ALTHOUGH his Sandringham Sabres ended up falling to the eventual NBL1 National Champions in the Canberra Gunners, 20-year-old Elliott Brown was a shining light against quality talent when the two teams locked horns early in the tournament.

The Sabres qualified for the National Finals after emerging victorious from the NBL1 South Men’s competition, and headed to Canberra optimistic about sweeping the trophy cabinet for 2025. However, they came up against a Gunners side that boasted home court advantage, and was in the perfect position for a crack at the National Championship.

It was a see-sawing affair at Southern Cross Stadium, with the lead changing hands as both teams made runs throughout the first three quarters. At the final change, it was just a three-point lead to the Sabres, which was stretched out to seven points with three minutes on the clock.

However, the Gunners made a late charge, with William Mayfield‘s layup cutting the margin to just one point, and from there, Derek Emelifeonwu took over, nailing back to back baskets to lead Canberra to a thrilling one-point win.

Despite a disappointing result from a team perspective, Brown showed plenty against the Gunners, proving the Sabres’ best player and showing he can bring it against the best teams in the country.

Canberra Gunners (99) def. Sandringham Sabres (98)

Elliott Brown – 28 points, seven rebounds, seven assists

Being injected into the starting lineup, Brown made the most of his opportunity and added responsibility to deliver another strong performance that indicates he has a seriously bright future after stepping up against the eventual champs.

The young gun opened the scoring for the match with a nice turnaround jumper to show his touch from midrange, before finding Tom Koppens on the perimeter for his first assist of the game. After getting going early, Brown then began to attack the basket, drawing contact on one occasion before nailing a trio of layups to close out the term strongly and help his side to a quarter-time lead.

After a slow start to the second frame – missing his first few shots – he combined well with Koppens again to find his teammate on the drive, before drilling a pair of three-pointers himself to find his groove from behind the arc. Brown could have had an even bigger half if he was more efficient at the charity stripe, splitting every trip to the free throw line, although he was still a massive factor in the match by the main break.

Brown started the second half as he finished the first, nailing a nice floater through contact to keep his team in control, although he could not convert the and-one opportunity. Putting pressure on the basket proved to be a winning strategy for the 20-year-old, and he helped the Sabres take a lead into the final quarter of play.

It was the perfect start to the fourth quarter from Brown, who learned from his mistake in the third by converting the and-one after finishing through contact for the first basket of the final frame. After the Gunners made a charge, Brown chimed in for a timely layup to stretch the lead back out to five points, but unfortunately, his shotmaking dried up from there. It was his final make of the game, and he was trusted with the final shot of the game to give his team the win, but his three-pointer was wayward as Canberra held on.

Despite the disappointing result, Brown finished with a game-high 28 points on 11/22 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds and seven assists in a statement performance, and at just 20 years of age, will only get better in the coming years.