Spectres then made sure of the 22-point win thanks to 31 points to 20 again in the final period as they improve to a 7-2 record thanks to two wins in less than 24 hours.

Dylan Penn delivered 21 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals in the win for Nunawading with Christian D'Angelo contributing 19 points, four boards and two steals, and Daniel Baxter 19 points and eight rebounds.

Ben Griscti added 11 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists, Dyson King-Hawea nine points and four boards, Jack Gandolfo nine points, and Kingsley Box four points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Diamond Valley are now 2-6 following the pair of defeats with Ryley Haywood having another 25 points with 6/9 three-point shooting while Daniel Poelsma added 16 points and five rebounds, Noah Todd 11 points and nine boards, and Aleksandar Bandilovski 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.