AUSTRALIA’S premier men’s basketball competition saw one of the year’s biggest upsets on Saturday night. The National Basketball League (NBL) saw its eighth round of action resume, when the Brisbane Bullets hosted the South East Melbourne Phoenix at Nissan Arena. The Phoenix entered this match heavily favoured given the results that have taken place so far this season, but it was the Bullets who proved the better side on the night, blitzing their opponent early in the match to take a massive lead. This ended up being too much for their opponents to handle, with Brisbane closing out the match with a 16-point victory.

With plenty to take out of this contest, we take a look at three of the key points that will be discussed around the country over the coming days.

1. Fast starting Bullets

There would not be many people who would have predicted the start to this match. Even the most confident of Bullets fans would have thought it was a fantasy, but Brisbane made this a reality. They started this contest with one of the most impressive quarters we have seen so far this season. The home side were clinical for the opening 10 minutes, dominating their opponents for the entirety of the period, storming out to a whopping lead by the time the first break rolled around. Almost all of the Bullets players who took the court were able to get in on the scoring, while the Phoenix simply could not find the bottom of the net. The scoreboard read 31-6 in Brisbane’s favour at quarter time, with the side executing a near-perfect term.

2. Phoenix fail to fire

The South East Melbourne Phoenix have been one of the most dominant teams to start the 2021/22 season, announcing themselves as a championship contender in the opening rounds. They entered this clash widely expected to head back to Melbourne with a win, but they found themselves well and truly bested on Saturday night. The Phoenix could not get their offence rolling in the opening term, registering just six points in this time. While they were able to get things rolling in the three quarters that followed, the damage was unfortunately done by this stage. It was a far cry from the team we had seen to open the season, who had shown the capability to tear apart their opponents on a weekly basis. This is the side’s second loss of the season, and there is no doubt that their peers will be viewing the Phoenix as beatable going forward.

3. Franks still has moves up his sleeve

The Brisbane Bullets appear to have found one of the recruits of the year, adding forward Robert Franks over the offseason. From the very first game, Franks has done nothing but impress during his time in a Bullets uniform, proving himself as one of the competition’s most dangerous players on the offensive end of the court. He has shown the capability to score from both inside the paint and behind the arc, with opposition defenders often struggling to predict how he will find the bottom of the net. On Saturday night, Franks shown that he still has some moves to pull out of his bag, pulling out a play that proved to be impossible to guard. Showing shades of NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, Franks drove to the baseline before pulling out a moving fadeaway jumpshot in a move that did not allow the defender to contest the shot as two points were added to the score.