ALTHOUGH the reigning champions had to take the match to overtime to get the win, the West Adelaide Bearcats were able to get the job done in Round 1 of the NBL1 Central Men’s, defeating the North Adelaide Rockets.

The Bearcats came into their season opener looking to defend last year’s championship, with the difficult task of going back-to-back. In their path on Saturday night was the Rockets, who hosted West Adelaide at The Lights Community and Sports Centre, also eager to get off to a strong start in season 2026.

The Rockets gave last year’s winners quite the challenge in the first round, forcing overtime with a fantastic fightback in the fourth quarter, but the Bearcats still had enough class in the extra period to claim a nine-point win and pick up exactly where they left off.

North Adelaide Rockets (95) def. by West Adelaide Bearcats (104)

The Rockets showed from the get-go that they were up for the fight against the reigning champs, tying up proceedings at quarter time. Although they were coming up against a Bearcats side that admittedly looked very different to the team that won it all last year, it was still a promising start to the match for the home side.

The game continued to be very close for the remainder of the first half, with the sides trading blows and staying within three points of each other. Although the reigning champs were struggling to hit from deep, they still held a slim one-point lead into the main change.

West Adelaide finally found its mark from behind the arc to open the third quarter, and managed to keep its nose in front throughout the penultimate period of regulation. Although the Rockets were doing well to keep up on the scoreboard, the Bearcats led by five points at three-quarter time.

The reigning champions stretched their lead out to 10 points midway through the fourth quarter, but the game was not over yet. The hosts came home like a steam train, erasing that deficit in no time, and it was Oskar Jones who scored for the Rockets in the final minute of the quarter to tie up the match and force overtime.

Nik DeSantis nailed a three-pointer to set the tone for the Bearcats in overtime, and there was no stopping the visitors from there. West Adelaide outscored the Rockets 14-5 in the extra period and broke away for their first win of the year.

Braelen Bridges was the star of the show for the Bearcats, pulling down a massive double-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in the win in a starring performance in the frontcourt. DeSantis was also impressive with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four dimes, as well as knocking down some big shots down the stretch.

Rockets skipper Joel Dyer was the leading scorer for his side in their first game of the year, knocking down six three-pointers en route to 29 points, while Jones was also productive with 23 points of his own including some baskets that helped force overtime.