South West Pirates 65 defeated Canberra Nationals 33
A strong first quarter from both teams left the first quarter all ties up at 18 all, but a terrific defensive second term by the Pirates prevented the Nationals from scoring again by half time, while putting another 17 points on the scoreboard themselves with a brilliant 3-pointer on the half time buzzer by Beau Hippolite. The home team couldn’t seem to get their momentum back in the second half and the gap continued to widen throughout the remainder of the match. A three pointer right on full time by Charlie Jordan couldn’t save the Nationals, the Pirates winning by 32 points.
Pirates – W. McDowell-White 10, M. Leahy 10, L. Richardson 10.
Nationals – O. Tonks 7, P. Cross 7, O. Bayly 5.

Sutherland Sharks 51 defeated Doncaster Panthers 49
The Sharks kicked out early and quickly potted 17 points to the Panthers 9 in the first period. The Panthers struck back in the second term and Blake Hardwick shot two three-pointers but the Sharks held onto a slim 27-26 lead when they went into half time break. Sharks coach John Suva said his team usually played better in the back end of a game and they certainly proved that when Julian De Costa took 12 points in the second half. The Panthers trailed by one point with just 30 seconds to go but couldn’t make the required basket and the Sharks sunk a free-throw to seal the victory.
Sharks – J. De Costa 26, L. Banks 10, Z. Edwards 9.
Panthers – B. Hardwick 14, D. Crocker 14, D. Fan 12

Illawarra Hawks 48 defeated Eastern Mavericks 39
The Hawks put their first win on the board for the week and had the upper hand on the Mavericks throughout the game. This one wasn’t the tidiest game of the week, with plenty of fouls called against both teams including a tech foul for the Mavericks. The Hawks had a strong third quarter putting 16 points on the board and despite a fight back by the Mavericks in the final term, the Hawks took the game with a nine point lead.
Hawks – N. Zhang 12, S. Cranney 9, B. McBey 9
Mavericks – M. Wegener 7, B. Wright 7, L. Irvine 7.

Willetton Tigers 70 defeated NT North Geckos 38
The Tigers started strong against the Geckos and Austin Cummings was unstoppable as he shot nine points in the first quarter. Impressive defence by Willetton held the Geckos to just six points in the second term and the score was set at 36-18 at half time. NT North had plenty of opportunities in the third quarter but just couldn’t get the points on the board. The Tigers ran away with it in the final term scoring a massive 23 points and Hamish Colliver had a major part in the victory with 13 points in the last half.
Tigers – H. Colliver 13, E. Neved 11, N. Menegola 10
Geckos – J. West 14, M. Drescher 10, J. Lew Fatt 6

Hills Hornets 59 defeated Forestville Eagles 23
Another win for the undefeated Hornets who made their intentions clear from the beginning to take a 16 point lead by half time, with Mitchell Evans taking 10 points  for his team. The Eagles just couldn’t break through the Hornets defence in the third quarter, putting just one more point on the board while the Hornets took 17. A stronger final term for the Eagles couldn’t get them back in the game, the final score 59-23 to the Hornets.
Hornets – M. Evans 12, B. Gilgorevic 10, M. Morian 9
Eagles – J. O’Gorman 4, A. Georgeson 4, J. Noble 4.

Knox Raiders 55 defeated Logan Thunder 54
Logan pushed the Raiders down to the wire with just one point the difference after they shadowed Knox the entire game. Both teams put on a show in the first quarter and Raiders Shaun Pritchard was again on fire at both ends with tough defence and 9 points just in the first term. Logan got back in the game in the second quarter and used their speed to put 16 points on the board. Denis Maluto picked up some good rebounds for the Thunder in the third period but it wasn’t enough they went into the final term down 44-39. The last twenty seconds were tense when Logan trailed by one point. Three time-outs were called but Logan couldn’t secure the points and the Raiders celebrated the victory.
Raiders – S. Pritchard 24, L. Jones 9, J. Bass 8
Thunder – D. Maluto 18, J. Pulesea 10, R. Wetere 9

Melbourne Tigers 62 defeated Blackburn Vikings 37
A much tighter game than the Tigers are used to, the Vikings made their undefeated opponent work for every point in the first half. Two three-pointers by Vikings’ sharp shooting captain James Locke in the second quarter wasn’t quite enough for them to keep the lead and the Tigers got ahead, aided by , Anthony Karabatsos’ 12 point haul. The half time score finished at 29-23 to the Tigers and the gap continued to widen as the tournament favourites picked up there game even further.  The Tigers finished the game with a solid 25 point win.
Tigers – A. Karabatsos 17, M. Owies 12, C. Hutton 11
Vikings – M. D’Agostino 11, J. Locke 9, T. Williams 8.

Geelong Cats 69 defeated Sturt Sabres 34
In a high scoring first term Geelong burst out 20 points to the Sabres 12 and Sturt had a courageous fight ahead of them to close that eight point gap. An exciting three-pointer by Cale Matthews got the crowd going and the Sabres were able to stretch their score to 22 by half time. The third quarter saw some remarkable defence by the Cats as the Sabres were held to six points. The Cats put the score out of reach in the final term with the last two minutes dominated by Cats shooters. The Cats showed the Sabres how team work was done as every player got points to their name and captain Jake Crawley lead the team from the front with 13 points on the board.
Cats – J. Crawley 13, J. Syddall 10, B. Biggs 10
Sabres – S. Pontifex 10, C. Matthews 7, M. Simmons 5

Canberra Nationals 50 defeated East Perth Eagles 43
You’d be hard pressed to find a match more exciting than this one! The teams were neck and neck for most of the match, although the Eagles kept a couple of points on the Nationals for a lot of the game. A three-pointer by Nationals’ Jackson Duffey on the half time buzzer tied up the half-time score 27 all. The Eagles pulled to the lead for most of the second half, four points ahead at three-quarter time. An intense last few minutes saw the home team push through and gain the lead, the Nationals winning the match by seven points.
Nationals – J. Hampton 18, O. Bayly 10, B. Hoang 7.
Eagles – A. Donlagic 10, S. Ameduri 8.

Doncaster Panthers 72 defeated Northern Tasmania 62
Although Doncaster won the tip off and shot a three-pointer to kick off the game, the rest of the first quarter belonged to Northern Tasmania. Tassie were in front 17-11 when the game went into the second quarter. Doncaster amped it up in the second quarter to go around the Foresters and they finished off a brilliant half with three-pointers from Dave Fan and Blake Hardwick. The third quarter was more evenly matched but although Tasmania had the height, they didn’t collect the rebounds they should have and were behind 58-49 at three quarter time. Doncaster were just too good offensively and they picked up 14 points in their final quarter Blake Hardwick took 21 for the game.
Panthers – B. Hardwick 21, D. Fan 19, N. Martyn 12
Foresters – R. Petterwood 22, Z. Kilby 14, I. Devereaux 12

Rockingham Flames 61 defeated Willetton Tigers 46
A close first half saw the Tigers take an early lead, two points ahead at quarter time. The Flames soon fought back and were ahead by one point at half time, from which there was no turning back. Some excellent defence by Tigers’ captain Emil Nedved, as well as an impressive attack of 15 points wasn’t enough to impinge on the Flames’ game. Two brilliant three-pointers from captain Aidan Zeverona in the final quarter and a game high score of 17 for Bailey Amos sealed the deal for the Flames with a final victory of 61-46.
Flames – B. Amos 17, L. Ebert 14, M, Tregear 9, J. Emonds 9.
Tigers – E. Nedved 15, B. Pang 11, H. Colliver 6.

North West Tasmania Thunder 55 defeated Eastern Mavericks 44
There was nothing to choose between them in the first period and the Thunder snuck ahead the score 15-10 after eight minutes of play. North West looked anxious heading into the second quarter and the Mavericks took advantage and evened the score but Tasmania finished well and were up 30-24 at half time. Tasmania held onto their lead in the third quarter and although Harry O’Neill at only 160cm proved he could still shoot a basket in the face of the Maverick’s tall men. Tasmania through Kyle Clark capped off the final quarter with 14 points.
Tasmania – K. Clark 22, D. Bransden 15, H. O’Neill 6
Mavericks – T. Cleggett 11, B. Wright 11, B. Bald 9

Sandringham Sabres 62 defeated Knox Raiders 41
This game was as much a battle of the supporters in what started out as a close first half. The Sabres pushed to a lead of 27-22 by half time and this lead continued to increase as the game continued. The Sabres kept their heads despite the roars of support for both teams and had a brilliant second half scoring 35 points with a game high score of 21 points to Captain Harley Balic. The game ended with a 21 point win to the Sabres.
Sabres – H. Balic 21, J. Ellison 16, D. Atkins 9.
Raiders – J. Hannon 9, J. Depace 8, S. Pritchard 7.

Hills Hornets 50 defeated Gosford City Rebels 44
This was set to be a blinding game as both teams were coming off straight wins and leading their pool. The Hornets were backing up after a win earlier in the morning and proved they could do it in style, they picked up the first points of the game and were ahead 17-14 after the first term. The second quarter saw the Hornets extend their lead but the Rebels weren’t going to let them get away with it easily. The Rebels chased hard in the third quarter and all the players put their body on the line in search of the victory. They won the quarter scoring 15 points to Hills 5 through the athleticism of Ben Wheeler. The Rebels were within three after three quarter time and it looked like they could storm through however the Hornets defence held and the Rebels were denied a win.
Hornets – M. Morian 15, M. Evans 12, B. Gligoevic 10
Rebels – O. Robilliard 12, B. Wheeler 8, J. Hodgson 8, T. Akamarmoi 8

Geelong Cats 73 defeated Northside Wizards 30
This was a Cats game from the beginning as they scored a massive 40 points by half time to the Wizards 12. The Cat’s superb defence would not let the Wizards inside the circle, forcing them to keep risking the three-pointers with the height of Jacob Pupavac always there to get the rebounds. They remained unstoppable into the second half, scoring another 20 points in the third term while restricting the Wizards to seven. A stronger final quarter by the Wizards couldn’t bring them back from the lead set by the Cats who finished the game a massive 43 points ahead, with a game high score of 14 points for Cats’ Jacob Crawley.    
Cats – J.Crawley 14, J. Pupavac 12, J. O’Leary 10
Wizards – J. Georgetown 8, K. Richards 7, D. Robateau 6.       

Melbourne Tigers 65 defeated Diamond Valley Eagles 48
 The Eagles started the game off strong against hot favourites the Melbourne Tigers and narrowly held out the Tigers 18-17 after the first quarter. The Eagles were playing tough defence against the powerful Tigers and it was anyone’s game. The Tigers pressed in a couple of quick shots in the dying seconds of the first half to lead by three points. It was a matter of who could hold the intensity and the Tigers did that in the third quarter, they scored 15 points to the Eagles seven. The Eagles kept their fight in the final term and were clapped off the court by spectator rival teams for their gallant effort against the unstoppable Tigers. Captain Blake Allison was fouled off in the last few minutes and that gave the Eagles some hope however Melbourne went on to success and Blake Allison and Matt Owies were stand outs with 28 points between.
Tigers – M. Owies 14, B. Allison 14, T. Wilson 10.
Eagles –  A. Akintola 16, J. Formosa 15, G. Turner 11.