Category: National Basketball League

Cairns defeats Brisbane in Loughton’s last game

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au : Their season may have gone down in flames early, but the Cairns Taipans have ensured captain Alex Loughton’s name goes down in glory with an emotion-charged win over the Brisbane Bullets on Saturday. Love was all around the building with 5,006 Orange Army faithful turning up to pay appreciation to the club stalwart, as his late and-one could have destroyed their Sunshine State rivals’ chances at making the playoffs. It was done in the grind-it-out method so common to Loughton and his Snakes of the past decade,…

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NBL R17 preview: Illawarra Hawks v NZ Breakers

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: Illawarra Hawks v New Zealand Breakers When: 7.50pm (AEDT), Saturday 9 February Where: WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong Broadcast: Fox Sports; Sky Sports NZ The last time Illawarra 107 (Blanchfield 27, Conklin 20, Jett 14, Ogilvy 14) d New Zealand 96 (Weeks 22, Abercrombie 20, Long 17), WIN Entertainment Centre, Round 14 The wheels fell off shortly after three-quarter-time for New Zealand. Tom Abercrombie nailed a trifecta to put them 15 in front and cruising to victory, but the Hawks unleashed a 34-8 run to steal the game. AJ Ogilvy and Emmett…

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Perth outclasses Sydney in 88-68 beatdown

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: The demise of the Perth Wildcats was greatly exaggerated with the league’s benchmark back to some imposing form and to the top of the NBL with a dominant 88-68 victory over the Sydney Kings on Sunday. The start of Round 14 saw the Wildcats lose on the road to Adelaide to leave them in danger of seeing their remarkable playoff streak come to an end having lost seven of the past eight games. But the response from the ‘Cats has been emphatic starting with a narrow home win…

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Perth pounds Adelaide 100-81

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: The old warhorse Damian Martin turned on a clinic as the Perth Wildcats shook off a blistering Adelaide 36ers start to continue their resurgence with a statement-making 100-81 win on Friday night at RAC Arena. The Sixers shot out of the blocks with 18 points in the game’s first four minutes with Jacob Wiley hitting 12 of them as they looked set to fire themselves back into the NBL’s top four. It wasn’t to be with the 36ers ending up scoring just 13 points in the second quarter…

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Sydney reclaims top spot after 87-81 win over Brisbane

Brandon King

Andrew Bogut still has gas in the tank, Daniel Kickert is still a force and the Sydney Kings are back at the top of the ladder after an 87-81 win in Brisbane on Friday night. Those who questioned a ‘tired’ Sydney’s ability to match it with the best have been caught crying wolf as the Kings took care of business beating the Bullets by six points at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Bogut was the best player on the court, but not even he could register a single offensive rebound as the…

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Cairns defeats New Zealand in OT 106-98

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: FAST FACTS • Cairns have hosted consecutive home games with overtime for the first time in their history • The Taipans came from 12 points down to win – the first time they have won from more than four points behind this season • It was Taipans first overtime win since December 2015 after five consecutive losses • Melo Trimble had 32 points, five rebounds and five assists. First Taipan ever to have 32/5/5 twice in the same season • Jarrad Weeks scored 17 points for the Bre…

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Why NBA people whose thoughts, actions and decisions mean something are looking at the NBL

Brandon King

This is an interesting read from Liam Santamaria on how more NBA team eyes are starting to focus on the NBL. Written for nbl.com.au by Liam Santamaria The NBL’s reputation as a breeding ground for NBA talent continues to grow, with more NBA coaches, agents, analysts and scouts than ever viewing the league as a legitimate development pathway. It’s a reputation that has skyrocketed over recent years thanks to a combination of factors, including the increased visibility of the league, the NBLxNBA initiative and the success of young players developing…

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Illawarra defeats New Zealand 107-96 in come from behind win

Brandon King

From nbl.com.au: Forward pair Todd Blanchfield and Brian Conklin combined for 47 points to lead the Illawarra Hawks to Friday night’s inspired 107-96 comeback victory over the New Zealand Breakers at WIN Entertainment Centre. Illawarra were behind at every change before outscoring the Breakers 34-11 in the final quarter to claim their 10th win of the season and stay in the finals race. Jordair Jett and AJ Ogilvy scored 14 points apiece off the bench for the Hawks, while four-time Olympian David Andersen added 10. “Our last four games are…

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Adelaide 36ers ink Shaun Bruce as injury replacement

Brandon King

In light of the calf injury that will cost Ramone Moore the rest of the season, the Adelaide 36ers have signed Shaun Bruce on a short-term deal. This will Bruce’s second go-round with Cairns; he made his NBL debut with the club in 2013. He would sign a two-year deal with the Brisbane Bullets in 2016. In 2018 Bruce signed with the Wellington Saints in the New Zealand NBL. Bruce’s older brother Aaron debuted with Adelaide in 2008-09 and had a second stint as a injury replacement player in 2009-10.…

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NBL Round 13 Studs and Duds

Brandon King

Written for nbl.com.au by Liam Santamaria A trio of gutsy comebacks highlighted an eventful Round 13 – a weekend full of big-time players making big-time plays, more surprising results and, of course, plenty of studs and duds. STUDS Melo Trimble (Cairns Taipans) With his mum paying a visit from the States, Trimble poured in a massive 74 points across Round 13, connecting on a flat-out ridiculous 13-of-17 from long range. Wheeling and dealing off the dribble, the talented point(s) guard was borderline unstoppable for most of the weekend as he…

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