THE National Basketball League (NBL) produced their third round of action over the weekend, with plenty for fans to enjoy and experts to analyse. It appeared to be the week of surprising results, with a number of the competition’s top sides on the receiving end of some shock upsets. One of these included the Illawarra Hawks, who were undefeated heading into their clash with the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday afternoon and were widely expected to emerge victorious. However, it was the Bullets who were able to turn the tables and claim their second win of the season, while the Hawks were left wondering what went wrong.

FIRST QUARTER:

The Bullets started the match in blistering fashion, particularly on the offensive end, with their starters firing on all cylinders in the first term. Illawarra had a decent start to the period, led by MVP candidate Duop Reath, who produced his side’s first five points of the match. However, the rest of the quarter belonged to Brisbane, who blitzed the final half of the quarter to finish on a whopping 30 points for the term. What was most impressive was their work behind the three-point line. They had no issue producing a good look from behind the arc, which typically resulted in either a basket or a foul. They headed into quarter time with a 10-point lead and looking to keep this momentum rolling.

SECOND QUARTER:

The Hawks were able to provide a fightback of sorts in the second term, getting their own rhythm moving on the offensive end of the court. They found offensive output from a number of sources, with plenty of the Hawks players getting in on the action as they looked to chip away at the lead set in the first term. However, the Bullets were able to virtually match this run, and the lead still sat at nine points at the main break, demonstrating that they were more than up for the fight.

THIRD QUARTER:

The third period saw a similar pattern, with the charge from Illawarra matched by their opponents, preventing them from stealing the lead. The Hawks got as close as two points late in the term, before a late surge from the Bullets saw the lead get out of reach once again. A three-pointer from Brisbane star Robert Franks with just seconds remaining saw the margin stretch again to eight heading into the final period, with quite a bit of work ahead of the Hawks if they wished to turn this around.

FOURTH QUARTER:

The final term saw the Hawks produce their strongest period of the match, as they made one final charge towards stealing an unlikely come-from-behind win (despite being favoured entering the match). The contest went down to the wire, with the lead as little as one point at stages of the term. However, the story was much the same to close the contest, with the Bullets able to hold off any comeback attempts to finish the upset win to the tune of just four points in the end.

CLOSING THOUGHTS …

For the Bullets. Nathan Sobey topped the scoring for his side with 17 points for the match, consistently finding a way to reach the free throw line. He was well-assisted by Franks, who continues to prove his value with 16 points of his own in a valuable outing for the forward. For the Hawks, Reath attempted to steal a win with his 15 points, but fell short despite his best efforts.