IN WHAT may have been a preview of the Championship Series for the 2025/26 National Basketball League (NBL) season, Melbourne United held on for a one-point win over the Adelaide 36ers, with Jesse Edwards putting in a huge performance.

It was billed as the game of the season with the top-placed United hosting the second-placed Sixers at John Cain Arena on Sunday afternoon, given these were the two best teams during the first six rounds of the fixture and made up the top two spots in the standings.

The matchup lived up to the hype as the two heavyweights of the competition went blow for blow in an enthralling battle that was as entertaining as any seen so far this season. After Dejan Vasiljevic knocked down the triple to put the Kings up by two, he then committed a turnover and gave United the chance to win the contest.

Proven clutch performer Milton Doyle stepped up to shoot a long range bomb, but his attempt got all rim, before Edwards knocked the ball out to fellow import Tyson Walker, who knocked down the game-winning three-pointer to cap off the game of NBL26 by giving Melbourne a one-point win at John Cain Arena.

Although Walker’s name was in lights following his game-winning basket, the result would not have been possible if not for the performance of Edwards, who dominated the paint on the big stage and showed how important he has been during Melbourne’s unbeaten run.

Melbourne United (81) def. Adelaide 36ers (80)

Jesse Edwards – 25 points, seven rebounds, one steal, one block

Although foul trouble limited him to just 20 minutes of court time, Edwards was still immense for the victors, taking home the chocolates in his battle with Adelaide big man Isaac Humphries and coming up with a huge play down the stretch.

He got involved on the scoring front in no time at all, registering his first dunk of the game to get United on the board for the match with a nice two-handed throwdown. After pulling down some big rebounds, Edwards was becoming a problem for the opposition, and they were forced to foul him on the drive, after which he converted at the charity stripe.

However, the big man committed two quick fouls himself, and was forced to spend the second half of the opening term on the bench before being injected back into the contest to start the following quarter. Edwards picked up exactly where he left off in the first few minutes of the match, throwing down another dunk and converting more shots at the free throw line, but his third personal foul sent him to the bench to close out the half.

The center returned to the fold to start the second half, and once again nailed an early basket in the paint to get Melbourne off to a strong start. Putting pressure on star guard Bryce Cotton, Edwards forced a steal and nailed the jump shot from midrange in transition to truly emerge as one of the biggest factors in the match. A highlight play came later in the quarter, as he leapt over the defence, tipped the ball into the basket after a miss from Walker, drawing contact in the process for an and-one, which he converted before heading back to the bench.

As expected, he was brought back into the match to start the fourth quarter given how tight proceedings were, and produced yet another massive play with a huge alley oop dunk to ignite the crowd at John Cain Arena. A pair of layups followed shortly after, before Edwards showed his craft on the defensive end by swatting away Humphries’ attempted layup in plays that were proving decisive down the stretch.

The Dutch big man was finding more success at the basket with another driving layup to bring Melbourne back within four points with a couple of minutes on the clock, before delivering an even bigger play with the go-ahead dunk with just over a minute to play. Then, when Doyle missed the go-ahead basket, Edwards tapped the rebound away from the opposition and out to Edwards on the perimeter in a play that will not go down on the stat sheet but helped win Melbourne the match.

He finished with 25 points on a perfect 10/10 shooting from the field, proving unstoppable at times inside the paint and making the most of his 20 minutes of playing time. Edwards has been a key piece in Melbourne going nine from nine to start the season, and showed just how much of a difference-maker he can be.