NBL Wrap - Round Five
Wagner saw his first significant playing time in the NBL in Sydney’s 64-59 loss to Townsville Crocodiles, with the young point guard’s performance one of few bright spots for the Kings.
Last season’s SBL assists leader scored seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals from 27 minutes, showing off his impressive ball handling skills while compiling just two turnovers.
Heading into the game, Wagner had just two points and one assists in his brief NBL career, which saw him get on the court for five games as a Perth Wildcats development player last season, but had only four minutes of court time.
With the Kings eighth on the ladder with only one win from their first five games, Wagner would be confident of maintaining his spot on their roster, especially after the poor performance of new Sydney signing Luke Kendall in his first game.
Perry Lakes guard Peter Crawford scored seven points and had four steals for Townsville.
SBL players were also crucial to Perth’s 114-74 thrashing of New Zealand Breakers, with East Perth duo Steven Weigh and Damian Martin the most impressive.
Weigh had 16 points and eight rebounds from just 19 minutes, while Martin (12 points, 12 rebounds and six assists) and Redbacks big man Jesse Wagstaff (eight points and six rebounds) also impressed.
Fellow Eagles star Jarrod Balcombe made his NBL debut, scoring two points and having an assist from his 3:28 on the court, while fellow development player Greg Hire (Wanneroo) was solid during his seven minutes.
Rockingham centre Matt Knight was restricted to 15 minutes after battling injury early in the season, but still had eight points and five rebounds for the defending champions.
Southlands Willetton Tigers big man Daniel Johnson was solid in Adelaide’s 82-78 home loss to the Breakers, scoring nine points from 17 minutes, while East Perth’s Sam Harris saw his first court time for the year. The former Wildcat scored two points in his seventh NBL game.
Elsewhere, Cairns upset Gold Coast 96-76 and Wollongong beat Melbourne 93-82.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Marg Prior
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