Southern Phoenix were on fire at the start of their match up against DGU Jets as the final games in the 2025/26 regular basketball season took place in the NSC on Thursday evening.

Quick breaks down the court by Matt Jones caught Jets’ defence in transition and built solid offensive momentum for Phoenix throughout the first quarter. #

Jets offence kept pace, Paul Kilic swishing an early three-pointer, but failed it to take off as Phoenix continued their run.

A duo of mid-range baskets from Michael Pardoe coupled with an outside shot from Zac Hand pushed Phoenix ahead 20-15 in the final minutes of the first.

Tough defence from both sides kept scoring low at the start of the second quarter, with Jets containing big man Jowi Szetu on the inside while Phoenix did a good job of disrupting the set plays and inside cuts of the Jets’ offence.

Jack Glover and Wayne Mears started to break through as the quarter approached the mid-point, narrowing the gap with Phoenix. A solid baseline move, from Mattie Jennings then pushed Jets into the lead, and he followed up with another set of inside moves that pushed them further ahead with four minutes to go.

Phoenix offence struggled for most of the quarter as Jets pressed the ball and denied fast breaks.

Quick drives ran into a solid defensive wall and while there were some nice kick outs, shots stubbornly refused to drop and, as the lead flipped, Phoenix found themselves trailing by double digits.

It could have been the quarter that ended the game, but a choice timeout saw a renewed drive from Phoenix and breakthroughs in the post from Szetu while Sully Forfar and Matt Jones hit the lanes for quick layups, slashing the Jets’ lead to a single basket.

Quick baskets in the final minute from Kilic and Logan Glover extended the Jets lead some extra buffer but momentum was with Phoenix going into half-time, 28-34.

Afterburners fired for Jets from the start of the second half as Logan Glover and Mattie Jennings splashed shot after shot with a combo of mid-range pull ups and strong post moves.

The momentum Phoenix had held at the end of the first half was stopped in its tracks as Jets pulled further away.

Quick breaks from Jones and a splash three-pointer from Hand did little to change the direction of the game.

As the third quarter wore on more Jets joined in the scoring frenzy, Wayne Mears, Jake Glover and Revi Del Rosario routes to the hoop through the Phoenix defence. A deep three-pointer from Del Rosario capped off the Jets commanding performance in the quarter, extending their lead to 18-points going into the fourth.

The final quarter was a slower paced affair. Jets continued to find their way through the Phoenix defence with strong baseline cuts and drive and dish options which opened scoring opportunities for their entire bench.

Phoenix found more success on offence than in the third quarter, primarily through the fast break efforts of Jones, but they couldn’t match pace as Jets pulled further and further away.

A mid-range shot from Logan Glover in the final minute capped a 30-point victory, 48-78, and sealed an unblemished regular season record for Jets who enter the Championship play-offs as firm favourites.

The second game of the evening saw Wolves take on an understrength Pirates in a game that marked the return of Wolves stalwart Ross Wilson, who has spent most of this season on the Wolves bench because of injury.

Oscar Lace opened the game with a corner three-pointer for Wolves as they ran rampant from the start.

Quick breaks and a strong pressure defence saw plenty of baskets for the Wolves side, Viktor Capkanovski, Cameron Scott and Seb Smith all featuring prominently.

The five-man Pirates team struggled against the onslaught, though some nice outside shooting from Owen Chestnut and inside drives by John Russell gave solace. The result was never in doubt though, Wolves howling with a 111-56 victory at full time.

The final game of the evening pit Cannons Elite against Hoops in a game that marked the coaching debut of Jack Wilkinson and Oliver Hamilton, the two injured players taking over the reins from head coach Paul Shimmin for the game.

Some nice set plays gave Cannons opportunities outside the arc, Dylan Evans and Darwin Gilmore both converting from the corner spot.

Hoops favoured a quicker pace down the court, with some solid fast breaks from Danielle Murphy and Mairi Harrison, while Gemma Kirkham deployed some solid moves from the mid-post.

The game stayed close in the first quarter, 12-19, but Cannons started to find their groove into the second as three-pointers rained down from Samson Shimmin and Rowan Coulter, the latter sinking an impressive eight three-pointers and shoring up his chances for the Des Fieldhouse Memorial Trophy – award for most threes in a season.

Hoops continued some solid breaks down the court and combined with quick moves to open up perimeter shots for Murphy and Harrison while Oksana Fedorovych splashed from the mid-range.

They couldn’t match the scoring pace of Cannons though and a final pair of perimeter threes from Shimmin and Coulter saw the Cannons take the win, 88-58, at the final whistle.

With the regular season now complete and final league table places secure, this Thursday will see the start of the 2025/26 Basketball Championship.

As top seed, DGU Jets get an automatic bye to the second round of the tournament leaving the remaining six senior league teams to battle in the do-or-die format.

Wolves take on Hoops in the first game of the evening, tipping off in the NSC main hall at 7pm.

Then at 8.30pm Cavaliers face Cheldan Property Pirates while Cannons Elite take on Southern Phoenix.

The 2025/26 Season will conclude with the championship final on Thursday, May 14.

Full details of the night will be confirmed after the tournament second-round games conclude on Thursday, May 7.

MARTIN DUNNE