It all goes on the line

IT all goes on the line this Saturday night for the Castec Rural Supplies Mount Gambier Pioneers Men as they host the Sandringham Sabres in a fight for a grand final berth and a chance to be crowned NBL1 South champions.

It was back in April that the Sabres were last in the Pioneers’ house and on that occasion it was a comfortable victory for the Pioneers with Akech Aliir leading the way, putting in a match winning performance to see the home side take the points, 89-64.

The Sabres arrived at Wulanda for that Round 3 clash on the back of three consecutive losses and while the final margin was 35 points, it did take until the final quarter for the Pioneers to really put the foot down and put the result beyond doubt.

The Pioneers led 17-11 at the first break and it was a seven point game at the main break, 43-36.

The lead did extend to as many as 18 points in the third period but the Sabres pulled it back to nine by the final change before the Pioneers flexed their muscles in the last with a 25-9 final stanza.

Aliir put up 22 points, pulled in seven rebounds and had two assists in an impressive performance on the back of him signing with the South East Melbourne Phoenix during the week, shoring up his immediate NBL future.

Austin Shelley contributed 16 points and five boards, Sturt recruit Alex Mudronja 16 points and eight rebounds, Kaden Archie 12 points and five boards, and Joe Palmer 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals to play their part in the 25 point victory.

This Saturday night it is a different Sandringham line-up heading to Mount Gambier for the season defining contest.

The Sabres had a slow start to the 2025 season but finished with a 14-8 record and this time they are coming to Wulanda on the back of an impressive 93-75 victory over Eltham – ending the Wildcats’ title defence.

The Sabres finished the regular season in hot form winning 14 of the last 16 games after starting 2025 with six straight defeats before finishing in fifth position and then beating the Hobart Chargers in an elimination final.

That saw them set up a semi-final match up with the defending champion Wildcats who ended their regular season in fourth place with seven straight wins before a tight qualifying final loss to the Knox Raiders last Saturday night.

That meant that the two in-form teams locked horns at Montmorency Secondary College with both rightfully feeling as though they are championship contenders but one of their seasons would be over by the end of the night.

Sandringham made a flying start opening up a 13-point lead in the first quarter and going into quarter-time leading 25-15.

It was another 27 points 14 in the second term for the Sabres as they went into half-time on top 52-29 thanks to shooting 19/40 from the field opposed to the 9/34 from the Wildcats.

The lead for Sandringham grew to as much as 27 points in the second half and even though the Wildcats did cut the final margin to 18 by the final buzzer, it was a statement performance from the Sabres.

Malith Machar fired with 27 points on 6/10 three-point shooting with Tom Koppens contributing 14 points and six rebounds, Elliott Brown 10 points and two assists, Dane Pineau 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Fabijan Krslovic eight points, 20 boards and three assists.

Tasmanian JackJumpers guard Ben Ayre had a quieter final but is another player the Pioneers will have scouted closely knowing how damaging he has been in the Sabres late season run.

Tip off is at 7pm.