Offseason Games Wrap: Ili shines in return to action

Melbourne United star Shea Ili has made his return to the court over the weekend, suiting up for the Sandringham Sabres in the NBL1 South.

Coming off the bench, Ili poured in 23 points, including a pair of three-point makes, in a back-and-forth battle against the Casey Cavaliers.

Flanked by Kyle Bowen (13 points, 12 rebounds, four steals, three blocks) and Malith Mahcar (17 points, five rebounds), the Sabres ultimately fell just short, going down by a single point.

The rest of United’s stars playing in the NBL1 enjoyed great success, starting with Tom Wilson, who registered a 19-point, 10-assist double-double in a road win over Geelong before scoring 17 in a blowout against Frankston at home.

Wilson and the Melbourne Tigers now sit in second on the ladder, only trailing Christian D’Angelo and Nunawading Spectres, whose 8-2 record has them lording over the rest of the conference.

D’Angelo did his part to keep their momentum going, scoring 22 points as they took down Eltham at home by 17 points.

In the East, Fabijan Krslovic led the Norths Bears to two more victories, averaging 18.5 points and seven rebounds to improve their record to 9-1, good for the number two spot on the ladder.

Internationally, Sam Waardenburg split his pair of games in Puerto Rico as he played as more of a facilitator (5.5 assists per game). His Indios hold onto fourth place in their conference.

Still firmly in the post-season hunt are Jesse Edwards and Baskonia, who picked up an important win over Valencia in the Spanish ACB. 

With four games remaining, Baskonia sit in fifth on the table, but remain firmly in contention to rise as high as second.

Unfortunately for Milton Doyle, his season in Italy with Napoli came to a close. Despite a 27-point final-round victory, Napoli finished one game out of the postseason.

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