Sport
18 March, 2024
Delly two wins away from title
Matthew Dellavedova is just two wins away from a ring in the National Basketball League (NBL) after Melbourne United took a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-five championship series against the Tasmania Jack Jumpers with a 104-81 victory. Dellavedov...
Matthew Dellavedova is just two wins away from a ring in the National Basketball League (NBL) after Melbourne United took a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-five championship series against the Tasmania Jack Jumpers with a 104-81 victory.
Dellavedova played his role in ensuring United would control the pace of play from the outset at John Cain Arena, while also setting up others, such as Chris Goulding, who finished with a game-high 22 points on six three-point makes, as well as Jo Lual-Acuil, who scored 20 points, as they dominated after quarter time.
It was a crucial start to what looks to be a fiery series, with the pace of play seeing tempers flare at stages during the first half, before Dellavedova’s experience helped settle United down quicker on the big stage than the Jack Jumpers.
Dellavedova finished with 11 points on 4/11 shooting, but more crucially, he was able to drain three of his five three-point attempts, as well as finishing with an equal game high plus/minus of 20.
Dellavedova manged to hit a three in each of the first three quarters, as United leveraged a 12-0 run during the second quarter, before cruising through the second half.
Should Dellavedova and United win two of the remaining four games in their series, it will mean he would become a champion of both the NBL and National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was champion in 2016 with Cleveland.
United’s next task will be a trip to MyState Bank Arena in Hobart on Friday night as United look to go 2-0 up in the championship series.