South Wrap | Men's Round 6

Featured image: Rachel Louise - Rachel Louise Photography @rachellouisephotographyau

The Nunawading Spectres made it five straight to stay on top of NBL1 South while there were double wins for the Melbourne Tigers, Kilsyth Cobras and Ringwood Hawks with big games along the way from Jonathan Lawton, Kye Savage and TJ Weeks.

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FRIDAY

Mount Gambier Pioneers (101) defeated Hobart Chargers (100)

The Mount Gambier Pioneers were playing catch up all night but Alex Mudronja hit the go-ahead three pointer as they came back from 10 points down and withstood 68 points from Jacob Richards and Luke Rosendale to beat the Hobart Chargers 101-100.

The Chargers arrived at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre looking to continue their strong start to the season and they led the Pioneers all evening with the home team trying to build some momentum into their season.

Hobart were 10 points up in the third quarter and they were still eight up during the fourth, and they were on top by six with three minutes to go.

Eventually, four Rosendale free throws had the Chargers up two before with just over 30 seconds to go, Mudronja stepped up for the game's last score with a go-ahead three-pointer.

Eventually that was enough to win by a point for the Pioneers as they made it a Friday night at home to savour for them to improve to 4-5 with Hobart now 5-3.

Mudronja had a huge night all-round with 29 points with five rebounds and three assists on 12/19 shooting for Mount Gambier including going 3/4 from beyond the arc.

Collin Moore added 15 points, five rebounds and two assists, Scott Telfer 14 points, four boards and four assists, Titus Robinson 13 points and two rebounds, Lucas Gordon 10 points, 11 boards, three assists and two blocks, and Elijah Saifaleupolu nine points.

Jacob Richards was outstanding once more for Hobart finishing with 35 points, nine rebounds and three assists with 13/19 shooting from the floor and 8/9 at the foul line.

Luke Rosendale also had 33 points, five assists and three rebounds with 14/17 free-throw shooting while Joe Chilcott contributed 14 points with 2/3 shooting from downtown, Xavier Clarke eight points and four rebounds, and Nick Paul six points and 10 boards.

SATURDAY

Geelong United (90) lost to Melbourne Tigers (97)

Jack Purchase knocked down six three-pointers to lead the Melbourne Tigers to the 97-90 road win against Geelong United.

United were back home at The Geelong Arena looking to avoid a fifth straight defeat while the Tigers arrived trying to bounce back from a loss to the Knox Raiders.

The Tigers were leading 28-23 by the end of the first quarter before stretching that lead to six at half-time and nine at three quarter-time.

Geelong were able to keep things close during the fourth period but Melbourne continued to have all the answers on the way to the seven-point win to improve to a 6-2 record.

Jack Purchase knocked down 6/11 from behind the three-point line for 24 points and eight rebounds with Tom Wilson adding 19 points, 10 assists, five boards and two steals.

Michael Wearne added 14 points on 4/5 three-point shooting with George Blagojevic contributing 12 points, two rebounds and two assists, Josh Sykes 12 points, nine boards and three assists, and Mason Gaze nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

Geelong are now 1-7 having lost five in-a-row with Liam Herbert finishing with 21 points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists with 5/10 shooting from downtown.

DeMarcus Gatlin added 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, Paul Gakmar 16 points, three boards and two steals, Lachlan Barker 15 points and five rebounds, Deng Riak 10 points, three boards and three assists, and Malik Hunt four points, 12 rebounds and two assists.

Casey Cavaliers (93) defeated Sandringham Sabres (92)

The defending champion Sandringham Sabres couldn’t quite complete the massive fightback with the Casey Cavaliers hold on for the thrilling 93-92 home victory.

The Cavs were back home at Casey Stadium trying to start building some momentum this season while the Sabres arrived having lost their past couple with their troops back.

Sandringham started the better to be leading 29-20 by quarter-time before Casey fired up with 36 points to 20 in the second term to be leading 56-49 at the half.

The Cavaliers pushed their lead out to 18 in the third term and they were still leading 82-66 by three quarter-time.

But the Sabres have enormous belief that they can win from anywhere and they put up 26 points in the fourth quarter including a late triple from Kyle Adnam, but they couldn’t quite get over the hump and fell one-point short.

The Cavs improve to 4-4 with the win with Yuot Gai delivering 17 points and six rebounds on 6/8 shooting with Pat Ryan adding 16 points, three boards, two assists and two steals, and Tanner Krebs 16 points and five rebounds.

Jesse Ghee also had 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, Preston Bungei 11 points, six boards and two assists, and Chan Nai 10 points and six rebounds.

Sandringham are now 4-5 with Kyle Adnam finishing with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists with Shea Ili making his first appearance of the season and top scoring with 23 points, four assists, three boards and two steals.

Malith Machar also had 17 points, five rebounds and two blocks, Kyle Bowen 13 points, 12 boards, four steals and three blocks, and Dane Pineau 14 rebounds to go with four points, three blocks and two assists.

Bendigo Braves (94) defeated Ballarat Miners (83)

Biwali Bayles continued his hot form to start his time in the NBL1 South leading the way for the Bendigo Braves to beat the Ballarat Miners 94-83 at home.

The Braves were back home at Red Energy Arena trying to rebound from last week's loss to the Hobart Chargers while Ballarat arrived having lost their past six and losing to Bendigo to open the season on their home floor.

The Miners did start strongly with 27 points to 18 in the first quarter but Bendigo hit back with 27 to 19 in the second term to cut the Ballarat lead to just 46-45 by half-time.

The Braves then worked on top through the second half to lead by three in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth on the way to the eventual 11-point victory to improve to a 5-3 record.

Biwali Bayles was again outstanding for Bendigo with 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks with shooting 5/8 from beyond the three-point arc.

Ray Turner also had 19 points and six rebounds for Bendigo, Jarvis Doles 13 points and 14 boards, Jordan Straatsma 13 points, five rebound and two assists, and Billy Smythe 13 points and five boards.

Ballarat are now 1-8 following a seventh consecutive defeat with Lachlan Dent putting up 41 points with five assists on 4/10 shooting from deep and 13/15 at the free-throw line.

Jaden Campbell added 16 points and five assists for the Miners, and Ethan Fiegert 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Dandenong Rangers (81) lost to Kilsyth Cobras (96)

Dillon Stith had 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals to lead the Kilsyth Cobras to the 96-81 road victory against the Dandenong Rangers.

The Rangers were back home at Dandenong Basketball Stadium looking to back up last week's win over the Waverley Falcons while the Cobras arrived also fresh off beating the Ballarat Miners.

Kilsyth went on a 12-0 scoring run in the first quarter on the way to building a 24-14 lead by quarter-time before another 24 points to 20 in the second term to go into half-time leading 48-34.

That lead got out to 29 points in the third term for Kilsyth and they went on to complete the 15-point victory to improve to a 5-3 record as a result.

Dillon Stith delivered 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals in the win for the Cobras with Jamie Ahale adding 17 points, five boards and four assists, and Adrian Tomada 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Chris Payton Jr also had 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Corey Jeffs 10 points and two boards, and Malik McKinney 10 points and three assists.

Dandenong are now 5-4 with the loss with Harry Froling finishing with 18 points and nine rebound with 3/5 three-point shooting while San Davidson added 16 points and two steals, Joe Palmer 14 points and five rebounds, and Josh Kunen 10 points and nine boards.

Frankston Blues (104) defeated Keilor Thunder (100)

Tana Kopa threatened to shoot Keilor Thunder to a victory with a huge last quarter but the experience of Daniel Trist and Lucas Barker, and continued emergence of Austin Shelley saw the Frankston Blues prevail 104-100.

It had all the makings of being a tremendous contest at Jubilee Park Stadium with both the Blues and Thunder coming into it on 5-3 records and having played some exciting basketball so far in 2026.

It certainly delivered as well and even though Frankston did lead by as much as 14, Keilor kept on firing back and it was a three-point margin heading into the last term.

That's when things went up a gear and after being scoreless up to that point, Kopa caught fire for Keilor hitting a huge three, making an and-one and threatening to be a match-winner in his first NBL1 South season.

But in the end it was Shelley who hit the biggest shot of the game and then helped seal the four-point win at the line for Frankston as they improve to 6-3 as a result with Keilor now 5-4.

Daniel Trist produced 29 points and five rebounds on 10/14 shooting from the field and 8/10 at the foul line while fellow veteran Lucas Barker had 17 points and four boards with 4/6 from three-point territory.

Shelley continues to emerge as a bright talent in the league with another 18 points and seven assists while Dibaji Walker contributed 16 points, five rebounds and two assists, Vincent Monaghan 11 points, two boards and two steals, and Corey Hastings eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Deng Dut had a big night for Keilor and put up 31 points with eight assists on the back of shooting 13/17 from the floor and 4/7 from three-point range.

Daniel Foster also had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists while Matthew Johns finished with 11 points and three boards, and Tana Kopa 11 points with all his points coming in a massive final quarter.

Knox Raiders (94) lost to Northern Force (101)

Kye Savage and Vincent DeAngelo combined for 53 points and the Northern Force completed a huge fourth quarter fightback to end up beating the Northern Force 101-94 for a second road win of the season.

The Raiders were back home at the State Basketball Centre fresh off beating the Melbourne Tigers last Sunday while the Force arrived having lost three straight before their breakthrough win over Keilor Thunder.

Knox started the better with 24 points to 17 in the first quarter but the Force fired back away from home in the second frame with 26 to 16 to go into half-time on top 43-40.

The Raiders got back on top in the third term and were leading 67-65 by three quarter-time only for the Force to turn it on spectacularly with 36 final quarter points on the way to the seven-point win.

The win improves the Force to 2-6 with Kye Savage producing 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists with 6/15 three-point shooting and going 8/10 at the foul line.

Vincent DeAngelo also delivered 25 points eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks with Logan Gibson adding 14 points, eight boards and six assists, Aaron Ridley III 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks, and Cameron Brown 11 points, seven boards and four assists.

The Raiders are now 7-3 with Kobe Williamson producing a big showing made up of 19 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks with 9/10 shooting.

Trazarien White added 18 points, six rebounds and two steals, Henry Sewell 16 points, three boards and two blocks, Brandon Slater 14 points and five rebounds, and Brody Nunn 13 points and six assists.

Diamond Valley Eagles (88) lost to Ringwood Hawks (98)

The Ringwood Hawks had five players scoring in double figures as they made it back-to-back wins by beating the Diamond Valley Eagles 98-88.

The Eagles were back home at Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre trying to snap a three-game losing slide while the Hawks arrived trying to back up a win against the Dandenong Rangers.

Even though Ringwood led by seven early it was Diamond Valley on top 24-23 by quarter-time before the Hawks took over with 24 points to 11 in the second term to go into the main break leading 47-35.

The lead for Ringwood got out to 12 in the second quarter and by half-time they were in control leading 47-35 but the Eagles did hit back in the third frame with 29 points to 22.

That set up a fascinating last quarter but the Hawks had the answers on the way to the 10-point victory to improve to a 3-6 record as a result.

Chris Brandon top scored for Ringwood with 21 points and four rebounds on 9/11 shooting with Tom Carroll adding 16 points, four assists and three steals, Jonathan Lawton 15 points, seven assists and three steals, and Mitch Dielemans 12 points on 4/6 shooting.

Diamond Valley have now lost four straight to sit at 2-7 with Mirko Djeric top scoring with 22 points and eight assists with 5/11 three-point shooting.

Archie Woodhill added 16 points and six rebounds, Ryley Haywood 13 points and six assists, Daniel Poelsma 12 points, and Aleksandar Bandilovski eight points, 10 rebounds and two assists.

Eltham Wildcats (89) defeated Waverley Falcons (76)

TJ Weeks put up 28 points with six three-pointers with the Eltham Wildcats making it five straight wins for the 89-76 win against the Waverley Falcons.

Eltham were back home at Montmorency Secondary College hunting a fifth straight win while Waverley were trying to get back on the winner's list.

Waverley opened up an early five-point lead before Eltham hit back with 10 straight points to be up one at quarter-time and then putting up 28 points to 17 in the second term to be leading 49-37 at the half.

The Falcons stayed in touch with 25 points to 17 in the third frame but then the Wildcats took charge once more with 23 to 14 in the last term on the way to the 13-point victory.

Eltham now improve to a 7-2 record with five wins in-a-row with TJ Weeks putting up 28 points, two rebounds and two assists with 6/10 three-point shooting.

Harry Hornery added 16 points, four rebounds and two assists, Mitch McCarron 14 points, 11 boards, five assists and two steals, Leonardo Colimerio 13 points and five rebounds, Zak Cunningham 10 points, eight boards and two assists, and Sam Short six points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Waverley have lost back-to-back games to be 3-5 with Gabe Hadley producing 25 points and four assists with 4/8 three-point shooting with Matthew McCarthy adding 21 points, 12 boards and two steals, and Bennie Lewis 11 points and four rebounds.

SUNDAY

Kilsyth Cobras (97) defeated Northern Force (87)

The Kilsyth Cobras made a hot start with 34 points in the fourth quarter and that set them on the path to the eventual 97-87 home victory against the Northern Force.

Both teams were coming off wins the night before with Kilsyth beating the Dandenong Rangers while the Force also finished strongly to overrun the Knox Raiders.

They backed up on Sunday at Kilsyth Sports Centre and the Cobras were on fire in the opening 10 minutes putting up 34 points to lead by 10 already at quarter-time.

That lead continued to grow most of the rest of the afternoon for Kilsyth and got out to 17 points in the second quarter and 19 in the fourth before they completed the 10-point victory after the Force did finish strongly.

The win improves the Cobras to a 6-3 record with Jamie Ahale top scoring with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists with 5/12 three-point shooting.

Chris Payton Jr added 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Ben Ursich 13 points, two assists and two steals, Dillon Stith 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, Malik McKinney 11 points and two assists, and Adrian Tomada 10 points and six assists.

The Force now head home having split their weekend on the road to be 2-7 with Kye Savage having another 25 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Vincent DeAngelo added 21 points with 3/5 three-point shooting while Logan Gibson contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Cameron Brown 12 points, seven boards and three assists.

Ringwood Hawks (105) defeated Geelong United (95)

The Ringwood Hawks put up 66 points in the first half with Jonathan Lawton on his way to 28 with seven triples to lead them to the 105-95 home win against Geelong United.

Both teams were coming off playing on Saturday night with the Hawks beating the Diamond Valley Eagles on the road while Geelong lost to the Melbourne Tigers at home.

They backed up on Sunday at The Rings and it was a blistering start from Ringwood with 36 points in the first quarter and 30 in the second to go into half-time leading 66-54.

That set the Hawks on the path to the eventual 10-point victory to make it a double win weekend to improve to a 4-6 record.

Jonathan Lawton delivered 28 points, three rebounds and two assists with 7/9 shooting from behind the arc while Tom Carroll made 5/9 from deep for 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Harry Sealey added 16 points and six assists, Uche Dibiamaka 12 points, two rebounds and two assists, Lawson Eales 11 points, three boards, two assists and two steals, and Mitch Dielemans 10 points and four assists.

Geelong are now 1-8 having lost six in-a-row despite DeMarcus Gatlin top scoring with 24 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Deng Riak added 19 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Liam Herbert 18 points, six boards and three steals, and Lachlan Barker 14 points and three assists.

Keilor Thunder (107) defeated Hobart Chargers (83)

Keilor Thunder bounced back from a heartbreaking loss the night before with Tana Kopa catching fire to lead them to the 107-83 Sunday win against the Hobart Chargers.

Kopa caught fire in the fourth quarter the night before only for Keilor to just come up short against the Frankston Blues as they backed up at home at Keilor Stadium on Sunday against a Chargers team who lost their own thriller to the Mount Gambier Pioneers back on Friday.

The Thunder made a scorching start with 31 points to 18 in the first quarter and then put up another 35 to 16 in the second on the way to the 66-31 lead by half-time.

That lead got out to as much as 36 points in the second half before Keilor settled on the 24-point victory to improve to a 6-4 record having split their weekend.

Kopa knocked down 5/10 from behind the arc for the Thunder on his way to 29 points, five assists and three rebounds with Deng Dut adding 21 points, six boards and four assists.

Daniel Foster also had 17 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals with Landon Seaman 12 points and two rebounds, and Matthew Johns 10 points, five boards and four assists.

Hobart are now 5-4 following the two road defeats with Jacob Ricahrds producing another 25 points, four rebounds and two assists with Luke Rosendale adding 19 points, three boards and three assists, and Ambros Eugster 10 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Melbourne Tigers (100) defeated Frankston Blues (71)

The Melbourne Tigers got strong contributions across the board with six players scoring in double digits on the way to the 100-71 Sunday win over the Frankston Blues.

The Tigers were fresh off beating Geelong United the night before with the Blues also winning a thriller against the Keilor Thunder as they backed up at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

The Tigers had the better of the start with 28 points to 21 in the first quarter before another 28 to 23 in the second period to be leading 56-44 at half-time.

It was another 22 points to 12 in the third term and then 22 to 15 in the fourth with Melbourne completing the thumping 29-point victory against the Blues.

The win improves the Tigers to a 7-2 record on the season with George Blagojevic finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Tom Wilson put up another 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, Wilson Amos 16 points, three assists and three steals, Jack Purchase 14 points, 11 assists and five rebounds, Mason Gaze 10 points, five assists, four steals and three boards, and Josh Sykes 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

The Blues are now 6-4 having split their weekend with Daniel Trist providing 18 points, five rebounds and two assists while Austin Shelley contributed 12 points, three assists and two blocks, and Dibaji Walker nine points, three rebounds and two assists.

Waverley Falcons (89) defeated Casey Cavaliers (84)

The Waverley Falcons had to withstand a big finish from the Casey Cavaliers to hold on and score the 89-84 home win.

The two teams were coming off playing the previous night with Waverley losing on the road to the Eltham Wildcats while the Cavaliers won a thriller over the defending champion Sandringham Sabres.

They were backing up at Waverley Basketball Centre and after scores were level at quarter-time, with the Falcons pulling away in the second period with 29 points to 15 to be leading 47-33 by half-time.

Waverley built that lead out to 18 points in the second half too before Casey did hit back with 29 points in the last quarter only for the Falcons to hold on for the five-point victory.

Waverley now sit on a 4-5 record with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals while Gabe Hadley added 16 points, six boards and four assists.

Jordan Anderson also had 14 points and two rebounds on 6/6 shooting with Malik Meunier contributing 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Michael Harper 12 points, seven boards, four steals and three assists.

The Cavaliers split their weekend to now be 4-5 with Ibrahima Diallo having a huge performance made up of 32 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks with 14/17 field goal shooting.

Tanner Krebs also had 17 points, five rebounds and two steals, Jesse Ghee 12 points and three assists, and Preston Bungei 12 points, four boards and two blocks.

Nunawading Spectres (94) defeated Eltham Wildcats (77)

Top spot was on the line and the Nunawading Spectres flexed their muscles with the 94-77 home victory on Sunday against the Eltham Wildcats.

Both teams came into the clash at Nunawading Basketball Centre on 7-2 records with the Spectres looking for a fifth straight and making their lone appearance of the weekend with Eltham coming off beating Waverley on Saturday night.

The longer the game went and that freshness of the Spectres came to the fore. They took further control as it went on to end up scoring the 17-point victory for five straight wins to sit at 8-2 to be now clear in top spot with Knox and Eltham both losing this weekend.

It was another impressive performance from Nunawading as they made it five straight to be a game clear in top spot with Christian D'Angelo showing why he now has an NBL contract with Melbourne United.

He finished with 22 points, five assists and four rebounds with 4/10 three-point shooting.

Owen Lobsinger added 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists, Ben Griscti 14 points, seven boards and four assists, Dylan Penn 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Kingsley Box 11 points, three boards and two steals.

The Wildcats end up splitting their challenging double weekend with TJ Weeks having 16 points to half-time and finishing with 21 including going 6/6 at the free-throw line.

Mitch McCarron added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Sam Short 12 points, five boards and two assists, Leonardo Colimerio 12 points and four rebounds, and Zak Cunningham nine points, 11 boards, six assists and two blocked shots.