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Jul 13, 2025
Central Recap | Round 14 Saturday
By Tristan Prentice for NBL1.com.au
Round 14 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central left just one position left to battle for in the top five with a couple of thrilling finishes locking the Men’s top five up and in the Women’s it’s down to six with one round to play out - but the order is not quite yet complete…
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By Tristan Prentice for NBL1.com.au
Feature images supplied via NBL1.com.au / @snapshotphotography3 / Snap Shot Photography
Round 14 of the Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 Central left just one position left to battle for in the top five with a couple of thrilling finishes locking the Men’s top five up and in the Women’s it’s down to six with one round to play out - but the order is not quite yet complete…
Here are the results of Saturday games:
Rockets rise to rinse off gassed Mavs
The North Adelaide Rockets eventually rinsed off the Eastern Mavericks who ran out of gas in the fourth term with a 48-82 win at St Francis De Sales.
The Mavs hung in early in the first with Daisy Hocking (Four points and 12 rebounds) and Bella Schaftenaar picking up from her scoring the previous night but the Rockets through some early hits to Mollie McKendrick (14 points and rebounds with four assists and two steals) took the early ascendancy following that 15-26.
Where the game was won though was the second term as Lauren Mansfield (16 points, six assists and five rebounds) produced her best nailing three triples for the quarter and sparking multiple runs to give the Rockets a solid halftime lead 25-41.
With Lou Watkinson (14 points on four triples) finding her mark again and Schaftenaar (17 points, four rebounds and three assists) keeping things ticking over a quick 5-0 run was erased by the Rockets in quick time as they skipped out to a 42-63 lead.
Bella Schaftenaar with the spin move ??
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The last term clearly the young Mavs were gassed and out of energy as the Rockets ran away with the victory securing fourth place on the table awaiting the Sabres/Bearcats result to see if third and a double chance opportunity was still on the cards.
EASTERN MAVERICKS 48 (Schaftenaar 17, Watkinson 14, Stockley 7)
NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 82 (Mansfield 16, McKendrick 14, J Freer 11)
Eagles swoop on top and put Panthers season on precipice
The Forestville Eagles have one hand on top place now swooping in to also put the South Adelaide Panthers season on the precipice with a punchy 83-68 win at the Nest at the State Basketball Centre.
The Panthers came out the punchy ones though with a strong 4-10 start led by Darcy Rees (Eight points and seven rebounds), Bella Stratford (Eight points and three assists) and the Gardiners with another game against their former side. The Eagles quickly through Maddy Freer (Eight points) back to her best levelled things up 18-16 after one stanza.
A quick run out of the second term by the Eagles through Gabi Vidmar (Nine points with three assists and rebounds) and Ella Ogier (12 points, five rebounds with three assists) gave them a breakaway 34-20 lead but some steadying baskets from Hannah Gardiner (Eight points and three rebounds) and Hatti Cox (Eight points) saw the Panthers right back in it going to halftime 39-33.
Kiera Gardiner (13 points and seven rebounds) started to make an impact against her former side of the third but the Simons were determined to win this sisters vs sisters battle keeping the Eagle’s beaks in front just heading to the final change 61-50.
Rachel King (15 points, five rebounds and three assists) consistent throughout the evening kept it ticking over for the gold and blue along with Ella Sawyer (Season high 15 points, seven steals, five assists and three rebounds) stuffing the stat sheet and helping stifle the Panthers offence - putting them on the precipice needing the Woodville Warriors to drop their game to the Southern Tigers to keep their fifth place intact.
An even night was led by Sam Simons with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Eagles with the Panthers Hannah Stewart also making a handy contribution in her season high 14 point and four rebound numbers.
FORESTVILLE EAGLES 83 (S Simons 19, King, Sawyer 15, Ogier 12)
SOUTH ADELAIDE PANTHERS 68 (Stewart 14, K Gardiner 13, Cox, H Gardiner, D Rees, Stratford 8)
Lions Den-ted faint finals hopes for Flames
The Central Districts Lions third win of the season dented the faint finals hopes of the Norwood Flames season - distinguishing them on their home floor 87-76.
The Flames started well with a 0-5 run before April Rummery-Lamb made some close to the target along with Tiahna Sears brought it back to even. Sophie Kerridge (13 points with three triples and six assists) answered the call for more points from different sources for Norwood with 10 opening quarter points with Amanda Paschal making the tough finish then gathering the stolen ball back from KJ James (Eight points, five assists and rebounds with four steals) to make it 18-23 after one.
The second stanza belonged to the Flames at first through Maddy Hinton and James making some key baskets but the best game of the season from Rummery-Lamb (17 points and six rebounds) was hurting the Flames interior defenders as the Lions closed it to 32-34 at the half.
The first three for the Lions came after halftime through Clare Maree-Hunt who lit up in the second half along with Sears proving too much of a problem. Sydney Wright added to that with her makes from deep and in close but Hinton (10 points) and Paschal kept the Flames just in touch but trailing 54-51 with one to play.
Hunt continued to haul them in from deep with her season high going head to head with Paschal (34 points with five triples, five rebounds with three assists) the only one with currency in the scoreboard for the Flames. Shanique Lucas (10 points, nine rebounds and three assists with two blocks) was running lanes and causing havoc and with the Flames coming off their second game within 24 hours had run out of fire as the Lions secured the upset win and distinguished the Flames faint chances of making the final five.
Hunt’s season high of 18 points with four triples, five rebounds and four assists led the way along with Wright (18 points and four assists) and Sears massive double double of 15 points, 16 rebounds and four assists saw the whole starting five reach double figures for the evening.
CENTRAL DISTRICTS LIONS 87 (Hunt, Wright 18, Rummery-Lamb 17, Sears 15)
NORWOOD FLAMES 76 (Paschal 34, Kerridge 13, Hinton 10)
Warriors pull to fifth outright with Cage catch of Tigers
Both teams as expected were tight early as they both attacked the cup with Iva Belosevic causing issues for the Warriors but quickly struck back through Laura Erikstrup (17 points, 10 rebounds with five assists and newly signed Adelaide Lightning player Jasmin Fejo to make it 22-17 at the first break.
Stoking momentum back her team’s way the legend of Erin Phillips (11 points, five rebounds and three steals) arose at the cage to bring it back to level then broke the game open at the back end of the second term thanks to the work of Naomi Allotey and Ambah Kowcun (Eight points) 37-44 at the main change.
The margin was extended in the third via Fejo and her band of Warriors as they pushed it out to double figures with McKenzie Johnston (Another near triple double of 13 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists and three steals) and a career high from Hannah Mawdsley keeping the Tigers just in claw length. Allotey (16 points, five rebounds, three assists and steals) continued to make the most of her extended minutes to extend the margin to 50-66 with one to go.
The margin blew out to 22 in the fourth as the Warriors put their foot on the accelerator with the Tigers Annie Bartsch (12 points and five rebounds) bringing the final margin back to a respectable finish, capping a strong night for Belosevic with 25 points, 14 rebounds and four steals.
Fejo however capped an incredible week with another stat seeing 17 points, 13 rebounds, five steals, four assists and a block to keep the Warriors one win ahead of the Panthers in sixth - and in the prime position to secure fifth spot and their first finals appearance since 2015.
SOUTHERN TIGERS 61 (Belosevic 25, Johnston 13, Bartsch 12)
WOODVILLE WARRIORS 76 (Fejo, L Erikstrup 17, Allotey 17, Phillips 11)
Nicola of time again as Katia keeps Sabres top finish alive over Bearcats
The Sturt Sabres off the back of another deep fourth term triple from Nicola Mathews have kept their chances of a top of the table finish alive taking the series and the second place on the table over the West Adelaide Bearcats in another Springbank thriller 69-65.
The Kayo Freebies Game of the Week lived up to the hype as the second and third placed teams essentially playing for avoidance of a possible mini table with the North Adelaide Rockets taking on each other and a titanic showdown.
Olivia Levicki had a strong start for the Bearcats keen to make the impact early with the Sabres minus Tayla Brazel - the home side sharing their scoring around led from the front by Sydney Mech and Katia Stamatelopoulos getting their side the early edge 18-17.
Fantastic pass from Olivia Levicki ?
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Molly Coleman (12 points and three rebounds) edged the Bearcats in front in the second but Mech (18 points and seven rebounds) returned fire from outside. Sienna Grieger (10 points) and Levicki grabbed the lead again but Nicola Mathews and Stamatelopoulos snatched it back before the lead landed like a spinning top on its point 37-37 a piece at the half.
The Bearcats burst out through Levicki (23 points, 16 rebounds with four assists) and her baby bearcats to take it out to 45-53 but as the script followed consistently throughout the night out of a Tim Shortt timeout - the Sabres struck back through Stamatelopoulos to make it 53-56 with one thriller to come.
Stamatelopoulos opened the fourth with a lead tying triple, then a finger roll before Krystal Thompson delivering sliver service all night found Sienna Lehmann (10 points and three assists) with a pocket pass inside. Chloe Hodges cut it back to 66-63 setting up the thrilling finish as both teams spent several minutes trying to secure the result.
Enter once again with 44 seconds left the long deep triple hand of Nicola Mathews (17 points and four rebounds) as she drained it from the deep right hand off centre mark to perhaps grab the Sabres most crucial season series and win of the season.
Footlocker Player of the Game Katia Stamatelopoulos in her milestone match with 17 points and 10 rebounds shared with the GOTW team about the importance of the win in the context of the season. “To do it as a team in my 100th game, these games are crucial to get a top, top two, three finish” she shared post match.
The Sabres threw plenty of bodies at Olivia Levicki, doing just enough to curb her influence in the contest. “She (Levicki) is a force to be reckoned with in this league so we had a plan to shut her down and we did the best we could.”
STURT SABRES 69 (Mech 18, N Mathews, Stamatelopoulos 17, Padroth 7)
WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 65 (Levicki 23, Coleman 12, Grieger, Lehmann 10)
We are down to six with the Forestville Eagles, Sturt Sabres, West Adelaide Bearcats and North Adelaide Rockets fighting for the double chances and home finals with a mini-table series and split still possibly to decide the final placings.
While the Woodville Warriors and the South Adelaide Panthers fight for survival in the season and the final place in the top five.
All the final round of Women’s action takes place on Kayo Sports Freebies via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App from 6:00pm ACDT next weekend.
Lions put out Flames in fourth term blitz
The Norwood Flames stayed the course with the Central Districts Lions but off the back of two games in 24 hours found themselves out on their feet as the Lions put out the Flames in a fourth term blitz 112-93 at the Den.
Anthony Green (Nine points) started strong again for the Flames once again in the first term but both Sapwell’s brought things level midway through the quarter. Jack Stanwix against his former side again came to play for the evening in a big way with nine opening quarter points with Cooper Osborne spinning the Flames literally back into contention 26-23 after an entertaining opening.
The block show was on for Efe Abogidi as he found some big blocks and buckets to keep the Lions rolling while Osborne kept it doing so for the Flames. Riley Harrap (10 points) found some key makes while Louis Bleechmore (14 points and three rebounds) had the Flames staying competitive with Trey McBride (22 points and six rebounds) pushing the Flames in front at the main change 51-54.
Osborne kept his tricks flowing from his bag but a quick run from the Lions through Koen Sapwell (17 points, eight rebounds and four assists) and Abogidi had them out by a small margin. The Flames threw another punch at the Lions and it was super effective to regain the lead through Osborne (14 points with 14 assists which was the most for the Men’s NBL1 Central since prior to 2021) and Aydan Janssan (11 points, seven rebounds with three assists) with one to play out 77-75.
Mangok Manyang (15 points and 13 rebounds) awoke in the fourth the Lions as his team started to gain a huge gap with Stanwix getting upstairs as Ayual Garang (13 points) took advantage of some extended minutes to help the Lions leap to a 35-18 finish as they took completely over to close out and secure the top two finish for the upcoming finals series.
Two standouts for the Lions came from Efe Abogidi with 29 points, 10 rebounds and four assists with four blocks and Jack Stanwix with 26 points for the evening.
CENTRALS DISTRICTS LIONS 112 (Abogidi 29, Stanwix 26, Koen Sapwell 17)
NORWOOD FLAMES 93 (McBride 22, Bleechmore, Osborne 14, A Janssan 11)
Double DJs down fierce rivals at Forestville
The DJ double was it’s elite best again as the Forestville Eagles for the second time in the season downed their fierce rivals the South Adelaide Panthers 99-87 at the Nest at the State Basketball Centre
The Eagles assault began in the paint attacking the Panthers with Greg Mays coming through and putting the lid on the putback.
Greg Mays with the putback ?
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Christian Brandon back from a few games off wasted no time working himself twice above the rim himself to edge the Panthers back in touch.
Chris Brandon just dropped these two dunks in the space of three minutes ?
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The Eagles finished the term with a splash through both Daniel Johnson and Dejan Vasiljevic as the Eagles took the 30-20 lead into the first quarter break.
Curtis Scott started things off from where he left off last Sunday in his career high with a big second term for him but both DJs looked effortless in their play as they kept the Eagles floating in front to the main change 54-38.
It was aerial acrobatics to open the third with Tom Kubank (15 points, four assists with three rebounds) feeding Brandon for the alleyoop and Mays making one on the reverse. Brandon (19 points and eight rebounds) kept playing above the rim for the Panthers while Alex Starling (Eight points, nine rebounds and four assists) started to have some profound influence on the match. The Panthers found their three ball through Lloyd McVeigh (13 points and six rebounds) and Kaleb Warner - Curtis Scott (15 points, five assists and four rebounds) with the speedy finishing touches to stay within striking distance 77-65 with one to commence.
The Eagles quickly flew out of the three quarter time break to a 7-2 run through Vasiljevic then Mays (21 points and 14 rebounds) extended the margin to as many as 18 points as they pulled the match apart. Warner (20 points with five triples and 10 assists) made some late triples to lessen the gap but the Eagles had control at all times in the fourth as they held onto top spot with a solid win and put the Panthers in the clasps of the Warriors fighting for the double chance with one round to go.
A huge night for both DJs as they double up for impressive numbers - DJ Vasilejevic with 25 points and four triples with six assists and four rebounds and Daniel Johnson a team high 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
FORESTVILLE EAGLES 99 (D Johnson 26, Vasiljevic 25, Mays 21)
SOUTH ADELAIDE PANTHERS 87 (Warner 20, Brandon 19, Kubank, Scott 15)
Warriors battle to third in Cage fight against Tigers
It wasn’t pretty but the Woodville Warriors got out of the Cage fight against the Southern Tigers in Morphett Vale 58-67 to hold onto third on the table and keep their double chance prospects alive.
Tigers pounced out of the opening buzzer led by Jarvis Doles 8-2 but Nick Wurm returned with success to one of a few sides he played for to find some quick makes to give them the lead 14-17.
Sunday Bol lit up in the second term to give the Tigers back the advantage but the evenness of the Warriors kept answering the battle call through Wurm as they held their lead again 27-29 in a low scoring grind of a first half.
Joe Jackson (Eight points and rebounds) in the open lane got early upstairs action in the third with Tim Troussel (Eight points and nine rebounds) getting some useful tip-ins as the gap started to increase 29-40 on the back of a 2-11 run. A couple of Bol (13 points and three rebounds) baskets to the home side kept it moving beyond that territory with a 33-46 margin in play with the Warriors in control at the Cage.
The Tigers in their last home match of the season wanted to finish strong in front of their faithful home fans as the homeside mounted the challenge to bring it back to a single basket 55-57 - Doles (Nine points, 15 rebounds and three assists) triple all of sudden bringing the upset right back into calculations.
The Warriors as they’ve done this season though kept winning no matter the opponent as Wurm (18 points, six rebounds and four assists) hit his fifth triple of the night and Steve Parfitt (10 points and six rebounds) dropped some late baskets with Bryce Sloan finishing it off as they escaped the Cage fight.
SOUTHERN TIGERS 58 (Bol 13, Summers 11, Doles 9)
WOODVILLE WARRIORS 67 (Wurm 18, Parfitt 10, Uzo Dibiamaka 9)
Rockets fire lasting shot to sink Mavs season
The Eastern Mavericks knew their equation - win to stay alive or their finals chances were over. Coming up against an opponent they have only beaten once in the past nine years last season and in some reasonable late season party pooping form - the North Adelaide Rockets fired the last shot to sink their season 71-74 in another calamitous finish at St Francis.
It started well for the Mav led by BJ Symons from the night before with their second match in 24 hours supported well by Broderick Robinson (12 points and five assists) but the Rockets were in a spoiling mode keeping pace just enough through Machar Machar and Joel Dyer before he hit foul trouble to have it 24-17 after one change.
The Rockets found some defensive nous in the second as the duo of Tobias Dowdell and Koop McCalop made things difficult for the home side with Koop getting above the hoop on the halftime buzzer to bring it back to 37-34.
Symons still had an impact in the third term sitting large amounts of the quarter needing refuelling for a fourth push but Jackson Bowden (14 points and four rebounds) took over the scoring duties with eight for the term to give the Mavs a slender 55-51 lead with one to go - but the spectre of former player McCalop loomed as the big game changer.
His energy coupled with the most efficient match of the season for Machar (24 points at 64 percent) surged the Rockets to the lead with Dyer (11 points and three assists) and Machar helping him make the big buckets and putting the Mavs season in jeopardy.
What might have been for the Mavs with missed free throws and makes but a BJ Symons (26 points, seven rebounds and three assists) triple with 13 seconds left kept the door slightly ajar to cut it to a point. Dowdell (A 12 points and rebound double double with three blocks) made the important free throws for the Rockets to make it one last shot to send it to overtime but Robinson’s contested long range triple sailed wide as the Mavs season sailed away as the Rockets last shot ended their season.
McCalop was at his brutal best, highly efficient with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three assists while Machar’s 24 points was paired with seven rebounds and two blocks.
EASTERN MAVERICKS 71 (Symons 26, Bowden 14, Robinson 12)
NORTH ADELAIDE ROCKETS 74 (M Machar 24, McCalop 23, Dowdell 12)
Bearcats book finals with knockout blow of Sabres in OT
It promised and it delivered on the Kayo Freebies Game of the Week - another grudge match between the Sturt Sabres and the West Adelaide Bearcats with the Bearcats booking a finals appearance with a knockout blow in overtime of the Sturt Sabres 94-96 at Springbank.
Sean Stock got the night underway along with Cam Huefner and Lat Mayen as they snarled their team to a 7-21 lead as the Bearcats were on a heater early. Jordan Forbes answered for the homeside with Ben Griscti lifted them back to a 18-23 quarter time trail.
The away side continued their momentum through their astute guard in Keanu Rasmussen but a quick fightback from the Sabres via Forbes finding players including Daniel Nash in transition returned it to 30-35. Jacob Tryon made some tough shots from mid-range but Griscti found some late baskets to cut it back to 39-44 at the main interval of proceedings.
Huefner picked up from where he left off in the first half with a triple to open things up but after a quiet first half Sharif Black arrived for the Sabres to hit a couple of big shots but Forbes looking to go with his teammate met the swift hand of Lat against the backboard.
The Bearcats continued to block everything that came their way but with season on the line the Sabre surged again through Black (16 points, nine rebounds and three assists) and Griscti. Stock found a couple more triples to elevate his score but elevating further was Rasmussen for a two handed baseline flush.
A tough Forbes finish bringing it back to 60-67 with one quarter left.
Nash (Seven points) opened with a triple in the corner then Mayen (12 points, five assists and rebounds) answered at the other end as the three point party got rolling - even Taine Mitchell (Career high nine points and rebounds and three assists) got in on the act.
Forbes finishing around the rim was huge but so was Rasmussen who punished every Sabre baseline with another two handed jam - Huefner putting them up 75-81. The Sabres struck back making some crucial free throws - Rasmussen pulling the attempted step back and missing with Black’s half court heave long, leaving only one way to decide whether there would be six or five left in the season - overtime…
Griscti (25 points and four rebounds) nailed the big triple and Forbes went downhill to the rim for more and the Sabres had a seven point lead in extra basketball with 2:59 to go and seemingly looked to have kept their season afloat. The Bearcats responded in a big way through Huefner (25 points with five triples and five rebounds) for back to back triples including a four point play.
BIG BUCKET FROM CAM HUEFNER ?
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Rasmussen the man all night made the play though to gain the and1 putting his team in front by one again 94-95. The Sabres had the look through Black who’s attempt missed and they were forced to foul Hamish Staude who made a single free throw to give the Sabres one last chance to take it to double overtime.
Forbes (25 points, nine rebounds and six assists) tried to draw contact on the buzzer on the drive to level things up but was denied as the Bearcats booked their spot in the 2025 NBL1 Central Finals 94-96 in thrilling circumstances.
Keanu Rasmussen the Footlocker Player of the Game with 32 points, 10 rebounds and six assists spoke to the GOTW team post game about the way for the Bearcats to make the finals was through execution of their gameplan at both ends at the right end of the season.
“Just execution down the stretch and our defence, we stopped their runs that got us the win” Rasmussen shared post match.
“There was a lot of time left and I said we were fine, we just needed to execute and get some stops down the stretch.”
“We are full of confidence hitting our stride and got our team together now and are ready to make our push.”
STURT SABRES 94 (Griscti, Forbes 25, Black 16)
WEST ADELAIDE BEARCATS 96 (Rasmussen 32, Huefner 25, Stock 13)
Then there were five Forestville Eagles, Central Districts Lions, Woodville Warriors, South Adelaide Panthers and the West Adelaide Bearcats.
All that’s left is to determine who has home court advantage and a double chance - you can catch how it all lands on Kayo Sports Freebies via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App from next weekend from 6:00pm ACDT.
Watch the NBL1 Live & Free on NBL1.com.au, NBL1 App and Kayo Sports Freebies.
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