Tristan Prentice

NBL1 Central Round 7 Preview

The COE are calling this weekend as part of the Wildcard series and after a short break, proceedings resume with some key clashes in the NBL1 Central. No time to waste with a huge lot of games to run our eye over so here is the preview of Round 7…

Their goals are different but both Samuels and Levicki will be looking to lead their respective sides to victory, in the Lions case their best chance may have arrived. Picture by Archie Creative

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Saturday 21/05/2022

Norwood Flames vs Eastern Mavericks – (ARC – The Firedome)

Women (6:00pm)

The Flames are looking to climb themselves back up into the top four while the Mavs are trying to lift themselves back into the middle of the table. With a tough double header for both this weekend this looms as a must win. The Mavs have the ability to stop Wilson and Basham having had both play for them in the past. Lefebvre-Okankwu looks the game breaker here as in both of the Flames losses it’s been a dominant post player (Williams and Levicki) that have caused them the most problems. Defensively the Mavs can keep the scores low and if the sole SA Sapphire in Bradley can hit the scoreboard; they are a big chance at an upset here.

Key Stat – The Mavs in all games keep their opponents to 73.8 points or less

ESPN Prediction: Mavericks by 4 points

Men (7:45pm)

The record for Norwood is that they’ve beaten West and South in the bottom part of the table and while the Mavs are winless this looms as a huge danger game for the homes side. The former clubman James Legan returns, and Anthony Green will have his hands full with an inform Koop McCalop. Points on the scoreboard has been a problem for the Flames mainly due to rebounding; so McBride needs to grab 20+ for this team to win as Harding has been producing consistently. I think this is the game Green reminds us how good he is as he’s produced double figures back to back leading in and ready for a monster.

Key Stat – Both teams rank second last and last in rebounds per game with 34.8 and 36.6

ESPN Prediction: Flames by 7 points

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Liv and Let Fly: Maverick Bradley sole SA representative for Sapphires

Recently the International U17 Australian Crocs and Sapphires squads were finalised for their quest to make the FIBA World Cup in July and in terms of playing squad, there is a sole SA player that made the final cut in both teams, here’s the basketball story of NBL1 Central Eastern Mavericks Olivia Bradley and her being crafted into a sapphire…

The licence to let it fly has clearly seen an uber aggressive Olivia Bradley soar into calculations for international representation already playing way beyond her age gap and limit. Photo by CS Photographics

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Bradley has always had the pathway to international basketball lit for her starting with domestic representation for the German Arms 76ers in the domestic league in her local area, representing the Eastern Hills Hornets and junior district basketball for her now NBL1 Central club the Eastern Mavericks where her mother Mellissa is the president. Bradley’s path extended to representing SA Country at multiple junior championships which then saw her invited to the national performance program and joining the Adelaide Lightning academy as a player of the future to watch. “I am so grateful to all of the coaches from these places that helped me over all these years, they’ve had a huge impact in developing my game” Bradley told the SA Cross Over Dribble.

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U20 Stars of the Future push Finals at AJC

The U20 AJC Tournament ran recently in Mackay, Queensland with a plethora of NBL1 and borderline NBL/WNBL talent. Here’s the wrap-up, highlights and surprise packets for the SA championship teams.

Izzy Borlase already with one WNBL game under her belt will definitely be in consideration for more after her AJC U20s Performance. Picture by Trevor Kinross

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Girls

South Australia Red

Tournament Result: 2nd (Pool A 3-1 (finished 2nd) – Silver Medal

Highlights: It was very good week for the Red team with their most impressive win coming in the minor rounds against Western Australia 72-53. In that game they managed to keep Mia Jacobs and Ellie Newman quiet and while a loss a solid performance against the Victorian team 69-57 was a quality outing. Previously listed Forestville Eagle COE player Izzy Borlase was a superstar throughout the championships averaging 18 points at 48 percent per game, 9.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists while a number of Eagles in Jess Simons, Maddy Freer and Bianca Stasinowsky stacked the stats sheet as well. The big win came over NSW in the semi-final 75-50 with Borlase (23 points and 17 rebounds), Stasinowsky (13 points and 6 rebounds) and Freer (13 points and 12 rebounds) coming up big. The championships ended with a silver medal pushing the Victorians to a 47-65 result. Jess Simons had a high quality final with 23 points on 5-9 triples while Borlase chalked up 13 points and 12 rebounds to no doubt be player of the championships for SA Red.

Surprise Packet: No real surprise but Hatti Cox of the South Adelaide Panthers really took her game to another level during the championships. She had big games for the Red team to the back end of the week including 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the semi-final against NSW. She’s off to college later this year so when she returns she’s destined to be a bonafide star possibly in consideration for some higher honours in her future.

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