AN EXCELLENT performance from Jai Fa’ale has helped the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (BA CoE) claim its second win of Round 1 of the NBL1 East Men’s competition, this time defeating the Bankstown Bruins.

Fa’ale had top-scored for the Centre of Excellence when they toppled the Penrith Panthers earlier in the weekend, indicating he was in for a big season. The team of youngsters had to back it up at the AIS on Sunday afternoon, looking to go 2-0 under head coach Brayden Cotter with plenty of new names on the roster.

Although the Bruins showed assertiveness in the first term to be up by one point at quarter time, the second period proved definitive as the CoE broke the game open with a 33-18 patch. From there, the young guns were able to hold on despite a strong push from Bankstown, with the Centre of Excellence claiming an eight-point win.

Fa’ale again led the way for his team for the second match in a row, taking charge offensively and producing one of the best performances of his short career to help lead the CoE to a red-hot start in 2026.

BA CoE (97) def. Bankstown Bruins (89)

Jai Fa’ale – 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal

In his second season with the Centre of Excellence, the 17-year-old is projected to play a key role for the Centre of Excellence in 2026, and has started his season with a bang, proving the best offensive option in both outings.

Although his first few shots from the field were wayward, Fa’ale hit the scoreboard for the first time four minutes into the opening frame with a nice driving layup to keep his team in touch after the Bruins started strongly. He backed it up nicely a couple of minutes later with an and-one that cut the margin back before heading to the bench.

He returned to the fold to start the second frame and had a decisive couple of minutes midway through the quarter that truly helped the CoE gain scoreboard ascendancy. He nailed a turnaround jumper and a three-pointer on back to back possessions to put his side in front, before nailing another layup to give the team some breathing space.

The third quarter saw Fa’ale put an emphasis on opening up scoring opportunities for others, and while he did turn the ball over a couple of times, he was still able to keep finding his teammates in strong positions as the CoE maintained their lead.

Fa’ale showed much more aggression with ball in hand in the fourth quarter, starting with a pair of free throws after drawing contact on the drive. He backed it up with a three-pointer and a second and-one in the minutes that followed to put the Centre of Excellence up by double-digits, with the team able to hold on for another win.

He finished the contest with 26 points, which was the most of any player in the match to go with seven rebounds and three assists. Fa’ale was the leading scorer for the Centre of Excellence in Round 1, and will be pivotal to their offensive structure.