DrinkWise Preview: NBL26 - Round 18, Game 1 v Brisbane Bullets

We are set to return to Bendigo for our final Ignite Cup game when we face the Brisbane Bullets on Wednesday evening.

Having swept our three previous games this season against the Bullets, we will head into the contest full of confidence.

For Brisbane, 13 losses in their past 14 games has seen the team tumble to the bottom of the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 ladder.

WHAT’S THE WORD?

Looking ahead to Wednesday, Head Coach Dean Vickerman spoke about the improvements he saw from the group at HoopsFest, and how we can continue to get better down the stretch of close games.

“It's a step in the right direction… I think the commitment to improving the defensive end and getting back to letting that be what sparks everything for us,” Vickerman explained.

“Our spacing was pretty good. We thought we still had a lot of wide-open shots that we think we're capable of making. But for the most part, we continue to stretch out six, seven, eight-point leads and how we can continue to manage game situations down the stretch is continual work on.”

Despite a difficult stretch of results, Bullets Interim Head Coach Darryl McDonald says he expects his team to continue fighting hard across the final quarter of the season.

“I don’t want to see quit in our group,” McDonald said.

“That’s not us. We’re not going to be quitting because it gets hard. We’ll continue to play hard and let the chips fall (where they may).

WHO’S HOT, WHO'S NOT

Across the last two rounds, no player has been as dangerous from beyond the arc as Chris Goulding, who appears to have re-captured the form that saw him lead all local players in scoring last season.

In his last three games, Goulding is averaging 19 points per game, while connecting on 4.3 three-pointers per game at over 40%.

Across his career, Goulding has made 122 threes against the Bullets.

On the other side, import guard Hunter Maldonado has been a revelation for Brisbane since joining the team a few games ago.

The American is averaging 22.3 points and 6.3 assists per game, but is yet to record a win with the team.

DETAILS

Who: Melbourne United vs Brisbane Bullets

Tip-off: 5:30pm AEDT, Wednesday 21 January, 2026

Where: Bendigo Arena, Bendigo

Tickets: Less than 500 remaining.

Watch: ESPN & Disney+

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