Rigoni on fire as Sabres start strong

Adelaide 36ers swingman Jacob Rigoni was on target from downtown as he led Sturt Sabres to an opening round NBL1 Central success against archrival Forestville Eagles at Spring bank on Saturday night.

Rigoni connected on six-of-nine three-pointers to score a game-high 34 points to go with eight rebounds as the Sabres stormed away after half-time for the 100-84 success.

The Adelaide 36ers NBL24 injury replacement player was everywhere for the Sabres, who made their move in the third quarter to take a 10-point lead into the final 10 minutes.

Forestville cut the Sabres lead to 90-84 with just under three minutes to play, but Sturt made all the clutch plays down the stretch.

Adelaide 36ers training player Uche Dibiamaka scored a team-high 16 points for Forestville, while seven-time club MVP Daniel Johnson returned to the Eagles for 13 points and 10 rebounds and NBL23 development player Fiston Ipassou added seven points and four rebounds.

Alex Starling stamped his authority on the season straight away, scoring 29 points and pulling down 19 rebounds as South Adelaide defeated Southern Tigers 81-77 in a thriller at Mitchell Park.

TOO BIG TOO STRONG ?

Alex Starling wasted no time in his NBL1 return ?

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The 199cm power forward was influential from the opening tip, scoring 15 points in the first quarter as the Panthers built a 10-point lead, but the Tigers, under the tutelage of Michael Lake, held sway for the second and third quarters, and had a 74-71 lead with five minutes to play.

Starling then took over, hitting two clutch jump shots down the stretch as he gave Graham Kubank his first win as South Adelaide head coach.

Training player Tom Kubank did a tough defensive assignment on Tigers import Riley Miller, while also adding 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Curtis Scott added five points, four assists and three rebounds.

Making his NBL1 Central debut, Harvey White ran the point for the Tigers like a veteran, scoring 13 points and dishing five assists to go with two rebounds and two steals.

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Jack Stanwix scored a game-high 20 points as Norwood Flames defeated North Adelaide Rockets 92-78 at The Arc in Campbelltown on Sunday afternoon.

Stanwix led from the front, throwing down a couple of big dunks, as the Flames made their move with a dominant 30-15 second quarter avalanche.

Koop McCalop (18 points, seven rebounds) and Durrell McDonald (13 points, nine rebounds, four steals, three assists) did their best to get the Rockets back into the contest, but Norwood had all the answers.