THE NATIONAL Basketball League (NBL) Blitz preseason tournament began on the Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon, and all four matches have made the picture clearer ahead of the 2024/25 fixture.

The Blitz preseason tournament takes place over the span of seven days, and with Round 1 scheduled to begin next weekend, it is the final glimpse of how each side is shaping up for the upcoming season.

Kicking things off was a clash between the Tasmania JackJumpers and the Brisbane Bullets on Saturday afternoon, with the latter claiming a 13-point victory. The Bullets came into the contest in hot form, having won three of their four previous exhibition matches, and proved too good for the reigning champions.

The star of the show was Brisbane point guard James Batemon, who looks set for a dynamic campaign as the Bullets’ floor general. He posted a game-high 20 points and was capable of producing baskets from nearly everywhere, while Jordan Crawford was back to his electric best with 15 points in 19 minutes.

The next game saw Melbourne United prove a class above the Cairns Taipans, snagging a seven-point triumph at Carrara Stadium on Saturday night. Although the Taipans gave fans a lot to be excited about, Melbourne’s winning DNA shone through when it mattered most.

All five of Melbourne’s starters poured in double-digits, with Ian Clark the most damaging with 16 points, while Matthew Dellavedova was also strong off the bench with 13 points of his own. For Cairns, import shooting guard Rob Edwards was tremendous with a game-high 24 points (8/17 FG) and should be an electric player up North this year.

Kicking off the action on Sunday was a clash between the Illawarra Hawks and the SEM Phoenix, with the Hawks 19 points too good for the Phoenix. The Hawks were on early, headlined by a massive poster dunk from exciting forward Lachlan Olbrich in the opening minutes of the game, emphasising the exciting style of basketball the team wants to bring to the table.

Fresh off an exciting postseason with Illawarra, William Hickey led the way with 20 points, while Tyler Harvey (18 points) and Olbrich (17 points) were not far behind and both produced impressive outings. For the Phoenix, their offensive firepower was not at its potential, but backcourt duo Nathan Sobey (16 points) and Derrick Walton Jr (14 points, six assists) still caught the eye.

The final match of the weekend saw a high-scoring thriller between the New Zealand Breakers and the Perth Wildcats, with the Breakers getting the job done by six points. New Zealand looked home heading into the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats came home like a wet sail, producing a 41-point final term on the back of some heroics from Bryce Cotton but fell painfully short.

Cotton was the game’s leading scorer with 32 points, showing why he is still the king of the NBL. He engaged in an enthralling duel with Parker Jackson-Cartwright, with the latter delivering 21 points of his own.

The NBL Blitz continues tonight, with the JackJumpers taking on the Adelaide 36ers, while the Taipans face off against the Sydney Kings.