NBL27 Match Recap: Melbourne United vs Adelaide 36ers. 19 September 2026.

Melbourne United have fallen just short in a thriller against the Adelaide 36ers in the Hungry Jack's NBL27 season opener at John Cain Arena.

Luke Travers was the first on the board for United after a slow start, knocking down a tough fadeaway in the low post.

Josh Oduro quickly followed with a steal on defence, leading to a slam dunk for his first points in John Cain Arena, showing his versatility on both ends.

With a slick drive and finish, veteran Chris Goulding got his first bucket of the season, after which he nailed a triple to give United a five-point lead early in the first.

Midway through the quarter, Joe Ingles took his first steps on the court as a United player and immediately got to work, finding Kyle Bowen for a layup, stopping a short run from the 36ers.

The big men continued to dominate on both ends, as Sam Waardenburg tipped the ball for a steal on defence and took it all the way to the ring for a tough layup.

In his debut minutes for Melbourne, Cole Anthony drove baseline for his first bucket off an isolation at the top of the key, cutting the deficit to down to two.

United ended the term down with the score sitting at 23-25 after Malith Machar showed some defensive brilliance, blocking Bryce Cotton’s three-point attempt as the buzzer sounded.

Kyle Bowen got his second bucket of the game to open the second, finishing off a nice feed from Tom Wilson, tying the game at 25 a piece.

After weathering a quick run from Adelaide, Ingles took over the game, scoring or assisting on United’s next ten points to give Melbourne the lead, including a composed drive and lefty finish to cap off an 8-0 run.

Late in the period, Anthony picked up where Ingles left off, hitting Waardenburg for a baseline jumper and knocking down a midrange of his own to give United a 42-37 lead.

The game continued back and forth, but following a quick pair of triples for the 36ers, the scores sat at 46-49 in favour of the visitors. Oduro was able to cut the deficit to one with a layup at the buzzer.

The American big man opened the second half with a brilliant display of his physicality, grabbing an offensive rebound that led directly into a Tom Wilson three pointer to bring the scores level.

Following a 9-0 Adelaide run, Anthony took over the game, scoring ten straight points in spectacular fashion, including a nasty step-back three on the left wing and a myriad of flashy moves that got him to the ring with ease.

In the final minutes of the period, Ingles made another slick pass for a Travers layup, then getting a layup of his own, setting the score at 70-75 going into the fourth.

Fabijan Krslovic opened the scoring for United in the final period with a crafty reverse finish.

Melbourne continued to chip away at their deficit, with Travers showing off his athleticism with a tough finish and an offensive board just before Ingles hit a massive pull up three off a pass fake, shifting the momentum in United’s favour.

An extra pass out of a pick and roll led to another bucket for Krslovic which left the home team down one after three minutes into the quarter.

The imports took over in clutch time as Anthony and Oduro made their impact felt. Anthony made a tough layup through contact and hit a step-back three in back-to-back possessions, while Oduro dominated the boards, finishing strong for two straight buckets himself.

With just under a minute left, Anthony cashed in a three that almost blew the roof off John Cain to cut the 36ers lead to two.

Despite multiple good looks Adelaide walked away with a 95-97 win in what was pure box office at John Cain on the first Saturday of the Hungry Jacks NBL27 season.

United will next take the court as the away team in Throwdown 33, presented by AXS, inside John Cain Arena against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Thursday 24 September from 7:30pm.

Fans can tune in live via ESPN.

FULL BOX SCORE AVAILABLE HERE