NBL Round 9 (Regular Season): Melbourne Utd beats Adelaide by one after a very close game

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Second-ranked Adelaide 36ers (5-2) were very close to win a game against leader United (9-0) in Melbourne on Sunday. United managed to secure only one-point victory 81-80. However their fans expected easier game. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Adelaide 36ers. It was a good game for Dutch center Jesse Edwards (211-2000, college: WVU) who saved his team from a defeat with 25 points and 7 rebounds (perfect from the field making all ten shots !!!). New Zealand-Irish Finn Delany (200-1995, college: SW Baptist) contributed with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) for the winners. United's coach Dean Vickerman used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American forward Zylan Cheatham (203-1995, college: Arizona St.) answered with a double-double by scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) for Adelaide. Undefeated United have an impressive series of nine victories in a row. Melbourne Utd maintains first place with 9-0 record. Adelaide at the other side keeps the second position with two games lost. They share it with SE Melbourne. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Important game to mention about took place in Sydney. Fourth ranked JackJumpers (5-3) saved a 1-point victory on the road edging 6th ranked Kings (3-5) 90-89 on Sunday evening. International forward Josh Bannan (208-2001, college: Montana) stepped up and scored 18 points and 9 rebounds for the winners and Bryce Hamilton chipped in 18 points. The best for the losing side was American point guard Kendric Davis (183-1999, college: Memphis) with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Kings' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Defending champion maintains fourth place with 5-3 record. Sydney at the other side keeps the sixth position with five games lost. Tasmania JJ will play against Cairns (#9) at home in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Sydney will play against Brisbane and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Bottom-ranked Hawks managed to get a second victory on Saturday night. This time they edged fifth-ranked Wildcats in Perth 85-84. Tyler Harvey nailed 24 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists for the winning side. Jo Lual-Acuil came up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds for Perth in the defeat. Wildcats' coach tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Illawarra H. (2-4) moved-up to eighth place. Loser Wildcats keeps the fifth position with four games lost. Illawarra H. will meet at home bottom-ranked NZL Breakers (#10) in the next round. Perth will play against Tasmania JJ (#4) in Hobart and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last game of round 9 SE Melbourne smashed Brisbane on the road 109-86.



Brisbane - SE Melbourne 86-109

No shocking result in a game when third ranked Phoenix (5-2) crushed 7th ranked Bullets (3-6) in Brisbane 109-86 on Saturday. SE Melbourne looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The former international guard Nathan Sobey (190-1990, college: Wyoming) nailed 29 points and 4 assists for the winning side and American guard Hunter Maldonado (201-1999, college: Wyoming, agency: Octagon Europe) accounted for 9 points and 7 assists. New Zealand center Tyrell Harrison (214-1999) came up with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 10 rebounds and American point guard Jaylen Adams (188-1996, college: St.Bonaventure) added 13 points and 7 assists respectively for Brisbane in the defeat. Five Brisbane players scored in double figures. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. The victory was the third consecutive win for Phoenix. SE Melbourne moved-up to second place, which they share with Adelaide. Loser Bullets keeps the seventh position with six games lost. SE Melbourne will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Brisbane will play against Sydney (#6) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Brisbane: C.Prather 18+5reb, T.Harrison 14+10reb+2ast, J.Adams 13+4reb+7ast, L.Patterson 12+7reb+3ast, T.Murray 12+1reb+2ast, A.Ducas 6+2reb+1ast
SE Melbourne: N.Sobey 29+2reb+4ast, J.Brown III 12+3reb+1ast, J.Hunter 12+5reb+3ast, A.Akech 10+5reb+1ast, A.Glover 10+4reb+1ast, H.Maldonado 9+4reb+7ast

Perth - Illawarra H. 84-85

Bottom-ranked Hawks managed to get a second victory on Saturday night. This time they edged fifth-ranked Wildcats in Perth 85-84. American guard Tyler Harvey (194-1993, college: EWU) nailed 24 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists for the winning side and his fellow American import center Javale McGee (213-1988, college: Nevada) accounted for 24 points and 11 rebounds. Naturalized South Sudanese center Jo Lual-Acuil (213-1994, college: Baylor) came up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds and American forward Kristian Doolittle (201-1997, college: Oklahoma, agency: Pensack Sports) added 9 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for Perth in the defeat. Wildcats' coach tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Illawarra H. (2-4) moved-up to eighth place. Loser Wildcats keeps the fifth position with four games lost. Illawarra H. will meet at home bottom-ranked NZL Breakers (#10) in the next round. Perth will play against Tasmania JJ (#4) in Hobart and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Perth: J.Lual-Acuil 18+12reb+1ast, B.Henshall 17+3reb+1ast, E.Pepper 12+4reb+2ast, J.Rillie 9+2ast, K.Doolittle 9+8reb+5ast, K.Noa 7+3reb
Illawarra H.: J.McGee 24+11reb+1ast, T.Harvey 24+5reb+8ast, W.Lo Buluk 11+2reb+1ast, T.Blanchfield 8+3reb+2ast, J.Bolden 7+8reb+1ast, M.Peatling 5+4reb+1ast

Melbourne Utd - Adelaide 81-80

Second-ranked Adelaide 36ers (5-2) were very close to win a game against leader United (9-0) in Melbourne on Sunday. United managed to secure only one-point victory 81-80. However their fans expected easier game. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Adelaide 36ers. It was a good game for Dutch center Jesse Edwards (211-2000, college: WVU) who saved his team from a defeat with 25 points and 7 rebounds (perfect from the field making all ten shots !!!). New Zealand-Irish Finn Delany (200-1995, college: SW Baptist) contributed with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) for the winners. United's coach Dean Vickerman used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American forward Zylan Cheatham (203-1995, college: Arizona St.) answered with a double-double by scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) and the other American import guard Bryce Cotton (182-1992, college: Providence, agency: Pensack Sports) added 22 points and 6 assists in the effort for Adelaide. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. United have an impressive series of nine victories in a row. Melbourne Utd maintains first place with 9-0 record. Adelaide at the other side keeps the second position with two games lost. They share it with SE Melbourne. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Adelaide: B.Cotton 22+2reb+6ast, Z.Cheatham 21+12reb+9ast, I.Humphries 18+2reb+2ast, D.Vasiljevic 11+2reb+4ast, N.Rakocevic 6+3reb+1ast, F.Cameron 2+4reb+2ast
Melbourne Utd: J.Edwards 25+7reb, C.Goulding 14+1ast, F.Delany 13+5reb+4ast, M.Doyle 10+2reb+5ast, T.Walker 8+3reb+2ast, K.Bowen 4+4reb+3ast

Sydney - Tasmania JJ 89-90

Important game to mention about took place in Sydney. Fourth ranked JackJumpers (5-3) saved a 1-point victory on the road edging 6th ranked Kings (3-5) 90-89 on Sunday evening. Tasmania JJ made 20-of-25 charity shots (80.0 percent) during the game. International forward Josh Bannan (208-2001, college: Montana) stepped up and scored 18 points and 9 rebounds for the winners and American guard Bryce Hamilton (193-2000, college: UNLV) chipped in 18 points. The best for the losing side was American point guard Kendric Davis (183-1999, college: Memphis) with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and the former international Jaylin Galloway (198-2002) scored 18 points. Five Tasmania JJ and four Sydney players scored in double figures. Kings' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Defending champion maintains fourth place with 5-3 record. Sydney at the other side keeps the sixth position with five games lost. Tasmania JJ will play against Cairns (#9) at home in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Sydney will play against Brisbane and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Sydney: K.Davis 22+6reb+5ast, J.Galloway 18+2reb, T.Soares 13+5reb+2ast, K.Noi 12+4reb+2ast, M.Dellavedova 7+1reb+6ast, B.Kuol 7+3reb+2ast
Tasmania JJ: J.Bannan 18+9reb+2ast, B.Hamilton 18+2reb+1ast, W.Magnay 15+5reb, N.Marshall 14+4reb+1ast, T.Campbell 10+3reb+7ast, B.Ayre 9+1ast