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STORY OF THE WEEK One of the hallmarks of the 2017-18 National Basketball League season was the relative evenness of the entire campaign, with almost every team more than capable of defeating any other outfit on any given night. Given the results of Round 1 of the 2018-19 season, it looks like everything old is new again. The Brisbane Bullets got the ball rolling in stunning fashion on Thursday night, upending the New Zealand Breakers 86-73 at Auckland's Spark Arena. Led by Cam Gliddon's 29 points, the Bullets -- picked by many to miss the NBL postseason again -- used a balanced scoring attack that included former NBA players Cameron Bairstow (14 points) and Alonzo Gee (13 points) to get their season off to a flying start. In the second game of the opening night, the Wildcats showed yet again why they can never be written off with a gritty 99-91 defeat of 2018 runners-up Adelaide at Titanium Security Arena. With 2018 MVP Bryce Cotton pouring in 14 fourth-quarter points -- including eight in less than 60 seconds -- and Wildcats debutants Terrico White and Nick Kay adding 20 and 18 points respectively, the visitors withstood some fierce 36ers pressure to ensure road teams were undefeated on Opening Night. "A hell of a ball game." Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman summed it up perfectly, if a little wearily. His reigning champions had just eked out an epic 123-122 win over the Illawarra Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night, a high-scoring shootout that needed FOUR extra periods to separate the two teams. It was just the second quadruple-overtime contest in the history of the NBL and both teams were understandably a touch fatigued afterwards, leading to some indifferent performances the following day. In a game filled with multiple exhilarating moments, it was Casper Ware Jr's game-sealing block of a Kevin White drive in the waning seconds of the fourth extra period that provided the final margin. In a 60-minute game, both teams would end up with six players in double digits, with United paced by centre Josh Boone's 24 points and 13 rebounds and sharpshooter Chris Goulding's 23 points that included six makes from international waters. Meanwhile, Illawarra was led by former United swingman Todd Blanchfield, who matched Goulding with six triples of his own on the way to 26 points, and pivot AJ Ogilvy, who battled hard against Boone to score 15 points and haul down a mammoth 21 boards, including 10 at the offensive end of the court. The following afternoon, Adelaide continued its utter domination of Sydney, winning its 10th straight game over the Kings with a 94-83 victory at Qudos Bank Arena, keeping alive the trend of road teams triumphing to start the round. Capitalising on a withering 19-2 burst over the final six minutes of the game, the 36ers spoiled Andrew Bogut's NBL debut, with Daniel Johnson and Nathan Sobey matching a 28-point Jerome Randle performance. Bogut showed plenty of flashes in his six-point, 15-rebound, four-assist and four-block performance but the Kings shot an anemic 37 percent from the field for the game, missing 48 of the 77 shots they attempted and were outscored 50-32 in the paint.  Both Queensland teams were widely picked to struggle, but given the Bullets' opening win over the Breakers, it came as something of a surprise when the Cairns Taipans counter-punched their way to an 88-70 victory at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Bullets were an offensive shadow of themselves from two days prior, struggling for any real offensive punch, as the Snakes' dynamic guard Melo Trimble torched the hosts for 32 points in 32 minutes of explosive action. Having endured their four-overtime odyssey on Friday night, it came as little surprise that both United and Illawarra lacked the legs for a second game on Sunday, with Melbourne falling to the Breakers 88-81 at Melbourne Arena, and the Hawks copping a 101-61 beatdown at the hands of a rampant Perth. It was a successful start to the NBL season in more ways than one, with 48,820 fans smashing the opening round attendance record, previously set in 1995. Yes, it's only early, but it's already abundantly clear there's no such thing as a sure bet in this season's NBL. PLAYER OF THE WEEK Melo Trimble (CNS) - Fresh off an NBA Summer League stint with the Chicago Bulls, Trimble showed he'll be right at home in the NBL with a high-octane 32-point, seven-rebound, three-assist performance on debut for the Cairns Taipans. The former Maryland Terrapin dropped 12 points in the final quarter for the Snakes, including a pull-up triple with three seconds remaining that was the cherry on the cake of a satisfying Queensland derby road win.  TEAM OF THE WEEK G: Melo Trimble (CNS) - See above G: Terrico White (PER) - The Ole Miss alum wasted little time in getting comfortable in the NBL. White scored 20 points on debut as the Wildcats held off the 36ers on the road to get their 2018-19 campaign off to a winning start. He then backed that up with another 20-point performance to guide Perth to a 40-point spanking of the weary Hawks on Sunday. G: Cam Gliddon (BNE) - In his first game for Brisbane, the veteran guard poured in 29 points in the Bullets' stunning season-opening road triumph over the New Zealand Breakers in Auckland. Gliddon nailed five of his 10 triples and was without blemish in eight attempts from the charity stripe. F: Daniel Johnson (ADL) - More than ever, the 36ers need Johnson's offensive consistency and he delivered across a two-game split at the weekend. Averaging 22.5 points and 10.5 boards for the round, Johnson now has 20 games of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, the most for any active player in the NBL. C: AJ Ogilvy (ILL) - Former NBA pivot Andrew Bogut might have been the -- pardon the pun -- centre of attention before the NBL season began, but it was Hawks big man Ogilvy who grabbed the spotlight from his Australian Institute of Sport alum. Ogilvy was a rock for the Hawks in their nail-biting four-overtime epic against Melbourne scoring 15 points and grabbing a monstrous 21 boards, including 10 at the offensive end. WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO The NBL hasn't mucked around, setting up a Grand Final rematch between title-holders Melbourne United and the Adelaide 36ers on Sunday. In a spicy early-season matchup, United plays host to the 36ers at Melbourne Arena, with no love lost between either squads. Even without Mitch Creek and Casey Prather involved this season, fans can expect a physical, chippy affair.
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