NBL Round 10 (Regular Season): Cairns try to escape the last position defeating Tasmania JJ

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Bottom-ranked Taipans managed to get a third victory, breaking the seven-game losing streak on Saturday night. This time they won against fifth-ranked JackJumpers in Hobart 75-69. Strangely Tasmania JJ outrebounded Cairns 43-31 including 29 on the defensive glass. American Andrew Andrews (188-1993, college: Washington) scored 27 points to lead the charge for the winners and the former international forward Jack McVeigh (203-1996, college: Nebraska) chipped in 23 points and 6 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side American guard Bryce Hamilton (193-2000, college: UNLV) responded with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Cairns (3-8) moved-up to ninth place. Defending champion Tasmania JJ dropped to the fourth position with five games lost. They share it with Perth. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
The game in Hobart was also worth to mention about. Fourth ranked Wildcats (5-5) played at the court of 5th ranked JackJumpers (5-5). Wildcats defeated JackJumpers 95-84. Naturalized South Sudanese center Jo Lual-Acuil (213-1994, college: Baylor) notched 23 points and 6 rebounds to lead the effort and Elijah Pepper supported him with 19 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Even 26 points and 5 rebounds by American guard Bryce Hamilton (193-2000, college: UNLV) did not help to save the game for Tasmania JJ. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Perth maintains fourth position with 5-5 record, which they share with Tasmania JJ. Perth will play against higher ranked SE Melbourne (#3) on the road in the next round and it may be the game of the week. Tasmania JJ will have a break next round.
10th ranked Hawks (2-6) were outscored at home by ninth ranked Breakers (3-7) with the biggest margin this round 102-60 on Friday night. Sam Mennenga fired a double-double by scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Javale McGee produced a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. NZL Breakers moved-up to eighth place. Illawarra H. at the other side stay at the bottom position with six games lost. NZL Breakers will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Illawarra H. will play against the league's leader Melbourne Utd (#1) having rather not much hope for a victory.

In the last two games of round 10 bottom-ranked Cairns were destroyed by Brisbane on the opponent's court 113-85. Brisbane was outscored by Sydney in a home game 79-116.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 19 points and 6 rebounds by Tim Soares of Sydney.



Tasmania JJ - Perth 84-95

The game in Hobart was also worth to mention about. Fourth ranked Wildcats (5-5) played at the court of 5th ranked JackJumpers (5-5). Wildcats defeated JackJumpers 95-84. Perth outrebounded Tasmania JJ 39-28 including 25 on the defensive glass. Naturalized South Sudanese center Jo Lual-Acuil (213-1994, college: Baylor) notched 23 points and 6 rebounds to lead the effort and the former international guard Elijah Pepper (193-2001, college: UC Davis) supported him with 19 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Even 26 points and 5 rebounds by American guard Bryce Hamilton (193-2000, college: UNLV) did not help to save the game for Tasmania JJ. International forward Josh Bannan (208-2001, college: Montana) added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for lost side. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Perth maintains fourth position with 5-5 record, which they share with Tasmania JJ. Perth will play against higher ranked SE Melbourne (#3) on the road in the next round and it may be the game of the week. Tasmania JJ will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Tasmania JJ: B.Hamilton 26+5reb+2ast, J.Bannan 15+8reb+4ast, N.Marshall 15+3reb+2ast, T.Campbell 12+1reb+7ast, M.Deng 11+6reb, W.Magnay 3+4reb
Perth: J.Lual-Acuil 23+6reb+3ast, E.Pepper 19+4reb+1ast, K.Doolittle 14+4reb+4ast, D.Okwera 13+6reb+2ast, J.Rillie 11+3reb+1ast, B.Henshall 10+1reb+2ast

Brisbane - Cairns 113-85

Everything could happen in Brisbane at the game between two tied teams. Both sixth ranked Bullets and 10th ranked Taipans had identical 3-7 record. This time Bullets used a home court advantage and crushed the opponent from Cairns 113-85 on Thursday night. Brisbane made 18-of-22 free shots (81.8 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. American swingman Casey Prather (198-1991, college: Florida) fired a double-double by scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. The other American import point guard Jaylen Adams (188-1996, college: St.Bonaventure) chipped in 20 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Five Bullets players scored in double figures. The former international forward Jack McVeigh (203-1996, college: Nebraska) produced 23 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists and American Andrew Andrews (188-1993, college: Washington) added 11 points and 10 assists respectively for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Despite that victory Brisbane went down to seventh position due to points difference. Cairns lost seventh consecutive game. They dropped to the ninth place with eight games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Cairns: J.McVeigh 23+5reb+6ast, K.Galloway 12+3reb+1ast, A.Andrews 11+4reb+10ast, A.Schofield 9+1reb+2ast, R.Smith 8, M.Mawot 6+4reb
Brisbane: C.Prather 21+10reb+3ast, T.Harrison 21+8reb+1ast, J.Adams 20+5reb+7ast, T.Murray 16+2reb+1ast, A.Ducas 13+2reb+3ast, D.Mathias 11+4reb+2ast

Illawarra H. - NZL Breakers 60-102

10th ranked Hawks (2-6) were outscored at home by ninth ranked Breakers (3-7) with the biggest margin this round 102-60 on Friday night. NZL Breakers looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. New Zealand forward Sam Mennenga (206-2001, college: Davidson) fired a double-double by scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. American forward Robert Baker (208-1998, college: Harvard) chipped in 19 points and 6 rebounds. Five Breakers players scored in double figures. American center Javale McGee (213-1988, college: Nevada) produced a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds and his fellow American import guard Tyler Harvey (194-1993, college: EWU) added 11 points respectively for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. NZL Breakers moved-up to eighth place. Illawarra H. at the other side stay at the bottom position with six games lost. NZL Breakers will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Illawarra H. will play against the league's leader Melbourne Utd (#1) having rather not much hope for a victory.
Top scorers:
Illawarra H.: J.McGee 13+10reb+1ast, T.Harvey 11+3reb, W.Hickey 6+2reb+6ast, J.Bolden 6+7reb, M.Peatling 6+6reb+2ast, W.Lo Buluk 4+1reb+2ast
NZL Breakers: S.Mennenga 21+11reb+1ast, R.Baker 19+6reb+2ast, K.Lopez 14+8reb+5ast, I.Brockington 12+3reb+3ast, P.Jackson-Cartwright 11+5reb+6ast, C.Davison 10+6reb+2ast

Tasmania JJ - Cairns 69-75

Bottom-ranked Taipans managed to get a third victory, breaking the seven-game losing streak on Saturday night. This time they won against fifth-ranked JackJumpers in Hobart 75-69. Strangely Tasmania JJ outrebounded Cairns 43-31 including 29 on the defensive glass. American Andrew Andrews (188-1993, college: Washington) scored 27 points to lead the charge for the winners and the former international forward Jack McVeigh (203-1996, college: Nebraska) chipped in 23 points and 6 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side American guard Bryce Hamilton (193-2000, college: UNLV) responded with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and international forward Josh Bannan (208-2001, college: Montana) produced a double-double by scoring 12 points and 12 rebounds. Cairns (3-8) moved-up to ninth place. Defending champion Tasmania JJ dropped to the fourth position with five games lost. They share it with Perth. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Tasmania JJ: B.Hamilton 21+6reb+6ast, J.Bannan 12+12reb+2ast, W.Magnay 12+10reb, M.Deng 9+6reb, T.Campbell 8+1reb+2ast, N.Marshall 6+4reb+2ast
Cairns: A.Andrews 27+2reb+3ast, J.McVeigh 23+6reb+2ast, A.Schofield 18+6reb+1ast, M.Lee 3+6reb+1ast, M.King 2+6reb+2ast, K.Galloway 2+3reb+1ast

Brisbane - Sydney 79-116

We could consider it a predictable result in the game between close teams in Brisbane where seventh ranked Kings (4-5) smashed 6th ranked Bullets (4-7) 116-79 on Saturday. Sydney made 20-of-26 free shots (76.9 percent) during the game. Sydney outrebounded Brisbane 42-31 including 30 on the defensive glass. Sydney looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists comparing to just 16 passes made by Brisbane's players. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Sydney made 7 blocks. The former international forward Xavier Cooks (203-1995, college: Winthrop) fired a double-double by scoring 24 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. American point guard Kendric Davis (183-1999, college: Memphis) chipped in 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. American swingman Casey Prather (198-1991, college: Florida) produced 24 points and 6 rebounds and New Zealand center Tyrell Harrison (214-1999) added 13 points and 7 rebounds respectively for lost side. Five Sydney and four Brisbane players scored in double figures. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Sydney moved-up to sixth place. Loser Bullets dropped to the seventh position with seven games lost. Sydney will meet league's leader Melbourne Utd on the road in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Brisbane will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Brisbane: C.Prather 24+6reb+1ast, D.Mathias 16+4reb+1ast, T.Harrison 13+7reb+3ast, J.Adams 13+2reb+3ast, A.Ducas 5+5reb+1ast, C.Dalton 3+2reb+4ast
Sydney: X.Cooks 24+10reb+1ast, K.Davis 19+5reb+7ast, T.Soares 19+6reb+3ast, J.Galloway 16+4reb+2ast, B.Kuol 13+6reb+2ast, K.Noi 11+4reb+4ast