The Castec Rural Pioneers had a huge weekend of basketball as they hosted two NBL1 South teams at Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre and came away with two solid wins.


The Pioneers have improved to a 4-1 record after wins over the Sandringham Sabres and Eltham Wildcats on Friday and Saturday nights, with Mount Gambier sitting top of the ladder.


The Pioneers kicked off their double header weekend on Friday night with an impressive win over the Sandringham Sabres.


In the opening quarter the Pioneers took control of the match as the Sabres struggled against the Mount Gambier defence, only scoring 11 points.


The Pioneers could have taken better advantage of the situation as they too did not put too many points on the board, finishing the quarter with 17.


Mount Gambier struggled from the three point line, only making one shot from seven attempts.


The second term was an even contest as the scoring began to heat up for both sides.


Mount Gambier and Sandringham traded shots throughout the quarter with neither side able to get on a scoring run.


After a competitive second term the Pioneers headed into the locker room with a seven point lead after Alex Mudronja hit a stepback three on the buzzer to give his side momentum heading into the half time break.


The Pioneers did well to build off the success from the first half and add to their lead in the third as they did another solid defensive job on the Sabres, holding them to 19 points.


After another well controlled quarter the Pioneers headed into the final term with a nine point lead.


The Pioneers shifted up a gear as they finished the match on a dominant note with another impressive defensive display, relegating Sandringham to a nine point quarter.


Mount Gambier piled on the points to secure the win as a 25 point resulted in a 25 point victory.


It was a solid performance across the board for the team with five players finishing in double digits as Akech Aliir led the side with 22 points along with seven boards while Alex Mudronja was also valuable with a 16 point and eight rebound performance.


Joe Palmer also had a well-rounded game with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.


Post game Palmer said it was good to come away with the win at home on Friday night after a tough loss the prior round.


“This is my first year here and they said we did not really win much here last year for the fans and the fans were great for both games,” he said.


“There was a good turnout for the men’s and the women’s so it’s good to get two wins for them.”


Despite the comfortable win Palmer still believes the side can improve throughout the season.


“I would say we’re at about a five and half or a six, we’re not there yet,” he said.


“We’re still gelling together and kind of figuring out who we are and what our identity is and a lot of teams are.


“It’s early in the season and you do not want to peak too high in the season.


“We came out that first weekend riding our high horses, then got punched in the mouth by a good Casey team so it put us back into reality.


“So it was good to have that test early in the year and now we just need to keep chugging along and stacking our days.”


The Pioneers backed up their performance from Friday night with a nine point win against the reigning NBL1 South champions Eltham.


It was a special night as Pioneers head coach Richard Hill was honoured at the start of the match in recognition of coaching his 300th game for the club.


The game kicked off as an even contest in the opening quarter as neither side could pull away.


After a back and forth quarter the Pioneers were on top with a five point lead.


In the second term the Pioneers began to pull away from the Wildcats as their three point shooting proved to be the decisive factor.


Mount Gambier shot the three ball well in the second term, knocking down four shots from six attempts.


The Pioneers went into the half time break with a bit of breathing room with a 12 point lead.


The third period was another close contest as both sides traded shots with the Pioneers continuing to shoot the ball well, converting two from four threes.


Both sides finished the quarter with 21 points, however Mount Gambier retained a 12 point buffer heading into the deciding term.


Eltham did well to make a competitive contest in the last stanza as they battled hard to get back into the match.


However the lead was just too big, along with the Pioneers just doing enough to come away with the win despite the Wildcats outscoring them by three points in the final term.


It was another all-round great performance from the team on Saturday night as five players scored in double digits with another two contributing nine points.


Allir again led the scoring with 17 points along with a game high 16 rebounds, five assists and three steals.


After the match Alex Mundronja said it was a great weekend for the side to come away with two wins.


“It was a massive weekend for us,” he said.


“I think we’re just figuring out all our pieces fitting together and when we do it’s going to be amazing.”


Mundronja thought the defence was a key factor in the match which helped set everything else up.


“It always starts with our defence, that’s what we established early in preseason,” he said.


“We said we’re going to be the best defensive team in the league and so far we’re close to it.


“It starts with that and then we’re just playing for each other and getting used to that.


“We’re all new to each other and once we get it clicking it’s going to be fun.”


The Pioneers will be back at Wulanda after the Easter break as they take on the Waverley Falcons on Anzac Day.