Posted on 11 May, 2021

A scintillating three-point shooting display has led the NBL1 Cobra Men to a resounding 98-69 road win over the Albury-Wodonga Bandits on Saturday night.

The Cobras drilled a season-best 16 three-pointers on Saturday night to spark their best scoring night of 2021, overcoming a slow start to record their fourth win of the season.

Trailing 13-4 to open the game, the Cobras drilled four treys over the final three minutes of the opening period to take an 18-17 lead into the first break. A flurry of threes by Joel Naburgs and some point guard wizardry from Adi Tomada kept the Cobras ahead going into halftime, and the floodgates would eventually open in the second half as the Cobras outscored the Bandits, 56-31, over the final 20 minutes to cruise to their biggest win of the season.

Cobras head coach Pete Godfrey was impressed with his team’s performance following a slow start, one in which they also had to overcome and early injury to starting centre, Tim Lang.

.@KilsythCobras big man @dengriak went for the SLAM and said SIT DOWN 😤💪

Watch #NBL1South on https://t.co/gSj0H52nYC and the @NBL App 💻📱 pic.twitter.com/sQKt92KwAw

— NBL1 (@NBL1) May 8, 2021

“We headed to Albury prepared to face a talented roster on the cusp of cracking its first win, and spoke pre game about the energy that Coach Lowe’s group were about to leave out on the floor in a convincing win,” Godfrey said.

“Our aim was to maintain that and keep the Albury crowd out of the contest, but we got exactly the start we didn’t want. Terminal possessions, limited ball movement, unforced turnovers, and shots not dropping. But with the ‘bus rust’ worked out, reset and refocus, some defensive adjustments, and playing the way we need to play, we turned the remainder of the game into a 96-58 point contest.”

With Lang out early, the Cobras were forced to play small ball for much of Saturday night’s game. It paid off, with the Cobras makeshift frontcourt of Ben Ursich, Corey Jeffs, Deng Riak and Jorden Adnam combining to go 10-for-19 from beyond the arc. Godfrey also received season-best bench contributions from Adnam and Mitch Dielemans, with the young duo providing an offensive punch during the second half.

“We received solid contributions from everyone on the night; five guys in double digits, and after an ordinary start, we shot the ball well,” Godfrey added.

“A mention of Jorden and Mitch for combining for 19 points, four assists and zero turnovers off the bench at a critical point in the game.”

Tomada led the Cobras with a game-high 22 points on 7-10 shooting, Ursich added 18, Jeffs recoded 15 points and four assists, Riak chipped-in with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Adnam was a perfect 5-5 from the field as he finished with 12 points in just eight minutes.

The win moves the Cobras to 3-1 on the season, good for fifth in the league standings. They’ll look to keep their hot start alive at home this Saturday night, when they play host to the reigning-champion Nunawading Spectres in a primetime showdown. Click here to purchase your tickets for Saturday’s doubleheader.