With fresh talent on their team, the Bankstown Bruins men’s team bounced back and defeated the Hornsby Kur-ring-gai Spiders 115-104 in their first home game of season 2026 at Bankstown Basketball Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Spiders won the jumpball, but Nathaniel Chappell turned the ball over before the Bruins also turned it over, allowing Martez Brown to score a two-point hook shot for the Spiders. Missed opportunities hurt the visitors who failed to slot the ball through the net.
The Bruins dominated the start of the game, though at times displayed clumsy defence, gifting the Spiders easy shots, including many three pointers. Veteran player Jason Cadee had a solid first quarter, scoring many free throw shots as well as slotting a three-pointer. Nevertheless, the first quarter was full of turnovers by both teams as well as missed opportunities to score points.
The second quarter began with Bruins forward Alexander Higgins-Titsha opening the scoring by successfully attempting a 2-point layup; however, the Spiders scored some points off the back of free throws from fouls made by the home team. However, just like earlier in the game, turnovers kept piling up end to end. Solid defence from the Spiders blocked likely shots from the Bruins from going through the net. Bruins player Elijah Kamu performed well in the second quarter, scoring multiple shots and helping his side extend their lead.
The Spiders didn’t stop their fight to take the Bruins’ lead by slotting a few shots in the third quarter. Fast ball movement by the Spiders challenged the Bruins’ defence at times. Martez Brown equalised the score with a two-point layup before Cadee sank a three-point jump shot to extend the lead for the Bruins. The Bruins had missed scoring opportunities along with turnovers, which led to the Spiders closing down their lead.
The last quarter saw Spiders player, Daniel Garrett, turn the ball over and gift Cadee an opportunity to score a three-point jump shot. Jackson Smyth slotted a two-point layup, giving the visitors some hope. The Spiders didn’t give up fighting and challenging the Bruins in the last quarter.
But the Bruins’ talent and dominance were too strong for the Spiders. Dunks kept piling up on the edge of full-time, giving the solid crowd something to cheer for. Bruins shining stars Tederick Wolfe slotted a two-point Alley Oop dunk, along with Zeke Evans slamming a two-point dunk.
Bruins CEO Christian Gobolos was pleased with the Bruins winning after they lost an away game to North’s Bears last week. ” It was a tough loss last week, so to see them bounce back was really super pleasing. I think both from the girls’ perspective and also the boys, I guess it showcases their element of commitment to making sure that if they have a loss that they bounce back immediately to try and regain that confidence, and then I guess build some momentum from there,” Gobolos highlighted.
Gobolos also pointed out that the men’s team were more patient on the offence from last week and spoke about having more control in their offence.
For the Bruins men’s team, there have been many new players who weren’t there last season, which has led them to adjust and build new chemistry on the court.
“I think in a lot of ways there are some old heads that are still there, and I think a lot of ways they’ve already created that element of chemistry, and I think the new players that come in, they’ve sort of have to buy you into that straight away. But you know we’ve had a really strong pre-season, and I think it’s given an opportunity for both the guys and the women to be able to gel and build that camaraderie as part of the team chemistry,” Gobolos pointed out.
The Bruins now face the challenge of playing the Sydney Comets in another home game at Bankstown Basketball Stadium on April 24.
