Men claim UBL Championship at home

Melbourne’s Men’s Basketball team won the 2026 New Balance University Basketball Championship on Tuesday night, emphatically defeating the University of Newcastle in front of a packed house at the Nona Lee Sports Centre.

The match started with an arm wrestle that saw the lead change 11 times before half-time, but Melbourne surged in the third quarter thanks to a strong balance of offence and defence, outscoring Newcastle by 16 points in the third quarter. Melbourne carried the momentum to clinch the Championship 93-64.

Five players finished with 13 or more points, reflecting a team offence that shared the load. Aleksandar Bandilovski, Dihan Wiggett and Wilson Amos each scored 16, with Bandilovski adding seven assists and three steals. Joshua McNally came off the bench to score 13 from just 18 minutes, including three triples at 60%, and Kai Garnaut added 13 on 6-from-9 shooting.

Wiggett was the standout, filling the stat sheet with 16 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a differential of +28. He was also instrumental in keeping Newcastle’s leading scorer for the season, Jude Jennings, to only 10 points for the game.

This year was potentially the last chance for the current Men’s roster to win another UBL title, with several key players scheduled to graduate from their studies this year.

Speaking after the game, Dihan Wiggett revealed that the team was happy to win the Championship after dropping out in the Semi-Finals in the last few years.

“The last two seasons we pulled up short, lost in the semi both years - so to do it this year is super special”, he said.

“A bunch of us have been together for years. We love basketball and we put it all out there on the court - but more than anything, UBL is more about the friendships you make and over the past few years that’s what’s made Uni fun, so to do it with this group of guys is super special,” Dihan continued.

The win reinforces 2026 as the most successful UBL season for Melbourne, having won both the Women’s and Men’s titles and enjoyed record student crowds at home games.