Off-season Games Wrap: Ili orchestrates pair of big Sabres wins

Some dominant play from star Melbourne United guard Shea Ili has helped the Sandringham Sabres extend their winning streak to seven games across the weekend.

On Thursday evening, the Kiwi guard was instrumental in the Sabres home win over Ringwood, tallying 27 points, including five three-pointers, in the 17-point victory.

While those scoring figures dropped to just 10 points the following night, Ili’s attack was less necessary, with the former NBL1 South MVP playing just 22 minutes in a 26-point drubbing on the road against Waverley.

Facing the Falcons, it was the pair of Campbell Blogg (24 points) and a returning Tanner Krebs (21 points) that did the majority of the heavy lifting for Sandringham.

Elsewhere in the conference, Kyle Bowen’s monster double-double wasn’t enough to get his Knox side over the line.

Bowen had 15 points and 15 rebounds to go along with four assists, two steals and a block. The result drops Knox out of the top eight.

In the NZNBL, Rob Loe and Auckland had their 10-game winning streak ended at the hands of Canterbury, who as a result have leapfrogged the Tuatara for top-spot on the competition table.

Loe did a bit of everything in the three-point loss, finishing with seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and a block.

Flynn Cameron and the Taranaki Airs suffered a similar result, dropping their matchup with the Wellington Saints.

Cameron scored five points, dished out six assists and pulled down seven rebounds.

RESULTS 

Sandringham Sabres 100 def Ringwood Hawks 86

Shea Ili - 27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Campbell Blogg - 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

Sandringham Sabres 110 def Waverley Falcons 84

Campbell Blogg - 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

Tanner Krebs - 21 points, 9 rebounds

Shea Ili - 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

Knox Raiders 89 def by Diamond Valley Eagles 93

Kyle Bowen - 15 points, 115 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Taranaki Airs 85 def by Wellington Saints 96

Flynn Cameron - 5 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists

Auckland Tuatara 83 def by Canterbury Rams 86

Rob Loe - 7 Points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block

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