NBL1 Wrap - North Quarter Finals

Photo Credit: Gold Coast Basketball

It was quarter final time in the NBL North over the weekend. Three of four games went into overtime and with a combined winning margin of 10 points there was plenty to be excited about.

The Gold Coast Rollers, featuring Jason Cadee, Tanner Krebs and DJ Mitchell were the first team to advance to the semi-finals on Friday night defeating Logan Thunder 102-100 in an overtime thriller.

It seemed the Thunder were in the box seat, leading the Rollers by 7 with 40 seconds of regulation time remaining. However, DJ Mitchell came up huge for Gold Coast, knocking down a pair three-pointers and ultimately making three clutch free-throws to send the game into overtime.

The overtime period was much of the same, a seesawing contest between two talented rosters, but a Krebs three-pointer with just over 30 seconds and a steal in the following play solidified the victory.

DJ Mitchell impressed with 30 points, five rebounds and 2 blocks. Krebs had 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Cadee played the facilitator role expertly with 16 assists, along with 7 points and 6 rebounds.

The Cairns Marlins took on the Ipswich Force in North Queensland on Saturday night, with new Bullets recruit, Kody Stattmann suiting up for the Marlins.

In another exciting overtime clash, Cairns fought hard to claim a 94-91 victory. 

Kody Stattmann got it done on both ends of the floor, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds. 

The third NBL1 North quarter final was indeed another overtime heartstopper at Mackay Basketball Stadium between the second placed Mackay Meteors and the Northside Wizards.

Bullets development player Lual Diing has played an integral role for the Wizards throughout the season and put in another solid performance (8 points, 5 rebounds) in his team’s 98-96 victory over Mackay.

It was the final round of the regular season in the NBL1 South and Harry Froling’s Hobart Chargers did enough to maintain top spot and guaranteed themselves at least a top two finish with a hard fought four-point win over the North West Tasmania Thunder.

Harry Froling had another strong performance with 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Chargers.