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THE Warwick Senators, Geraldton Buccaneers and Lakeside Lightning all won twice in Round 12 of the Men’s SBL to consolidate their positions behind the top-of-the-table Joondalup Wolves while the fight for spots in the bottom half of the eight is heating up.

With the Wolves winning big over the South West Slammers to consolidate top spot, the Senators scored two important wins against East Perth and Goldfields with the Buccs winning twice on the road to Willetton and Cockburn, and Lakeside also scoring two wins against Perth and Goldfields to see the trio make up the rest of the top four.

That was only part of a fascinating Round 12 in the Men’s SBL that began with the five matches on Friday night before three more on Saturday evening, two on Sunday afternoon and then the All-Star Game on Monday.

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It was a huge Friday night with the five matches that included the Perry Lakes Hawks winning 94-89 on the road to the Kalamunda Eastern Suns with the Lakeside Lightning also defeating the Perth Redbacks 101-83 and the Mandurah Magic downing the Cockburn Cougars 93-77.

The other two Friday night encounters saw the Warwick Senators beat the East Perth Eagles 106-86 and the Willetton Tigers prevail 93-83 against the Rockingham Flames.

Then in the three matches on Saturday night, the Joondalup Wolves hammered the South West Slammers 115-55 while the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Willetton Tigers 101-92 and the Lakeside Lightning won a tight one at home to the Goldfields Giants, 92-87.

Then on Sunday afternoon, the Warwick Senators beat the Goldfields Giants 115-87 and the Geraldton Buccaneers defeated the Cockburn Cougars 99-65.

That all led into the All-Star Game on the WA Day Monday public holiday and it went down to the wire with a Louis Timms dunk giving the Australian All-Stars the 113-112 win over the World team.

ROUND 12 MEN’S SBL

FRIDAY

KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 89 lost to ID ATHLETIC PERRY LAKES HAWKS 94

Kalamunda and Perry Lakes both were looking to string wins together when they met at Ray Owen Sports Centre on Friday night with the Eastern Suns trying to break into the top eight, and the Hawks attempting to consolidate their place inside.

The Suns had beaten the South West Slammers and Geraldton Buccaneers in two of their previous three games coming into the clash and a win over the defending champions would make a significant statement.

But the Hawks were coming off their first win since signing Perth Wildcats NBL legend Shawn Redhage following a string of three losses, and the reigning champs welcomed back another Wildcats player with a ring to his credit, Clint Steindl.

With so much at stake and with two teams so stacked with talent, it was always going to be a tremendous contest and it didn’t disappoint.

Perry Lakes ended the first quarter with a handy six-point lead but both teams were playing well and Kalamunda narrowly outscored them in the second period with the Hawks heading into half-time leading 52-47.

The Eastern Suns then took control in the third quarter with 26 points to 18 and that saw them hold a 73-70 lead heading into the fourth stanza.

The Suns would lead by as many as eight points as well but the Hawks put their foot down late and ended up winning the final term 24 points to 16 to end up winning 94-89 to improve to 9-6 on the season while Kalamunda slipped to 7-9.

Sharing the ball was key to the win for Perry Lakes as they finished with 30 assists on 37 made field goals while shooting 50 per cent from the field and going 8/19 from three-point range and 12/17 from the foul line.

It was a high-quality game with Kalamunda’s numbers still solid going 33/81 from the field at 40 per cent, 14/30 from three-point territory at 46 per cent and 9/12 at 75 per cent from the charity stripe.

Perry Lakes captain Ben Purser top-scored for his team with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists with Ryan Smith contributing 16 points, six assists and six boards while nailing 4/6 from downtown.

Shawn Redhage contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Brian Carlwell produced 13 points and seven boards, Clint Steindl 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Kyle Sovine 10 points and four boards.

The three-pronged attack of the Eastern Suns all fired with Josh Braun finishing the night with 30 points and six rebounds, Louis Timms 28 points, 11 boards and three blocked shots, and Javion Blake 21 points, eight assists and three rebounds.

Ryan Blanchett also contributed five points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 83 lost to LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 101

With Joel Wagner celebrating his 350th game and Michael Vigor making his return to Belmont Oasis in a rival singlet, Friday night clash between the Perth Redbacks and Lakeside Lightning was always going to be full of intrigue.

Add in the fact that the Redbacks needed a win to consolidate a position in the top eight and Lakeside also needing to keep winning to stay inside the top four, and there was plenty to watch out for in the contest.

Michael Vigor was always likely to be on the court for Joel Wagner to celebrate his 350th game, but neither would have expected it to be as rivals.

But after playing his first 203 SBL games for the Redbacks including the 2017 championship of which virtually all were with Wagner as his point guard and most as captain, Vigor joined Lakeside in 2019.

Friday night marked his first game against the Redbacks and first ever game as an opposition player at Belmont Oasis with it just happening to coincide with the 350-game milestone of Wagner.

There was plenty on the line for both teams too with Lakeside leading 23-19 by quarter-time before the Redbacks produced a strong second quarter to be only a point behind at half-time.

While the game was up for grabs at the major break, the Lightning took over in the second half and outscored the Redbacks 56 points to 39 to end up leading by as much as 19 points before winning by 18.

The Lightning lifted the tempo of the game and ended up shooting 36/72 at 50 per cent from the field, 18/43 at 41 per cent from downtown and 11/14 at 78 per cent from the foul line while having 26 assists on those 36 made field goals.

The Redbacks were efficient with only 11 turnovers and 14 assists on going 27/71 from the field at 38 per cent along with 9/28 from three at 32 per cent and then 20/30 at 66 per cent from the free-throw line.

Jobi Wall ended up top-scoring for Lakeside with 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists including going 6/13 from beyond the arc.

Jack Isenbarger hit 5/13 as well for 23 points and three assists with Rowan Mackenzie contributing 17 points and four assists, Kyle Armour 15 points and four assists, and Nick Palleschi nine points and four assists.

Michael Vigor struggled with foul trouble and played just 11 minutes for two points and four rebounds but fellow big man Jarrad Prue had 19 rebounds.

Marshall Nelson tried his darndest to keep the Redbacks in the game with 35 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists while Jourdan DeMuynck contributed 18 points and five boards.

Jayden Coburn added 10 points and seven rebounds for Perth, Zac Gattorna 10 points and six boards, and Joel Wagner three points, four assists and three steals in his 350th SBL game.

MANDURAH MAGIC 93 defeated PRESTIGE HONDA MELVILLE COCKBURN COUGARS 77

Gavin Field was back for the Cockburn Cougars but he couldn’t quite lift his team to victory against the Mandurah Magic at Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre.

The Magic came into the game on their home floor after a solid showing in Kalgoorlie despite a five-point loss to the Giants while their previous game before that road trip was a seven-point road win against the Cougars.

Cockburn entered Friday night on a six-game losing streak and having been without superstar captain Gavin Field for the previous three games including the loss to Mandurah at Wally Hagan Stadium.

But Mandurah’s form has been building steadily on the back of the performances of their big three of Shaun Stewart, Marvin Smith and Travis Durnin, and the Magic started well on Friday to end up leading 23-14 by quarter-time.

Both teams found some offensive rhythm in the second quarter combining for 60 points but the Cougars couldn’t quite make any inroads and the Magic led 53-44 by half-time.

The Magic remained in control of the contest throughout the second half to end up winning the game 93-77 to improve to 4-10 on the season while the Cougars slipped to 3-11 having lost seven straight.

It was a good performance all-round by Mandurah finishing with 12 more rebounds than Cockburn while having 28 assists on 35 field goals to go with just 12 turnovers.

Marvin Smith continued to show now that now he’s settled in and fully healthy that he’s a more than capable player leading the Magic with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Travis Durnin also had 21 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Magic with Shaun Stewart producing another 13 points, 18 assists and four rebounds.

The big three got good support too with Cousteau Kyle finishing with 16 points and four rebounds including hitting 3/5 from three-point range with Jake Cannell adding eight points and three boards, and Akau Deng eight points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

Gavin Field returned and top-scored for the Cougars with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists while shooting 8/16 from the field and 3/6 from three-point land.

Jaarod Holmes added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists for Cockburn, Jake Harris 12 points, Seva Chan 10 points, three boards and three assists, and Jakob Knight nine points and eight rebounds.

CMTG EAST PERTH EAGLES 86 lost to BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 106

The Warwick Senators were looking to bounce back from their nine-game winning run ending but standing in the way on Friday night was a committed East Perth unit on their home floor.

The Eagles are now play under Colin Driscoll as coach for the rest of the season following the departure of Adam Forde to join the Sydney Kings in the NBL.

There were mixed signs in his first weekend in charge with losses to Rockingham and Geraldton ahead of hosting a Senators team who had won nine consecutive matches before losing to Willetton last Saturday night.

The Eagles had a chance to make a statement and stay in the playoff hunt, but it wasn’t to be with the Senators proving to have too many weapons.

The Senators led 25-21 by quarter-time before putting up 34 points in the second quarter to go into half-time up 59-45.

Warwick pulled further away in the third quarter to lead 83-58 by three quarter-time before ending up winning the game 106-86 to improve to 11-3 on the season while the Eagles are now 5-11 having lost four in-a-row.

The size of the Senators saw them dominate the glass with 52 rebounds to 36 for the night while they shot the ball well going 41/82 at 50 per cent from the field and 12/34 at 35 per cent from outside the arc.

East Perth battled hard but ended up shooting 29/70 from the floor at 41 per cent and 6/25 at 24 per cent from downtown. They did, however, do well getting to the line 30 times for the game.

Caleb Davis top-scored for the Senators with 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists while knocking down 7/14 of his three-point attempts.

Cody Ellis also produced 19 points and six rebounds for Warwick with Ngor Manyang contributing 18 points and 10 rebounds, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk 15 points and four boards, Justin King 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Rob Anshila eight points and six boards.

Jordan Wellsteed had his best night since joining the Eagles this season putting up 23 points on 9/13 shooting from the field.

Drew Williamson added 18 points and two assists for East Perth, Cameron Williams 14 points and four steals, and Dennis Tawhiti six points, six rebounds and three assists.

SINCLAIR MCDONALD’S ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 83 lost to WILLETTON TIGERS 93

With Rockingham hunting a fifth straight win and Willetton needing to keep their good form going to stay in the playoff hunt, Mike Barnett Sports Complex played host to another tantalising Friday night contest.

The Flames came into the game still only ever having their full squad for one game this season but they had won four straight matches coming into hosting the Tigers on Friday night.

Willetton, meanwhile, is also in its best form of the season now blending new import Chris Galbreath into the line-up and winning their past two matches against the Eagles and Senators.

Rockingham came out and started strongly leading early 8-3 before the Tigers hit the next 10 points to work their way on top. When Michael Garbellini nailed a three, Willetton had gone from five down to leading by eight in the space of only a few minutes.

But the Flames then scored the last six points of the opening term to cut the Willetton lead to 21-18 at quarter-time.

Willetton then made a stunning start to the second quarter going on a remarkable 17-0 run that included a pair of triples to captain Andrew Black and seven points to Chris Galbreath.

The Tigers opened up a 38-18 lead as a result but the game of runs continued with the Flames responding with the next 14 points on their own sparked by Luke Travers who nailed two dunks and a three-pointer.

That meant the game was on the line at half-time with Willetton leading 46-41 and while the Flames threatened a fight back, once the Tigers got back up by double-figures they retained that advantage most of the rest of the way to end up winning 93-83.

Chris Galbreath continues to show he is a potential difference-maker to Willetton’s season finishing the evening with 24 points, three rebounds and three blocks while shooting an efficient 11/16 from the field.

He had plenty of help from the Tigers too with Damien Scott producing 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, Jackson Hussey 14 points, seven assists and five boards, Connor Mincherton 11 points, and Mo Barrow 10 points and five rebounds.

Josh Ritchart top-scored for Rockingham with 18 points and 11 rebounds with Greg Hire contributing 14 points, 15 boards and six assists, Justin Beard 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Luke Travers 10 points, six boards, four assists and two blocked shots.

SATURDAY

WILLETTON TIGERS 92 lost to QUADRIO EARTHMOVING GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 101

Willetton backed up their win against Rockingham on Friday night by then hosting the Geraldton Buccaneers on Saturday at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

The Tigers did come in with momentum from beating the Flames but the Buccaneers were back in Perth for the second straight weekend and this time new import DeAngelo Isby would be suiting up to play for the first time since replacing Willie Conner.

Isby would go on to deliver quite the impressive debut performance for the Buccs as well in what turned out to be a fascinating contest all evening with a former Geraldton star, Mo Barrow.

It was a tight game most of the way with Willetton leading narrowly 20-19 by quarter-time and then still maintaining that one-point edge to head into half-time up 48-47.

The Tigers stretched their lead slightly to 76-72 by three quarter-time, but Geraldton had more gas in the tank come the fourth term and pulled away with 29 points to 16 to claim the 101-92 victory after a tremendous contest.

The Buccaneers dominated the glass racking up 57 rebounds to just 32 from the Tigers but Willetton did play an efficient game with 21 assists and just six turnovers to keep themselves in the contest.

But that rebounding dominance ended up paying off for the Buccs and DeAngelo Isby made a statement debut performance finishing with 30 points, nine rebounds and three assists while shooting 11/20 from the field, 4/7 from downtown and 4/6 from the foul line.

Colter Lasher had a good night too for Geraldton with 21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists while Liam Hunt continued his good form with 18 points, nine boards, three assists and three steals.

Marcus Alipate also had 14 points, six assists and five rebounds while Aaron Ralph produced 13 points, eight boards and four assists.

Mo Barrow did all he could to try and lift Willetton to the win against his former team with 36 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists on shooting 15/24 from the field and 5/8 from beyond the arc.

Damien Scott also had 17 points and eight assists for the Tigers, Jackson Hussey 11 points, three boards, three steals and two assists, Chris Galbreath 11 points and four rebounds, and Scott Elder 10 points and seven boards.

LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 92 defeated NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 87

The Lakeside Lightning and Goldfields Giants played out perhaps the highest-quality contest in the Men’s SBL a couple of weeks ago in Kalgoorlie so anticipation was high for the return clash at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Saturday night.

The Lightning prevailed by a point in a cracking contest in Kalgoorlie a fortnight earlier so there was plenty of anticipation for the return clash.

Since that win, Lakeside had lost to the Senators but beaten the Redbacks while the Giants beat the Magic on their home floor to remain in touch with the top four with a win on Saturday night a chance to further close the gap on the Lightning.

The game certainly didn’t disappoint either and little separated both teams the whole night.

The Lightning did start well and led by a game-high 11 points midway through the opening quarter but the Giants quickly got going and by quarter-time, Lakeside only led 27-25.

Things remained close the rest of the way and the game was destined to go down to the wire.

On the back of successive three-pointers from David Humphries and Jay Bowie, the Giants took an 83-81 lead with five minutes remaining. They then went up four with a layup to Patrick Burke before the Lightning stayed close thanks to a three from Jobi Wall.

A jumper from Kyle Armour and then triple from Michael Vigor then had Lakeside leading 89-85 with 1:30 remaining. A Burke layup kept Goldfields within two but the Lakeside did enough down the stretch and then iced the win with a triple from Jack Isenbarger to win 92-87.

Like the game in Kalgoorlie two weeks earlier, both teams played at a high level with Lakeside finishing with 41 rebounds, 23 assists and just 11 turnovers while shooting 45 per cent from the field and 40 per cent from three-point territory.

Despite the loss, the Giants did a lot right shooting 50 per cent from the floor and 56 per cent from deep where they went 13/23 while also dishing out 25 assists opposed to 18 turnovers.

Rowan Mackenzie top-scored off the bench for Lakeside with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Jobi Wall added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists with Michael Vigor producing 16 points and five boards, Jack Isenbarger 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, Kyle Armour 14 points and six assists, and Jarrad Prue 12 points and 11 boards.

Patrick Burke put in another impressive display for the Giants ending the night with 27 points and nine rebounds.

David Humphries added 20 points and six assists for Goldfields while Jerome Reid produced 12 points, Jay Bowie 10 points and nine assists, Brandon Holloway 10 points and three rebounds, and Mayo Malek eight points and six boards.

CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 115 defeated PRINT SYNC SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 55

Ridell Camidge delivered the most scintillating individual performance of the season on Saturday night as the league-leading Joondalup Wolves hammered the winless South West Slammers by 60 points at HBF Arena.

Whether he was dropping three-point bombs in a brilliant shooting display or taking the ball hard to the ring and either needing to be fouled or finishing strongly at, or above, the rim, Camidge produced the best individual display of the SBL season to date.

He finished the night with 46 points, three rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block on the back of shooting 15/27 from the field, 8/19 from three-point territory and 8/8 from the foul line to more than cover the absence of Earnest Ross and Trian Iliadis.

The Slammers’ one previous visit to HBF Arena in 2018 was a Sunday afternoon to forget with the Wolves winning 97-48 so those few players backing up again on Saturday night knew how ugly things could potentially get if they didn’t bring their A-game against the Wolfpack.

It would prove another long night despite the arrival of Terrell Carter to give them a presence inside and experienced point guard Michael Lay back in the line-up, but the Slammers actually started encouragingly.

Carter and Lay scored to help put them up 9-6 which became 12-8 with a Tyler Livingston triple, and with Earnest Ross leaving the game with a sore back after taking a hard fall, there was the makings of a strong showing from the Slammers.

They even still led 17-15 when Lay knocked down a triple heading towards quarter-time but Ridell Camidge knocked down two more threes to give him three for the opening quarter, and Sam Curtis nailed two from downtown as well.

That saw the Wolves finish the quarter on a 12-0 run to lead 27-19.

Things then started to get ugly in the second quarter as the Slammers managed just the seven points while the Wolfpack put up 30 including another 10 points from Camidge to give him 27 for the half.

Camidge then came out in the third quarter a man possessed starting with a three-pointer and then knowing his shot was falling and the Slammers had to close out hard, he started taking the ball to the rack and doing so emphatically.

He capped it off with a thunderous dunk that shook HBF Arena and in the end, the Slammers had to foul him on the way to the hoop to avoid more such finishes. Camidge added another 13 points in that third quarter with the Wolves’ lead growing to 85-45 by three quarter-time.

Camidge was threatening to become the first player this SBL season to break the 50-point barrier when he nailed two more threes to start the fourth term, but he had to settle for the 46 which was still the highest individual score of 2019.

But with Camidge sitting, it was a chance for other Wolves players to have some fun and that saw Sean Easther knock down two triples, Sam Curtis nail two more from downtown inside 15 seconds, Joel Offereins do some impressive things and the same for Lachlan Strelein.

There was no let up from the Wolves who finished the game with a 15-2 run to win 115-55 and improve to 13-3 on the season while the Slammers are 0-14. They have lost their two visits to HBF Arena as well by a combined 109 points.

On top of Camidge’s 46-point night for Joondalup, Sam Curtis had the best game of his 66-game SBL career with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists while hitting four threes.

Seb Salinas showed he has plenty of gas in the tank with 12 points and three assists in his 423rd appearance while Joel Offereins made his first start and had six points, six rebounds and two assists.

Sean Easther produced a season-best 11 points, five rebounds and three steals as well with the Wolfpack showing their depth with Reece Maxwell also adding seven points, five steals and four assists, and Damian Matacz seven points, three rebounds and two assists.

It was tough going for the Slammers and first-year coach John Triscari who has craved this opportunity to coach in the Men’s SBL for some time.

Tyler Livingston top-scored with 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals while Terrell Carter had 14 points and six rebounds despite being hindered by foul trouble.

Michael Lay added seven points and five assists in his 199th SBL appearance with Lucas Goff contributing five points and two blocks, Brody England four points and five rebounds, and Phoenix O’Neill four points and five boards.

SUNDAY

BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 115 defeated NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 87

The Warwick Senators kept their impressive form going with the Goldfields Giants a tired looking outfit on the second half of their road trip double-header at Warwick Stadium on Sunday.

The Senators had beaten East Perth by 20 points on Friday night on the back of their nine-game winning run ending last Saturday night against Willetton while the Giants had started their road trip in Round 12 with a narrow loss to the Lakeside Lightning the previous night.

The Giants were able to stick with the Senators through the first half despite Warwick leading 35-27 at quarter-time and then 59-51 at half-time.

But Goldfields couldn’t keep it going on the road and in the end the Senators pulled away in the second half outscoring the Giants 56 points to 36 to end up winning 115-87.

The win improves the Senators to a 12-3 record on the season in second position having now won 11 of their last 12 matches.

With the two losses this weekend, the Giants are now 9-7 in seventh spot ahead of hosting the league-leading Joondalup Wolves on Saturday night.

The Senators dominated the boards finishing with 47 rebounds to just 29 from the Giants while both teams played at a good level.

Warwick had 26 assists and 15 turnovers while shooting 56 per cent from the field and 46 per cent from three while Goldfields had 23 assists and 14 turnovers while shooting 49 per cent from the floor and 23 per cent from deep.

Justin King top-scored for a Senators team missing Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Ash Litterick, delivering 31 points, seven assists and five rebounds while shooting 12/19 from the field and 3/4 from three-point range.

Caleb Davis also produced 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Warwick, Rob Anshila 18 points and 12 boards, Cody Ellis 18 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Ngor Manyang 13 points, three boards and two assists.

Jay Bowie had an efficient afternoon for the Giants with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on shooting 10/15 from the field.

Patrick Burke added another 24 points with Mayo Malek producing 12 points and seven rebounds, David Humphries nine points and five boards, and Daniel Forlano nine points. Brandon Holloway also had five assists.

PRESTIGE HONDA MELVILLE COCKBURN COUGARS 65 LOST TO QUADRIO EARTHMOVING GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 99

The Geraldton Buccaneers kept their momentum going on the road on Sunday afternoon, beating the Cockburn Cougars by 34 points at Wally Hagan Stadium.

The Cougars returned to their home floor after losing on Friday night in Mandurah and it was going to be a big ask up against a Buccaneers team even though they were playing their fourth game on the road in the space of eight days.

The Buccs had won the previous night against Willetton and kept the momentum going on Sunday starting well against the Cougars to lead by nine points at quarter-time.

It was still a tight game by half-time, though, with Geraldton only holding a 48-41 advantage.

But the Buccaneers pulled away throughout the second half outscoring Cockburn 51 points to just 24 to end up winning 99-65.

The win is a third straight for Geraldton who remain in third position at 11-4 while Cockburn has now lost eight in-a-row to be 3-12.

DeAngelo Isby had his second impressive performance of his first weekend in the SBL for the Buccaneers finishing with 26 points and eight rebounds on shooting 11/18 from the floor.

Liam Hunt added 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Geraldton with Colter Lasher delivering 16 points, 11 assists, four steals and four assists, Aaron Ralph 15 points, seven boards and three assists, and Marcus Alipate eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

Gavin Field top-scored for the Cougars with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists with Seva Chan contributing 11 points and two boards, Jakob Knight 10 points, six rebounds and six assists, Jake Harris eight points and four boards, and Jaarod Holmes seven points and seven rebounds.

MONDAY

AUSTRALIAN ALL-STARS 113 defeated WORLD ALL-STARS 112

The WA Day long weekend couldn’t have possibly ended on a better or more exciting note than the 2019 Men’s SBL All-Star Game which was a fantastic spectacle and contest, and went right down to the wire.

As part of the Festival of Basketball at Bendat Basketball Centre on the WA Day Monday public holiday, the big day of festivities concluded with the Men’s All-Star Game.

The format changed in 2019 and it was clearly for the better as the Australian All-Stars took on the World All-Stars in what turned out to be a superb showcase of what the SBL is all about.

The game was destined to go down to the wire and it was a dramatic finish.

With the World All-Stars leading 112-111, Jourdan DeMuynck’s shot just rimmed out which could have extended the lead to three.

After Ryan Godfrey grabbed the round, he found Louis Timms for a big flush and his dunk put the Australian team on top 113-112 and with the World team with one last chance on the final possession to snatch victory.

Coming out of the timeout, they got a good look too with Rockingham Flames guard Caleb White taking the shot. He might or might not have been fouled, but either way his shot didn’t fall and the foul wasn’t call with the Australian All-Stars holding on to win the game 113-112.

Greg Hire was named MVP of the All-Star Game after producing 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Australian All-Stars including hitting 4/8 from three-point territory.

His Rockingham teammate Ryan Godfrey also finished with 12 points and four assists while Louis Timms contributed 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks, and David Humphries 10 points and 11 boards.

Marshall Nelson scored nine points, Jarrad Prue eight (16 rebounds), Caleb Davis eight, Damien Scott eight, Kyle Armour eight (five rebounds, three assists) and Cody Ellis eight (four assists, three steals).

Tyler Livingston put up 20 points and four rebounds as the South West Slammers forward led the way for the World All-Stars.

Caleb White also produced 18 points and three assists for the World team with Josh Braun contributing 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Marcus Alipate 14 points and seven boards, Patrick Burke 13 points, Shaun Stewart nine points, and Jourdan DeMuynck eight points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.