THE last few days has seen the beginning of this season’s installment of the National Basketball League (NBL) Blitz competition, which gives sides their first true taste of competitive action before the regular season tips off. So far, the league’s sides have come out firing, with plenty of tense contests and high-quality performances across the tournament. Out of all the entertaining matches so far, we have picked one to put under the microscope, as we run down what took place when the Illawarra Hawks took down the South East Melbourne Phoenix in a clash that went down to the wire, and took an overtime period to determine a winner.

The match opened in close fashion, with high scoring keeping fans entertained for the first quarter. Phoenix’s Ryan Broekhoff opened the scoring between the sides, as he faked one defender before steadying to drill his first three-pointer of the day. Both sides looked to get their rhythm going, with the Hawks receiving a brutal reminder of what to expect when they enter the paint, with Phoenix big man Zhou Qi swatting a would-be Hawks scorer. NBL Next Star Justinian Jessup announced his presence with an impressive and-one, leading his side to claim a one-point lead at quarter time.

The second term opened with a brilliant four-point play from Hawk Tyler Harvey, who remained cool under pressure to sink his shot from deep despite the contact, as Illawarra extended their lead. However, this effort was matched up the other end of the court, with the Phoenix delivering their own four-point play through guard Reuben Te Rangi, with his side able to peg back the lead. This was the beginning of a serious bit of momentum for South East Melbourne, who ended up turning the quarter in their favor to eventually outscore their opponents by six for the term as they entered half time in front. However, the Phoenix were not done yet with this highlight on the halftime buzzer, as a full-court heave ended up finding the bottom of the net to extend their lead.

The third term saw the Hawks come back, with key players such as Harvey and Jessup getting involved with the team’s offense to generate some promising momentum. The true turning point came when Sam Froling converted his lay-up through contact, and despite missing his free throw, the Hawks tracked down the rebound and scored, turning this into a four-point play. The lead was trimmed back to just two points heading into the final term in what was shaping up to be a thriller.

The fourth quarter delivered on what was promised, with the Hawks continuing to chip away at the narrow lead held by the Phoenix. It was once again the heroics of Harvey that kept his side in the contest, with his three-point bomb early in the term making it a one-point game. The contest looked like it was all but over when the Hawks took a six-point lead midway through the term, but the Phoenix worked hard to put themselves back into the contest, and managed to tie up proceedings with just over a minute to go. An open lay-up to Zhou appeared to be the winning shot, but this was answered shortly after by the Hawks, and the game headed to overtime in fitting fashion.

Overtime opened as a see-sawing affair, with Broekhoff continue to display his tremendous range from deep with a massive three-pointer. Momentum began to swing the way of the Hawks as Froling sunk a massive lay-up through contact and was awarded a trip to the free throw line for his efforts. In the end, Illawarra proved too strong and emerged four-point victors in a hugely entertaining contest.

In the win for his side, Jessup was the hero of the day for the Hawks, with the youngster pouring in 27 points including a whopping seven points from downtown. This is his last year in the league given his selection in this year’s NBA Draft, but if he can maintain this form, he will be a serious threat to opposing teams. Despite the loss, the Phoenix will be encouraged by the fact that all five of their starters scored in double digits for the match.