United depth shines to win at Blitz

Melbourne United have won the Loggins-Bruton Cup at the CODE Sports NBL Blitz and did so even with Shea Ili and Sam Waardenburg joining Joe Ingles and Cole Anthony sidelined in the 103-98 win over the Illawarra Hawks.

United were already without Ingles (ankle) and Anthony (calf) for this week in Bendigo at the Blitz, and then on Sunday in their final game lost Waardenburg to an early ankle injury before Ili hurt a lower leg in the second half.

But despite that, after beating the Perth Wildcats first up on Friday night, they were able to finish strongly having conceded 34 points in the third quarter to the Hawks to outscore them 27 to 20 in the fourth for the five-point win.

That saw Melbourne finish the Blitz with 12 of the possible 14 points to overtake the South East Melbourne to finish on top and win the Loggins-Bruton Cup ahead of NBL27.

Melbourne ended up leading 21-19 by the end of the first quarter against Illawarra before United had another 30 points to 25 in the second frame to head into half-time with the 51-44 advantage.

Josh Oduro was impressing already having 15 points and six rebounds while Chris Goulding was already up to 14 points and Shea Ili 12 while they were going 13/19 at the foul line while pulling down 14 offensive rebounds to eight.

Milton Doyle was coming off his game winner against the Adelaide 36ers and couldn’t miss in the first half for the Hawks going 5/5 from the outside for 15 points but the rest of his team only went 3/14.

Doyle also made another triple in the third quarter to be going 6/6 and the rest of his teammates got along for the ride with 34 points on 10/22 shooting overall and 6/15 from the outside.

With Melbourne also losing Ili to injury along the way, the Hawks had grabbed the narrow 78-76 lead by three quarter-time to have all the momentum.

But Melbourne turned things back their way in the final period with another 27 points to 20 on the way to the five-point win even without four of their potential starting five all unavailable by the finish as they won the Blitz.

Melbourne ended up shooting 45 per cent from the field with 25/34 from the foul line while collecting 16 offensive rebounds to still win even while getting up nine fewer shot attempts.

Josh Oduro ended up top scoring with 22 points, nine rebounds and two steals for United with 9/12 shooting from the floor.

Before getting hurt, Shea Ili already had 17 points, three rebounds and two assists with Tom Wilson stepping up to finish with 16 points and 10 boards.

Chris Goulding also had 14 points and four assists, Luke Travers 13 points, 10 boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks, and Malith Machar nine points.

The Hawks did get up more shots but only went at 38 per cent from the field although they did end up going 16/46 from the outside including Milton Doyle ending up with 6/9 for 19 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Kelan Martin top scored with 20 points and five rebounds with Davo Hickey contributing 14 points, eight boards and six assists, Tyler Harvey 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Darius Days nine points.

MELBOURNE UNITED 103 – ILLAWARRA HAWKS 98

Melbourne United
Josh Oduro – 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals
Shea Ili – 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Tom Wilson – 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4/8 3PT
Chris Goulding – 14 points, 4 assists
Luke Travers – 13 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals

Illawarra Hawks
Kelan Martin – 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Milton Doyle – 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Davo Hickey – 14 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists
Tyler Harvey – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
Darius Days – 9 points

Final 2026 CODE Sports NBL Blitz standings

1. Melbourne United - 12 points (111.11%)
2. South East Melbourne Phoenix - 11 points (113.23%)
3. Adelaide 36ers - 8.5 points (113.44%)
4. Brisbane Bullets - 8.5 points (106.37%)
5. Sydney Kings - 8 points (102.29%)
6. Cairns Taipans - 7 points (88.14%)
7. New Zealand Breakers - 6 points (93.92%)
8. Illawarra Hawks - 5.5 points (98.02%)
9. Perth Wildcats - 2 points (90.11%)
10. Tasmania JackJumpers - 1.5 points (85.10%)