THE first round of National Basketball League (NBL) has wrapped in the last 24 hours, with fans likely satisfied with an exciting round of action. There appeared no signs of rust for many teams, with plenty of high-scoring affairs across the competition. Sunday delivered fans a triple-header, with three matches taking place back-to-back-to-back throughout the day.

The first of these matches saw the Illawarra Hawks face off against the Adelaide 36ers at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, where the visitors emerged victorious to the tune of 10 points (81-71). It was a commanding performance for the most part from Illawarra, dominating the second and third terms to claim a lead that proved unbeatable for the remainder of the match, despite a last quarter fightback from the 36ers.

In the victory, there were many strong contributors for the Hawks, with four players scoring over 15 points in the win. The explosive scoring of Xavier Rathan-Mayes in the fourth term deserves a mention, with the guard exploding in the closing period, sinking a number of deep three’s in a true display of confidence to take his points total to 15 for the match. Star teammate Tyler Harvey was also terrific, pouring in 15 points and proving himself a dangerous pickpocket, finishing with six steals.

DUOP REATH PLAYER FOCUS

The star of the show proved to be one of the team’s debutants, with offseason recruit Duop Reath making his presence known in his first outing for the club. Fresh off winning a bronze medal with the Aussie Boomers in the 2021 Olympic Games, there were plenty of expectations regarding the versatile big man heading into his first NBL season. The 25-year-old was able to live up to these in his first match, catching the eye of teammates, opponents and fans around the country. Donning a headband, Reath appeared to pop up everywhere for the Hawks, whether it was chasing down an offensive rebound or sinking a shot from downtown, there didn’t seem too much he couldn’t do, delivering a strong performance that will gain him even more attention.

QUARTER 1:

Reath opened his team’s scoring account for the season, dribbling left before sinking a smooth jumpshot from the elbow to get his side on the board. It was the move of a veteran and one he likely perfected during his time overseas, learning from some of the best. A couple of minutes later, he continued to demonstrate the wide variety of moves in his bag, producing a nice stepback to find himself behind the three-point line, where he sank the long-range shot. A pair of free throws late in the term saw Reath begin his NBL career in fine form and by the time the first break rolled around, the big man had a game-high seven points to his name.

QUARTER 2:

The second term saw the defence start to put slightly more work into curbing the influence of Reath, particularly on the offensive end of the court. He found himself on the end of numerous double-teams as the 36ers looked to keep the ball out of his hands, but he was still able to affect the contest by finding his way to the free throw line with a vicious attack on the hoop resulting in the drawing of contact. Despite the best efforts of the Adelaide defence, Reath still found himself open to sink a shot from deep to take his points tally to 12 points at half-time, with his fingerprints all over this contest.

QUARTER 3:

The big man opened the second half with a bang, reading the fastbreak play well to find himself behind the defence, where he caught the pinpoint pass from Harvey and threw down the one-handed slam. This kicked off a pattern of aggression from Reath, as he began to attack the paint heavily, which resulted in a number of free throws and another dunk out the back of the defensive line. He was then rested for much of the remainder of the term, but it was evident he had delivered the most damaging performance of the match as the match headed into the final quarter.

QUARTER 4:

The final term saw Reath deliver some impressive defensive work, swatting the jump shot attempt from Adelaide’s Isaac Humphries in the midst of the 36ers’ final term charge. Immediately after this effort, Reath was able to bring down two offensive rebounds in the same possession, giving his side extra field goal attempts, and this hard work resulted in a basket from deep. After this, Reath was rested for the remainder of the game in an attempt to ease him into the NBL system, but by this stage, he had already announced himself as one of the league’s best recruits, leading his side to their first win of the season.

CLOSING THOUGHTS …

In the end, the big man finished with 18 points (making five of his nine field goal attempts) and nine rebounds. Both of these were team-highs. It is evident that he has one of the most all-around games in the league, with the ability to essentially do it all. With one of the league’s best coaches guiding him through this campaign in Brian Goorjian, there is every chance that Reath will announce himself as one of the competition’s premier talents, and Sunday afternoon’s performance will only add fuel to this fire.