Eagles Recap | Rd 6 Men

Image credit: Mark Filpo (@codexdesignstudio)

When East Perth Eagles won for the first time in a decade in Geraldton last year it was the springboard to a finals return and now Saturday's win could be just what was needed to ignite their 2025 NBL1 West season.

Before winning in Geraldton on May 11 last year, the Eagles had lost 15 straight matches against the Buccaneers dating back to 2016 and hadn’t won at Active West Stadium since that championship season of 2014.

However, East Perth made a statement with that 87-72 win and in the end the Eagles played finals for the first since 2014 last year.

It was a return to Geraldton this Saturday night remarkably only one day more than exactly a year since that last visit, and what the Eagles produced was a performance highlighting what this team is fully capable of with the eventual 92-89 victory.

East Perth arrived fresh off a 36-point loss at home last Friday night to the Warwick Senators but they did receive a significant boost to their line-up with the addition of NBL sharpshooter Jonah Antonio.

While he is a Warwick Senators junior, there's a natural connection with him having played at the Cairns Taipans under East Perth championship winning coach Adam Forde so he has joined the Eagles as a replacement for injured captain Taylor Young.

He was into the line-up for the clash with the Buccaneers and right from the outset it was a different looking Eagles team desperate for a second win of the season.

East Perth knocked down four threes in the first quarter with Max Rice getting going and they were leading 23-17 by quarter-time.

The Buccs fired back in the second term holding the Eagles to 1/11 three-point shooting and keeping them to just 13 points while scoring 21 themselves to take a narrow 38-36 lead into half-time.

The scoring picked up for both teams in the third quarter with the Buccaneers putting up 28 points to 25 from the Eagles with the home team leading 66-61 by three quarter-time.

Geraldton were then leading by nine early in the fourth quarter after four quick points before Rice knocked down back-to-back threes for East Perth. Matthew Lang then soon scored five quick points but the Buccs did have a degree of control still leading by seven when Nik DeSantis hit from deep.

But Rice knocked down another three soon after to keep the Eagles within three and in the end it was Lang with the go ahead basket with two minutes to play.

Lee Roberts extended the lead to three, then four soon after and ultimately both Antonio and Rice stepped up to make clutch free throws for the eventual three-point win.

Last year East Perth won in Geraldton for the first time since 2014 and that set up a finals return in 2024, and now repeating the dose is what they hope will kickstart their season at 2-4.

Jonah Antonio's numbers of seven points, five assists and two rebounds might not suggest a huge impact, but his defensive intensity and cool head with ball in hands was hugely important for the Eagles in the win.

Max Rice shot 7/15 from downtown on his way to 31 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals with Lee Roberts adding 16 points, nine boards and five assists, Chier Maker 14 points and five rebounds, and Matthew Lang 12 points, six boards and four assists.

Ioannis Dimakopoulos also had seven and five rebounds for the Eagles in the win, Nick Filpo three points, two boards and two assists, and Lieb Yat two points, a rebound and an assist.