Hawks and Bullets victors on Blitz Day 7
Photo: Brisbane Bullets (Twitter / X)
Who impressed on the final day of the Blitz?
Game 14: Illawarra Hawks 108-90 Cairns Taipans
Illawarra held off the Cairns Taipans in the second last game of the NBL Blitz 108-90, continuing Cairns’ pre-season run of allowing high opposition totals.
Standing out of the crowd was rookie big Lachlan Olbrich who is quickly becoming one of, if not the best young big man in the league. He had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block in 23 minutes off the bench.
Sharpshooting South Korean Hyunjung Lee was the Hawks ‘X-Factor’ in their last game, having 15 points, shooting 4/5 from beyond the arc to go with three rebounds, two steals and a block.
For Cairns, former Hawk Akoldah (AK) Gak scored 21 points, starting the game for the orange outfit.
The Taipans, who were heavily depleted in this match missing all three points and former Rookie of the Year Bul Kuol, held their own with their bench gaining significant minutes before the season started.
The man replacing Kuol in the starting five for the Blitz, Lat Mayen, has had an enormous tournament including this game, having a near double-double with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two stocks.
Game 15: Brisbane Bullets 105-76 Sydney Kings
The Brisbane Bullets got their first and only win in their home state Blitz in their final game, winning 105-76 against the reigning back-to-back champion Sydney Kings.
Without next star Rocco Zikarsky and Aron Baynes seeing limited minutes from his massive 20/20 game in their last performance, it would be Kiwi Tyrell Harrison who led the Bullets to victory. He would have 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in under 20 minutes off the bench.
Also coming off the bench would be former JackJumper Sam McDaniel, who top scored in the game with 21 points.
The Kings would have consistent contributors across the board with nine players scoring five or more points but nobody having more than 12, which Denzel Valentine had.
Their starting line-up would be given a different look to previous games, starting both Jordan Hunter and Jonah Bolden with MVP Jaylen Adams coming off the bench in favour of veteran Shaun Bruce.
The Kings finish their time on the Gold Coast with a 0-3 record.
