IN a weekend that was full of upsets, the Brisbane Bullets kept that streak rolling, with veteran guard Nathan Sobey leading his side to a three-point win over the Tasmania JackJumpers.

The two teams clashed at Nissan Arena on Sunday afternoon in the final game of Round 5 of the NBL season, with the visitors widely expected to get the job done. The JackJumpers had been one of the form sides of the competition to start the fixture, and while they were coming off a loss to United earlier in the round, still entered this game as favourites. Brisbane was missing star big man Aron Baynes and import guard Shannon Scott, and had not been able to recapture its strong form from earlier in the season prior to Round 5.

It was an arm-wrestle of a match, with neither side able to go on a true gamebreaking run. The Bullets had edged their way to a seven-point lead at three-quarter time, but the JackJumpers showed their reputation as fourth-quarter specialists and began to forge a comeback. The JackJumpers had the chance to tie things up in the dying stages, but Jordan Crawford‘s game-tying attempt rattled out, as Brisbane held on for a slim, but important win.

The Bullets rallied behind the hot hand of Sobey, who has been the competition’s best scorer over the first five rounds of play.

Brisbane Bullets (90) def. Tasmania JackJumpers (87)

Nathan Sobey – 28 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals

With much of their offence missing either due to injury or suspension, Sobey’s role was always going to be crucial and the experienced campaigner delivered in a big way.

His 28 points were the most of anyone on the court, making 10 baskets on 16 attempts in one of his more accurate scoring performances of the season.

Although some of his shots looked far too difficult, the 33-year-old made it look easy. Whether it was tough lay-ups or contested three-pointers, Sobey managed to find the bottom of the net when others could not. He even managed to bank in an important three in the fourth quarter when the game was in the balance, showing just how well he was shooting the ball.

Remarkably, he played the most important role of the match in just 24 minutes of play, a remarkable feat given how much the offence relied on his efforts. Sobey worked tirelessly off the ball to receive the rock, and then made sure to make the opposition pay.

Sobey is arguably in career-best form despite being 33 years of age, starting the season as the NBL’s best scorer, and Sunday’s efforts showed he still has enough in the tank to carry a team to victory.