Off-season Games Wrap: United stars fall in razor-thin Preliminary Final

Melbourne United’s final collection of players have bowed out of the NBL1 South postseason.

The Sandringham Sabres quartet of Shea Ili, Tanner Krebs, Tom Koppens and Campbell Blogg went down on Saturday night in nail-biting fashion against the Ballarat Miners.

A back and forth contest throughout, it ultimately came down to the final 20 seconds of action, with Ballarat able to connect on their final shot to send the Sabres home.

Ili fuelled the home side for much of his 34 minutes, scoring a team-high 31 points, while Krebs added a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double.

United’s only representatives in the NBL1 National Finals will now be Kyle Bowen, as his Knox Raiders gained automatic qualification after winning the Championship in 2023.

Over in France, Matthew Dellavedova made his impact felt in the Boomers most recent Olympic matchup.

Trailing by as many as 19 points against Greece, Dellavedova was injected into the contest after not playing a minute in the first half.

The now four-time Olympian provided the spark Australia needed, finishing as a team best +10 in his seven minutes and helping the Boomers claw back into the contest.

While it wasn’t enough to secure the win, the six-point margin of defeat was enough to help Australia progress to the quarter finals on point-differential. 

The Boomers will now face Serbia on Tuesday evening from 10:30pm.

RESULTS 

Friday

Australia 71 def by Greece 77

Matthew Dellavedova - 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

Saturday

Sandringham Sabres 101 def by Ballarat Miners 103

Shea Ili - 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal

Tanner Krebs - 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block

Tom Koppens - 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block

Campbell Blogg - 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal

To keep up to date with all of United’s Free Agency news, keep your eye on our Offseason Hub and download the Melbourne United app on iOs or Google Play.