NBL Round 5 (Regular Season): Nuggets lose to Rams

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Round 5 most important game was a defeat of league's leader Nuggets (4-1). They were defeated by third ranked Rams (4-1) 87-72 on Sunday night. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Nuggets. It was a key game for the top position in the league. They outrebounded Nuggets 49-35 including 36 on the defensive glass. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Rams made 8 blocks. International forward Walter Brown (196-2003, college: UNLV) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners and international power forward Jack Andrew (208-2001) chipped in 21 points and 13 rebounds. The former international swingman Ethan Rusbatch (196-1992, college: Lincoln Trail) responded with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Nuggets' coach rotated eleven players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Rams keep a position of league leader, which they share with Nuggets and Tuatara. Nuggets will play next round against Hawks trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Rams will try to continue on its current victory against ninth ranked Whai in Tauranga.
Bottom-ranked Hawks (0-5) is still winless. But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fifth consecutive match to third ranked Tuatara (4-1) 93-91. Guard Zach Riley (196-2003, college: Fordham) nailed 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for the winning side and Thomas Vodanovich accounted for 19 points and 5 rebounds. Australian swingman Daniel Grida (197-1998) came up with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds for Hawks in the defeat. Tuatara keeps a position of league leader, which they share with Rams and Nuggets. Hawks at the other side still closes the standings with five games lost. Tuatara will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Hawks will play at home against Nuggets (#3) and hope to get finally their first victory.
An interesting game took place in Nelson where higher ranked Airs (3-3) were upset on the court of ninth ranked Giants (2-2) 107-91 on Saturday. The best player for the winners was Liam Judd who scored 26 points and 6 rebounds. Giants' coach used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. Xavier Green produced 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the guests. Giants moved-up to seventh place. Loser Airs dropped to the sixth position with three games lost. Giants will meet Bulls (#8) in the next round. Airs will play against Sharks and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 5 Bulls won against Whai on the opponent's court 103-88. Sharks managed to outperform Jets in a home game 118-100.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 21 points and 14 rebounds by Samuel Timmins of Sharks.



Whai - Bulls 88-103

There was a minor upset when 7th ranked Tauranga (2-3) was defeated at home by ninth ranked Bulls (2-3) 103-88 on Saturday. Bulls made 16-of-21 free shots (76.2 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was American guard Derrin Boyd (190-2000, college: Charleston, agency: One Motive Sports) who scored 29 points and 4 steals. His fellow American import guard Jace Carter (198-2003, college: Texas A&M) chipped in 23 points and 8 rebounds. The former international swingman Reuben Te Rangi (198-1994) produced 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Australian guard Nicholas Stoddart (188-2000) added 22 points and 5 assists respectively for the hosts. Five Bulls and four Whai players scored in double figures. Bulls moved-up to eighth place, which they share with Whai. Whai lost third consecutive game. Bulls will meet at home higher ranked Giants (#7) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Whai will play against the league's leader Rams and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
Bulls: B.Derrin 29+4reb+2ast, C.Jace 23+8reb+2ast, K.Robinson 15+7reb+5ast, W.Carter 15+5reb+9ast, D.Kelman-Poto 12+5reb+3ast, H.Savill 3+2ast
Whai: R.Te Rangi 24+6reb+4ast, N.Stoddart 22+3reb+5ast, T.Murray 15+3reb+3ast, I.Ross 10+2reb+2ast, T.Nicolas 6+8reb+1ast, M.Xanda 3+1reb+1ast

Giants - Airs 107-91

An interesting game took place in Nelson where higher ranked Airs (3-3) were upset on the court of ninth ranked Giants (2-2) 107-91 on Saturday. Giants made 17-of-22 free shots (77.3 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists comparing to just 16 passes made by Airs' players. The best player for the winners was forward Liam Judd (196-2001) who scored 26 points and 6 rebounds. Finnish Eemi Luukkonen (203-2002) chipped in a double-double by scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field). Giants' coach used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. American forward Xavier Green (198-1996, college: Maryland, agency: One Motive Sports) produced 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and the other American import guard Aaron Cook (188-1997, college: Georgia) added 19 points and 4 steals respectively for the guests. Five Giants and four Airs players scored in double figures. Giants moved-up to seventh place. Loser Airs dropped to the sixth position with three games lost. Giants will meet Bulls (#8) in the next round. Airs will play against Sharks and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Giants: J.Liam 26+6reb+2ast, P.Kruz 22+2reb+8ast, L.Eemi 20+11reb+3ast, S.Dempster 14+10reb+3ast, S.Tohi 10+6reb+2ast, I.Elijah 10+1reb+1ast
Airs: X.Green 28+6reb+6ast, A.Cook 19+4reb+3ast, S.Taane 11+3reb+1ast, B.Quintin 10+3reb+1ast, J.Marcel 10+9reb+1ast, V.Luka 8+4reb+3ast

Hawks - Tuatara 91-93

Bottom-ranked Hawks (0-5) is still winless. But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fifth consecutive match to third ranked Tuatara (4-1) 93-91. Tuatara players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. Hawks were plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. Guard Zach Riley (196-2003, college: Fordham) nailed 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for the winning side and the former international forward Thomas Vodanovich (201-1994, college: JMU) accounted for 19 points and 5 rebounds. Australian swingman Daniel Grida (197-1998) came up with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds and American Jeremy McLaughlin (203-1995, college: Catawba) added 17 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Hawks in the defeat. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Tuatara keeps a position of league leader, which they share with Rams and Nuggets. Hawks at the other side still closes the standings with five games lost. Tuatara will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Hawks will play at home against Nuggets (#3) and hope to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Tuatara: V.Thomas 19+5reb+3ast, D.Josh 15+2reb+5ast, D.Wilkie 14+2reb, Z.Riley 14+7reb+6ast, L.Robert 11+10reb+4ast, K.Ioane 8+5reb
Hawks: B.Jackson 19+2reb+4ast, K.Rasmussen 18+4reb+6ast, D.Grida 17+11reb+3ast, J.McLaughlin 17+9reb+3ast, E.Ezrah 12+3reb+1ast, A.Burton 5+1reb

Rams - Nuggets 87-72

Round 5 most important game was a defeat of league's leader Nuggets (4-1). They were defeated by third ranked Rams (4-1) 87-72 on Sunday night. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Nuggets. It was a key game for the top position in the league. They outrebounded Nuggets 49-35 including 36 on the defensive glass. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Rams made 8 blocks. International forward Walter Brown (196-2003, college: UNLV) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners and international power forward Jack Andrew (208-2001) chipped in 21 points and 13 rebounds. The former international swingman Ethan Rusbatch (196-1992, college: Lincoln Trail) responded with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists and American swingman Buay Tuach (198-1995, college: LMU, agency: Haylett Sports) scored 18 points and 7 rebounds. Nuggets' coach rotated eleven players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Rams keep a position of league leader, which they share with Nuggets and Tuatara. Nuggets will play next round against Hawks trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Rams will try to continue on its current victory against ninth ranked Whai in Tauranga.
Top scorers:
Rams: B.Taylor 25+5ast, J.Andrew 21+13reb, B.Walter 20+11reb+7ast, W.Todd 9+9reb+3ast, J.Holmes 5+8reb, I.Cate 5+6reb+3ast
Nuggets: E.Rusbatch 19+7reb+8ast, B.Tuach 18+7reb+2ast, M.Zach 9+7reb+2ast, M.Isaac 8+10reb+2ast, A.Louis 7+2reb+4ast, H.Mikey 6+1reb+3ast

Sharks - Jets 118-100

Rather predictable result in Southland where seventh ranked Sharks (3-2) defeated 10th ranked Jets (1-5) 118-100 on Sunday. Sharks made 17-of-22 free shots (77.3 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists. The best player for the winners was the former international power forward Samuel Timmins (211-1997, college: Washington) who had a double-double by scoring 21 points and 14 rebounds. American guard Caleb Asberry (191-2000, college: OK State) chipped in 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Sharks' coach used entire bench saving starting five for next games. American power forward Jamal Poplar (204-1996, college: Seward County) produced 21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and the other American import guard Kaden Sand (198-2001, college: Bushnell) added 25 points and 5 assists respectively for the guests. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Sharks moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Saints. Jets lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth position with five games lost. Sharks will again meet Jets (#10) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Jets will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Sharks: B.Keylan 25+8reb, B.Inger 23+5reb, T.Samuel 21+14reb+2ast, A.Caleb 20+7reb+7ast, T.Cooper 19+1reb+6ast, J.Rylan 4+3reb+14ast
Jets: K.Sand 25+2reb+5ast, P.Jamal 21+8reb+4ast, E.Jr Kazlo 18+7reb+7ast, C.Boston 14+4reb, H.Alex 13+1reb+1ast, R.Lukah 4+1reb