Off-season Games Wrap: NBL1 stars prepare for postseason action

Our NBL1 stars have battled across the weekend to put their teams in the best possible position for the postseason.

On Friday, Tom Wilson put together a herculean effort for the Melbourne Tigers, playing all 40 minutes to lead his side to a narrow three-point victory over the Casey Cavaliers.

The sweet-shooting guard tallied a game-high 34 points, which he then followed up with a 32-point performance on Saturday in another three-point win, this time against Waverley.

The pair of victories locks the Tigers into fifth position on the ladder to close the season. 

Finishing just below Melbourne in the table is Sandringham, whose 11-game winning streak came to a close on Friday in a hard-fought battle against Eltham.

The United quartet of Malith Machar, Fabijan Krslovic, Dash Daniels and Tom Koppens all put together strong contributions in the loss.

They were however able to bounce back later in the round, taking down Bendigo at home by 27 points.

Training Player Henry Sewell also played big minutes at the weekend, doing a bit of everything for Knox, who dropped a close battle with Ballarat.

Sandringham and Melbourne will face off against Hobart and Ballarat respectively on Saturday 26 July in their Elimination Finals, while Knox hosts Eltham in a Qualifying Final on the same evening.

RESULTS

Friday

Sandringham 98 def by Eltham 104 (NBL1 South)
Machar - 23 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Krslovic - 7 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Daniels - 2 points, 1 assist, 3 steals
Koppens - 15 points, 11 rebounds

Melbourne 97 def Casey 94 (NBL1 South)
Wilson - 34 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals

Saturday

Melbourne 102 def Waverley 99 (NBL1 South)
Wilson - 32 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists

Knox 92 def by Ballarat 95 (NBL1 South)
Sewell - 3 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block

Sunday

Sandringham 101 def Bendigo 74 (NBL1 South)
Machar - 17 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Krslovic - 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Daniels - 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assist, 3 steals
Koppens - 10 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

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Photo - Ian Knight