DESPITE his side falling in the first week of finals, Jonah Antonio produced a stirring offensive performance to kick off the postseason in an attempt to drag his team over the line.

Antonio’s Cairns Marlins took on the Ipswich Force in the NBL1 North Men’s in one of the first quarter final games for the competition. Coming into the match as underdogs, the Marlins were always going to be up against it, facing off against one of the form side of the competition at JBS Stadium on Saturday night, and a seriously good scoring performance from Cairns was required.

To their credit, the Marlins gave it everything they had, pushing Ipswich and giving themselves the best chance to take home a seriously impressive win. Trailing at the final change, Cairns rallied in the final term to keep things interesting and give itself a genuine chance of overtaking the Force and advancing to the next round. However, Ipswich’s class ended up shining through in the final term, with the team’s veterans taking over and steering the team to a seven-point win and a spot in the semi-finals.

There was not much more Antonio could have done, single-handedly giving the Marlins a chance at an upset with his sharpshooting performance.

Ipswich Force (99) def. Cairns Marlins (92)

Jonah Antonio – 42 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one steal

In a game that was full of big game players such as Nathan Sobey and Deng Deng, it was Antonio that stood out with his blistering offensive showing that almost proved match-winning.

No player topped his points total of 42, as he registered nearly half of his team’s score in their most important match of their 2023 campaign. He stepped up in a big way when Cairns needed a go-to option on the offensive end, showcasing his ability to influence a match with explosive scoring.

Antonio’s scoring performance was largely carried by his work from behind the arc, where he torched the Ipswich defence with an outstanding shooting performance.

The Cairns Taipans guard drained a whopping 10 triples on 19 attempts, displaying a smooth shooting motion that was unaffected by any sort of close-out by the opposition.

The Marlins’ ball movement mainly focussed around getting the ball in Antonio’s hands, and he rewarded them with one of the best shooting performances of the entire season.

It may not have got his side all the way into the semi-final, but the Marlins would not have even been a chance if not for the performance of Antonio, who was electric from behind the arc in a dominant scoring performance that almost single-handedly toppled the Force.