West Spotlight | Wildcats pair lift Eagles to home win

Featured image: @hyperfocusimages | Michael Bailey

David Okwera fired for 16 third quarter points and he combined with Perth Wildcats NBL teammate Lat Mayen for 52 as East Perth Eagles overcame 59 from Jock Perry and Lachlan Bertram to beat the Mandurah Magic 113-98.

Both teams were coming off season-opening losses with the Eagles going down on the road to the Willetton Tigers while the Magic lost at home to the Rockingham Flames.

They backed up on Saturday night at Morley Sport and Recreation Centre, and made a flying start with 64 points between them in the first quarter with Okwera, Mayen, Perry and Bertram scoring 49 of those.

The Eagles were without Jonah Antonio who is on Australian Gangurrus 3x3 duties with the Magic still awaiting the arrival of Michael Dupree and Matt Kenyon, but they still put on an entertaining show.

In the end, it was a 42-point fourth quarter from East Perth that was the difference as they opened up a 20-point fourth quarter lead and managed to convert it into the eventual 15-point win.

On the back of his 13 points in the first quarter and 16 in the third, Okwera finished the night with 33 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks on a supremely efficient 12/13 shooting from the field, 2/2 from three-point range and 7/9 at the foul line.

His NBL26 Wildcats teammate Mayen was playing his first game in the NBL1 West as well after leading the West Adelaide Bearcats to an NBL1 Central championship in 2025. He had 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks first up in 30 minutes.

Lee Roberts also had 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals for East Perth, Max Rice 13 points, four assists and three boards, Nick Filpo 15 points and six assists, and Bing Huang 11 points and three assists.

While the Magic await the arrival of Matt Kenyon and Michael Dupree, Lachlan Bertram and Jock Perry are holding down the fort and they did all they could to give their team a chance on Saturday night.

After his 29 points on 28 shots last week against Rockingham, Bertram finished with 32 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals this time around while shooting 10/19 from the floor, 3/10 from deep and 9/10 at the stripe.

Perry also ended up with 27 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in his second game with Mandurah having last played in the NBL1 in the South at the Diamond Valley Eagles in 2024, and also having a stint at the Tasmania JackJumpers in the NBL as part of his professional career.

Ryan Blanchett has won two championships at the Geraldton Buccaneers, but is back playing under Mark Utley in 2026 and he had 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals for Mandurah with Joel Gillett adding nine points and seven boards.

Both teams made a blistering start offensively in the first quarter combining for 64 points with the Eagles shooting 59 per cent from the field and the Magic 60 with East Perth narrowly leading 33-31 by quarter-time.

David Okwera and Lat Mayen had already combined for 22 points on 9/11 shooting in the first 10 minutes for the Eagles while Lachlan Bertram already had 16 for the Magic and Jock Perry 11 with them combining for 10/15 shooting.

The scoring rate couldn’t quite continue in the second quarter but things remained tight and by half-time scores were locked at 53-53.

By the break, Mayen and Okwera had 30 points on 12/17 shooting for East Perth while Perry and Bertram had delivered 38 on 15/23 for Mandurah.

It was in the third frame where the Eagles made their move and it was all on the back of Okwera who was proving unstoppable on the back of his best NBL season with the Perth Wildcats.

He scored 16 points on perfect 6/6 shooting for the quarter and the Eagles put up 42 points as a team on 16/20 shooting including going 5/6 from deep to end up leading by 20 at three quarter-time.

The Magic did keep on coming, though, and were rewarded by ramping up their pressure forcing East Perth into six last quarter turnovers, and when Ben Karlo scored with just over two minutes to play, it was just a nine-point game.

But East Perth answered with a tough three-point play from captain Lee Roberts and the Eagles went on to secure the 15-point win in their home opener for 2026.

The Eagles are back on the road on Friday night against the Warwick Senators while the Magic are back on their home floor on Saturday against the Eastern Suns.

NBL1 WEST 2026 SEASON | ROUND 2

EAST PERTH EAGLES 113 (Okwera 33, Mayen 19, Filpo 15)

MANDURAH MAGIC 98 (Bertram 32, Perry 27, Blanchett 13)