HAVING joined a new team for the upcoming NBL season, Anthony Drmic is continuing to showcase his talents at NBL1 level, with an eye-catching performance over the weekend.

The veteran recently made the move to the Tasmania JackJumpers at NBL level, but in the meantime is suiting up for the West Adelaide Bearcats in the NBL1 Central Men’s competition, and steered his side to a commanding win in Round 6.

The Bearcats faced off against the Eastern Mavericks at St Francis de Sales Community Sports Centre on Saturday night, and came in with some indifferent form, unable to get a winning streak going. The Mavericks were also eager to get a win on the board, having lost two on the trot.

The Bearcats were emphatic to start the game, firing on both ends of the court and jumping out to an early lead. They withstood a fightback from the opposition in the second before putting the game to bed in the last half to emerge 117-91 winners.

Drmic was magnificent for the victors, using every bit of his experience to stuff the stat sheet and steer his side to their fifth win of the season.

Eastern Mavericks (91) def. by West Adelaide Bearcats (117)

Anthony Drmic – 37 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, two steals

Drmic was a machine for the Bearcats in the big win, doing a bit of everything in a vintage display from the new JackJumper. Drmic played the most minutes of any Bearcats player, with the team relying on his experience for the majority of the match, which proved invaluable in the end.

His 37 points were a game-high, six more than talented youngster Lachlan Olbrich, who also had a strong performance with 31 points and 12 rebounds.

Drmic was extremely efficient from the field, taking good looks and fighting through any defensive coverages sent his way. He nailed 13 shots on just 19 attempts from the field in a strong scoring display.

From inside the arc, Drmic showed no fear when driving into the paint and was rarely affected by any sort of contest from the opposition. He went a near-perfect 7/8 from two-point territory, but his ability to knock down a shot from behind the arc made him a very tough defensive assignment.

The 31-year-old nailed six threes on 11 attempts, looking to fire off a triple whenever he was given the opportunity. It is a part of his game that has been prominent for quite some time, and hurt the defence once again.

The Bearcats were dominant on the glass, and Drmic was a key contributor in this area. He pulled down 10 defensive rebounds on his way to 12 for the match, playing above his height with some excellent reading of opposition misses.

Although an emphatic scorer, Drmic was still the match’s primary facilitator. This was largely due to his high usage rate, passing out of double-teams that came as a result of his strong scoring work. Seven dimes was a match-high figure, with Olbrich in particular benefiting from his nice passing.

It was a powerful performance from Drmic, who excelled in every area and led his side to a commanding triumph, with both Bearcats and JackJumpers fans encouraged by this.