North Recap | Round 2 Saturday

Image credit: @shoot_nhoops

Monique Bobongie had 37 points in a Saturday night NBL1 North win for Mackay Meteorettes with Brendan Teys having 41 for South West Metro Pirates, and Tiana Mangakahia, Alex Higgins-Titsha, Erin Bollmann and Sam McDaniel having match-winning displays.

NORTH RECAP | ROUND 2 FRIDAY

WOMEN

Ipswich Force (57) lost to Sunshine Coast Phoenix (90)

Erin Bollmann showed her all-round abilities with a triple-double as the Sunshine Coast Phoenix opened their account for 2025 with the 90-57 road win over the Ipswich Force.

Sunshine Coast did arrive at Ipswich Basketball Stadium having started the season with a 22-point loss last week to the Southern Districts Spartans while Ipswich opened up with a six-point win on the road to the Gold Coast Rollers.

It was a dazzling start from the Phoenix as they piled on 31 points to 15 in the first quarter away from home on the back of shooting 10/17 from the floor and going 9/10 at the charity stripe.

The lead for Sunshine Coast then grew to 27 points in the second quarter and by half-time they were still on top 50-31.

The Phoenix eventually went on a 16-0 scoring run either side of three quarter-time and they ended up leading by as much as 34 points before securing the eventual 33-point win.

Sunshine Coast are now 1-1 to start the season even while it was a horror three-point shooting night from both teams with the Phoenix going 4/18 and the Force 2/31.

However, Sunshine Coast still went 44 per cent overall from the field while Ipswich managed to shoot at just 23 per cent.

Erin Bollmann showed what a significant signing she is for Sunshine Coast delivering a triple-double made up of 25 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists, five steals and two blocked shots.

Shannon Ryan top-scored with 29 points and 14 rebounds on 13/25 shooting with Jessica Boundy adding 10 points and seven boards, Amy Browne six points and four rebounds, and Caitlin Clancy six points, seven boards and two assists.

Elissa Brett did still finish with 15 points and six rebounds despite shooting 3/15 while Kahlaijah Dean went 6/10 but had 14 points and seven rebounds.

Hannah Young had 11 points and 10 rebounds on 4/15 shooting with Natasha Elliott adding eight points and 11 boards on 3/12.

IPSWICH FORCE 57 (Brett 15, Dean 14, Young 11)

SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 90 (Ryan 29, Bollmann 25, Boundy 10)

South West Metro Pirates (75) defeated Northside Wizards (85)

Cierra Walker delivered 25 points and the Northside Wizards minus Courtney Woods stayed unbeaten to start 2025 having played in the last two grand finals with the 85-75 victory against the South West Metro Pirates.

Coming off the heartbreaking grand final series loss last year to the Rockhampton Cyclones after winning the 2023 championship, the Wizards opened up 2025 beating the Brisbane Capitals last week.

The Pirates opened up their season with a loss to Logan Thunder as they were back home again on Saturday night at Hibiscus Sports Stadium trying to hand the Wizards a first loss of 2025.

The Wizards opened up a nine-point lead during the first quarter and were still on top 26-22 by quarter-time before again pushing their advantage out to 17 during the second term.

By half-time it was Northside leading 51-41 on the back of shooting 17/33 from the floor opposed to 15/32 from South West Metro.

The Pirates then hit back in the third quarter to make it just a six-point game by three quarter-time, but Northside continued to have all the answers to secure the eventual 10-point victory.

The win improves the Wizards to a 2-0 record to start the season even with Courtney Woods with the Australian Opals after winning the first 14 of 2024 with Cierra Walker putting up 25 points with Nadeen Payne adding 21.

The Pirates are now 0-2 to open the season after losing in the quarter finals last year with Grace Champion top-scoring with 21 points and three assists on 7/11 shooting.

Beyonce Bea added 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists with Charlotte Hegvold contributing five points, two rebounds and two assists.

SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 75 (Champion 21, Bea 18, Bairstow 9)

NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 85 (Walker 25, Payne 21, Virgo 14)

 

Southern Districts Spartans (88) defeated Brisbane Capitals (54)

The spectacular return of Tiana Mangakahia continued in style on Saturday night when she put up 22 points as the Southern Districts Spartans won big 88-54 against the Brisbane Capitals.

The Spartans won both their opening two games in the opening round against Logan Thunder and the Sunshine Coast Phoenix as they played their first home game on Saturday night at Rowland Cowan Stadium.

Brisbane arrived coming off a first up loss last Saturday to the Northside Wizards and it was the Caps who started the better to be leading 18-13 by quarter-time.

They couldn’t keep it going, though, with the Spartans taking control in the second quarter with 28 points to eight in the second term to open up a 17-point lead and to be on top 41-26 by the half-time interval.

It was a 22-0 run that saw the Spartans turn their game in their favour and they went on with the job in the second half with another 24 points to 11 in the third term and 23 to 17 in the fourth.

The lead for Southern Districts grew to as much as 34 points along the way which was the final margin as the Spartans improved to 3-0 to start the new season.

Tiana Mangakahia not only is back playing, but she's starring for the Spartans and put up 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals on 4/6 shooting from downtown.

Tara Manumaleuga also had 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, Nicole Fransson 17 points, six boards and two steals, and Kalani Purcell eight points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Capitals are now 0-2 following the loss with Keriana Hippolite producing 14 points, six rebounds and two steals with Ashley Arlen adding 10 points, seven boards and three assists, and Tyla Stolberg eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 88 (Mangakahia 22, Fransson 17, Manumaleuga 17)

BRISBANE CAPITALS 54 (Hippolite 14, Arlen 10, Stolberg 8)

Logan Thunder (101) defeated Cairns Dolphins (71)

Logan Thunder were able to put the clamps on Mia Loyd and made it back-to-back wins with the 101-71 home victory against the Cairns Dolphins.

The Dolphins were backing up a Friday night win against the Gold Coast Rollers where Loyd was the star with a triple-double as they took on the Thunder at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre.

Logan had split their double in the opening round beating the South West Metro Pirates after a first up loss to the Southern Districts Spartans, and the home team was narrowly leading 23-20 by quarter-time.

The Thunder were then able to complete a 15-0 scoring run to open up a 16-point lead in the second term and to go into the half-time break on top 48-35.

That lead continued to grow throughout the second half with it getting out to 23 points in the third quarter, and 30 in the fourth thanks to another 12-0 scoring streak.

Logan went on to score the 30-point win to improve to a 2-1 record with the consecutive wins with Prasayus Notoa delivering 20 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Leah Scott also had 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Amandine Toi 15 points and two boards, Sharnie Reisinger 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks, and Chevannah Paalvast 11 points and three steals.

Then there was Mikhaela Cann who ended up with a triple-double made up of 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

Cairns are now 2-1 to start the season after suffering a first defeat under coach Marcus Wong with Leichan Williams continuing her strong form with another 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Taryn Bond also had 12 points and four rebounds, Mia Loyd 11 points, seven boards and two assists, and Teyahna Bond 10 points.

LOGAN THUNDER 101 (Notoa 20, Scott 19, Toi 15)

CAIRNS DOLPHINS 71 (Williams 17, Taryn Bond 12, Loyd 11)

Mackay Meteorettes (85) defeated Townsville Flames (74)

Monique Bobongie delivered 37 points as the Mackay Meteorettes denied the Townsville Flames a double win road weekend by ending up winning at home 85-74.

The Flames scored their first win of the season on Friday night beating the defending champion Rockhampton Cyclones as they backed up on Saturday away also to the Meteorettes at Mackay Basketball Stadium.

Mackay also started their season with a win over Rockhampton last week and it was an exciting opening quarter with Townsville ending up leading 27-23 by quarter-time.

No more than five points continued to separate the two teams before half-time either with Townsville clinging to the 42-41 lead at the half largely because of shooting 5/12 from downtown opposed to the 2/9 from the Meteorettes.

The Flames then pushed out to a seven-point lead in the third term and were still leading 63-59 by three quarter-time to be on track for a double win weekend away from home.

Mackay had other ideas, though, and put up 26 points to 11 in the fourth quarter to turn that four-point deficit into an 11-point win to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Monique Bobongie was ultimately the difference between the two teams delivering 37 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists on the back of shooting 14/24 from the field, 4/8 from downtown and 5/5 at the foul line.

Amari Robinson also had 22 points, eight rebounds and two steals, Cheyenne Bobongie eight points and three assists, and Abby Bishop four points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Townsville are now 1-2 to start the season despite another 24 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals from Sam Bowman.

Shaylee Browning also had 123 points and two rebounds, Challee Ward 13 points, three boards and three assists, and Mia Murray seven points and nine rebounds.

MACKAY METEORETTES 85 (M Bobongie 37, Robinson 22, C Bobongie 8)

TOWNSVILLE FLAMES 74 (Bowman 24, Browning 13, Ward 13)

MEN

Ipswich Force (76) defeated Sunshine Coast Phoenix (73)

Lamar Patterson and the Ipswich Force scored their first win of the season beating the Sunshine Coast Phoenix 76-73 who bafflingly took a two-point attempt at the buzzer despite being three points behind.

Ipswich started the season with a loss to the Gold Coast Rollers while Sunshine Coast opened up beating the Southern Districts Spartans ahead of their Round 2 match up at Ipswich Basketball Stadium.

It was just a one-point lead in the favour of Ipswich by the end of the opening quarter before the home team put up 24 points to 16 in the second term to go into the half-time break leading 43-34.

The lead for the Force grew to a game-high 14 points in the third quarter as well and they were still up nine with 2:30 to play but the Phoenix weren't going down without quite the fight.

They scored the next seven points with a couple of buckets to former NBL forward Earnest Ross and a triple to Erik Kafritsas to make it a two-point ball game and then it was a three-point game when Patterson made one at the foul line.

Sunshine Coast had time to run a play to try and take the game to overtime, but what they ended up settling for bizarrely was mid-range jumper from Darnell Robateau and time expired as that shot missed.

It wouldn’t have mattered had it fallen anyway given time would have expired on the made basket before Ipswich ever got the ball back into play.

It was a three-point win for Ipswich as they go to 1-1 on the season with Patterson finishing with 17 points, six assists and three rebounds.

Ngor Nai added 13 points and 15 rebounds, Merrick Small 11 points, nine boards and two blocked shots, and Jason Ralph 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Sunshine Coast are now 1-1 to start the season too with Earnest Ross producing 23 points, three rebounds and two steals with 10/10 free-throw shooting while only going 5/16 from the field.

Erik Kafritsas added 21 points and 10 rebounds with Jamaal Robateau contributing 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Darnell Robateau seven points, seven boards and six assists.

IPSWICH FORCE 76 (Patterson 17, Nai 13, Ralph 11, Small 11)

SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX 73 (Ross 23, Kafritsas 21, J Robateau 11)

South West Metro Pirates (101) defeated Northside Wizards (93)

Brendan Teys turned on 41 points in his 201st for the South West Metro Pirates to deliver them the 101-93 home win over the Northside Wizards.

There was differing fortunes for both teams in the opening round with the Pirates losing also on their home floor to Logan Thunder while the Wizards opened up the new season beating the Brisbane Capitals.

The two teams locked horns at Hibiscus Sports Stadium on Saturday night with South West opening up a nine-point lead in the opening quarter but by quarter-time the scores were all level at 20-20.

The Pirates went on an 11-0 run in the second term to again lead by nine and this time they held on to most of that to go into the half-time break on top 43-36.

Northside fired back in the third quarter with 32 points on 12/15 shooting from the field and 4/6 from behind the three-point arc which saw them grab the lead for a minute, and by three quarter-time scores were all level once more.

The game was up for grabs coming into the last quarter but with Brendan Teys showing the way a week after celebrating his 200th game with the Pirates, they wouldn’t be denied a first win of the season and went on to win by eight points in the finish.

South West ended up shooting 51 per cent from the field opposed to 47 and going 13/29 to 10/29, but they also got to the line to shoot 24/30 against the 13/17 from the Wizards.

Teys finished the night with 41 points, five assists and two steals for the Pirates on the back of shooting 13/19 from the floor, 4/6 from behind the arc and 11/13 at the charity stripe.

He had plenty of help too with Lachlan Anderson putting up 19 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and having two crucial blocks with Kai Woodfall adding 16 points and four assists on 5/13 three-point shooting.

Ben Adamson produced 21 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists for Northside with Durrell McDonald contributing 21 points, five steals and four assists, Tyler Williams 15 points and four assists, and Nikau McCullough 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

SOUTH WEST METRO PIRATES 101 (Teys 41, Anderson 19, Woodfall 16)

NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 93 (McDonald 21, Adamson 21, Williams 15)

Southern Districts Spartans (83) lost to Brisbane Capitals (89)

Reigning NBL1 North MVP Sam McDaniel was back and he led the Brisbane Capitals to a first win of the season with the 89-83 road victory against the Southern Districts Spartans.

On the back of reaching the grand final series last year, the Caps opened the new season with a loss to the Northside Wizards last week but that was without McDaniel.

He was back on Saturday for the clash with the Spartans at Rowland Cowan Stadium making his return from a shoulder injury that ended his NBL season after just one game at the Brisbane Bullets on the back of his MVP season with the Capitals in 2024.

The Spartans were at home for the first time in 2025 after splitting their double on the road last week with a win against Logan Thunder before a loss to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.

The Caps knocked down four three-pointers in the first quarter which helped them open up a 21-13 lead by the end of one with the Spartans only managing to shoot 4/14.

Brisbane then missed all five of their three-point attempts in the second term and the Spartans outscored them 25-18 to cut that lead at half-time of the Caps back to just two points.

The Capitals got back on top in the third quarter with an inside focus shooting 9/14 inside the arc and getting to the foul line 10 times to be back in front by nine at three quarter-time.

The lead got out to 12 in the fourth period for the Caps before they closed the deal on the six-point victory to improve to 1-1 on the season after the opening two rounds as a result.

Reigning MVP Sam McDaniel marked his return to the court after his long injury layoff with a terrific performance in the win with 22 points, six steals, five rebounds and four assists with 9/12 shooting at the free-throw line.

Matthew Johns also had 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks for the Caps, Uche Dibiamaka 15 points and seven boards, Isaih Tueta 12 points and two rebounds, and Cameron Thew eight points and eight boards on 4/4 shooting.

Southern Districts is now 1-2 after the first two weeks of the season with Kyle Adnam finishing with 21 points and four assists on 10/13 foul shooting from the Cairns Taipans guard.

Tamuri Wigness added 17 points and three steals, Lutong Li 15 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots, and Blake Jones 13 points and nine boards.

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS 83 (Adnam 21, Wigness 17, Li 15)

BRISBANE CAPITALS 89 (McDaniel 22, Johns 15, Dibiamaka 15)

Logan Thunder (85) lost to Cairns Marlins (89)

The Cairns Marlins scored the last six points of the game to come from behind and give themselves the perfect weekend on the road with the 89-85 victory over Logan Thunder.

Cairns started their double-header on the road for Round 2 with the thrilling two-point win on Friday night against the Gold Coast Rollers as they bounced back from last week's season-opening loss at home to Townsville.

Logan started their season with two games last weekend for a win over the South West Metro Pirates and a loss to the Southern Districts Spartans ahead of hosting Cairns at Bendigo Bank Cornubia Park Sports Centre.

Logan opened up an early nine-point lead but by quarter-time Cairns had managed to work on top to be leading 26-24.

That advantage got out to eight in the second quarter for the Marlins but the Thunder kept things close and by half-time Cairns were only leading 49-45.

Logan were then able to go on a 14-0 scoring run in the second half to grab the lead and the home team was still leading by two with 1:30 left to play after a layup from Elijah Puna.

However, the rest of the way the Thunder wouldn’t score again and Cairns scored the remaining six points starting with a putback from Alex Higgins-Titsha.

He then scored again as he continues to thrive on the back of a breakout NBL season with the Taipans as a development player which has now seen him sign on to a full roster spot with the Snakes for NBL26.

James Mitchell then knocked down a pair of free throws to secure the four-point win for the Marlins having been down by two just a minute and-a-half earlier.

Cairns are now 2-1 to start the season with the pair of wins away from home this weekend with Higgins-Titsha brilliant with 29 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Kody Stattmann added 17 points, six steals and three rebounds, Ky Stattmann 14 points and four boards, Moses Nuangki nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, and James Mitchell seven points, eight boards, seven assists and two steals.

Logan are now 1-2 after their first three games of 2025 with Zac Triplett providing 34 points and four assists on 11/26 shooting from the floor, 3/14 from three-point range and 9/10 at the free-throw line.

Callum Dalton also had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Matt Kenyon 11 points, 11 boards, three assists and three steals.

LOGAN THUNDER 85 (Triplett 34, Dalton 11, Kenyon 11)

CAIRNS MARLINS 89 (Higgins-Titsha 29, Kody Stattmann 17, Ky Stattmann 14)

Mackay Meteors (102) defeated Townsville Heat (100)

The defending champion Mackay Meteors were four points down with three minutes to go but outscored the Townsville Heat 8-2 from there to secure the 102-100 victory.

The Meteors started their championship defence last Saturday night also on their home floor beating the Rockhampton Rockets before being back at Mackay Basketball Stadium this week to host the unbeaten Townsville Heat.

Townsville won at home last Saturday against the Cairns Marlins and then began this weekend's double on the road beating the Rockhampton Rockets by 22 points on Friday.

That set the stage for a terrific contest in Round 2 and it certainly delivered beginning with Mackay already putting up 36 points in the first quarter on the back of shooting 14/23 from the field and 6/11 from downtown.

Townsville did stay in touch, though, with 27 points themselves on 9/24 shooting with 7/13 at the foul line.

The Mackay lead did get out to 13 points in the second quarter and the reigning champs went into half-time leading 61-48 before that advantage got out to 16 in the third term and was threatening to get out of hand.

However, the heat hit back with 32 points in the third term while getting to the foul line an astonishing 19 times in just those 10 minutes.

That had Townsville all the way to holding a six-point lead in the fourth period and they were still leading 98-94 with three minutes to play when Richard Peachey collected an offensive rebound and scored.

That's when Mackay dug deep to ensure their winning streak remained intact starting with a score to Cameron Goldfinch and a putback from Jerron Jamerson. Brad Rasmussen then knocked down a jumper and in a minute and-a-half, the Meteors had assumed the lead.

Jaxon Brenchley made one free-throw to put them up three before Grant Teichmann scored for Townsville in the dying seconds to make it a one-point game once more.

Makuach Maluach made one free-throw for the Meteors but the Heat still had one more chance but a three from Chris Kann wouldn’t go and nor would the second chance opportunity from Matthew Rees.

Mackay held on for the two-point win to give the defending champs eight straight wins dating back to last year with Maluach delivering 28 points, four rebounds and three assists on 5/8 shooting from three and 9/10 at the foul line.

Goldfinch also had 21 points and eight rebounds on 8/11 shooting, Jamerson 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Brenchley seven points, eight boards and two assists.

Townsville has now lost for the first time this season despite Kuany putting up 22 points, 15 rebounds and two steals while going 10/13 at the free-throw line.

Teichmann also delivered 17 points and two steals, Peachey 15 points and two rebounds, Ethan Betts 12 points, five boards, five assists and three steals, Chris Cedar 10 points and four rebounds, and Marshall Wilson 10 points and 10 boards.

MACKAY METEORS 102 (Maluach 28, Goldfinch 21, Jamerson 16)

TOWNSVILLE HEAT 100 (Kuany 22, Teichmann 17, Peachey 15)