Off-season Games Wrap: Krslovic, Koppens battle Wilson in NBL1 showdown

Melbourne United’s stars were busy over the past seven days, taking to the court in some blockbuster matchups.

Perhaps the highlight of this week’s slate of games was the battle between the Sandringham Sabres duo of Fabijan Krslovic and Tom Koppens, and Melbourne Tigers star Tom Wilson on Saturday evening.

After a strong first half from the Sabres at home, Wilson did all he could to get the Tigers back within reach, tallying a team-high 21 points.

This was however not enough, with Sandringham finishing as 21-point winners. The victory extends the Sabres winning streak to eight games, lifting the side into fifth on the NBL1 South ladder with two rounds remaining.

Despite the loss, Wilson and the Tigers were able to hold onto their third spot on the table.

Also picking up wins in the NBL1 South were Tanner Krebs, who’s Ringwood Hawks dismantled Bendigo by 34 points, and training player Henry Sewell, who picked up a slim one-point win over the Nunawading Spectres.

Over in New Zealand, Kyle Bowen experienced mixed results, first going down on Tuesday in a top-of-the-table clash with Wellington, before putting together a bounce-back performance on Sunday against Franklin.

Bowen and the Canterbury Rams will now face either Taranaki or Southland in the NZNBL Semi Final Series.

On the other side of the globe, Dash Daniels and the Australian Emu’s brought their U19 FIBA World Cup to a close, finishing with a sixth-placed finish and a 4-3 record.

Across the tournament, Daniels averaged 8.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and one steal per game.

RESULTS

Tuesday

Canterbury 84 def by Wellington 90 (NZNBL)
Bowen - 5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals

Wednesday

Australia 71 def France 63 (U19 FIBA World Cup)
Daniels - 4 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists

Thursday

Australia 106 def Dominican Republic 96 (U19 FIBA World Cup)
Daniels - 14 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Friday

Australia 67 def by Germany 80 (U19 FIBA World Cup)
Daniels - 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

Saturday

Sandringham 92 def Melbourne 71 (NBL1 South)
Krslovic - 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
Koppens - 12 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal
Wilson - 21 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists

Knox 83 def Nunawading 82 (NBL1 South)
Sewell - 11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block

Australia 78 def Israel 72 (U19 FIBA World Cup)
Daniels - 1 point, 1 rebound, 1 assist

Sunday

Ringwood 113 def Bendigo 69 (NBL1 South)
Krebs - 17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

Canterbury 107 def Franklin 91 (NZNBL)
Bowen - 13 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block

Australia 72 def by Canada 75 (U19 FIBA World Cup)
Daniels - 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

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*Photo - Mitchell Barlow