IN A tense start to their 2026 campaign, the Sturt Sabres were slightly too good for the South Adelaide Panthers in Round 1 of the NBL1 Central Men’s competition, claiming a three-point win when the sides went head to head over the weekend.

It was always looming as a blockbuster start to the 2026 season, given both sides will be hopeful of contending this year after falling short last time around. The Sabres had home court advantage at Springbank Secondary College on Saturday night, but it was shaping as a cracking contest to open the year.

Strong performances in the second and fourth quarters gave the Sabres scoreboard ascendancy, and although the Panthers kept the game close until the final buzzer, Sturt had all the answers at home en route to a three-point win.

Sturt Sabres (96) def. South Adelaide Panthers (93)

It was an extremely balanced contest throughout the first few minutes of play, with the two teams trading baskets in some tremendous back and forth action. However, the final few minutes of the quarter belonged to the Panthers, with a late tip-in to Rio Bruton putting the visiting side up by six points at the first change.

The lead stretched out to eight points in the opening minutes of the second frame, before the Sabres managed to find their feet on both ends of the floor. Sturt erased the deficit in seemingly no time at all, taking the lead midway through the second frame and when the buzzer sounded to mark half time, the hosts had built a six-point lead in a remarkable 10-minute turnaround.

The Panthers returned to their first-quarter form after the main change, particularly in the final three minutes of the third quarter. With the Sabres in control and the visitors trailing by 10 points, South Adelaide flicked a switch, going on an 11-0 run to close out the term and impressively hold a one-point buffer at the final break in another chapter in a see-sawing contest.

Momentum switched once again in the final term, with the Sabres landing the first blow to get out to a five-point lead midway through the term in a contest that was proving to be an arm-wrestle. However, Lloyd McVeigh and the Panthers were not going to go down without a fight, tying up the match in the last 90 seconds of play. However, the Sabres had a couple of timely makes in the paint to close out the game and emerged victorious to open their account.

Sturt skipper Jacob Rigoni was an immense force in his team’s first win, nailing some clutch shots late and finishing with 29 points (8/16 FG, 11/16 FT) and 10 rebounds, while Josh Tomasi was not far behind with 21 points (8/13 FG) and 10 rebounds of his own as the pair established their ascendancy in the low block.

McVeigh fought valiantly to try and drag his side over the line, posting a team-high 24 points on 10/16 shooting from the field, while Panthers’ captain Jeremy Smith had 23 points while dishing out seven assists on an efficient 9/12 shooting.