All glass: Chance hails 'hard hat monster' Josh Oduro

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Ominous. For the rest of the league, that is.

A 17-point, 19-rebound double-double from American forward Josh Oduro ($277,000) powered Melbourne United to its third straight win, a dominant 94-74 rout of the New Zealand Breakers in the last game of Round 7 on Monday, November 2, 2026, at John Cain Arena.

"I think we're really starting to come together now," Oduro said.

"A lot of new guys, new places, new play style. We're learning how to play together. People have been injured.

"We're starting to enter into our stride, and we're starting to play with a little bit more urgency, not just settling back on offence or on defence. I think what you said is a result of that."

United are 6-5, stacked with talent, have lost four of their five by a bucket and Oduro, 26, has been a prime mover for first-year head coach Jacob Chance. The 2.06m Virginian is averaging 19.4 points (66% from the field), 7.8 boards and 1.2 assists.

"I think I'm finding my way pretty well," he said.

"I give a lot of credit to my coaching staff and my teammates. You come in here, it's a new environment, and when we have a crowd like we had tonight, it's hard not to play well.

"Shout out to the fans for being out here and supporting us. I want to continue with that, and I think we're going to be a really good team when we have them behind us.

"Man, I wanted to get 20 (rebounds), but they put that big, strong dude in there and it was getting tough.

"I think it was good, but I want to do what I can for my teammates out there to impact the game and impact winning. I'm glad I was able to do so tonight."

Oduro battled Breakers big man, Sam Mennenga ($303,100), as United held the 2.06m centre to 15 points and four rebounds - both below his season averages of 22.8 and 8.2.

"That's another good basketball player right there," Oduro added.

"It was fun being able to go against him, go against their whole team. We came out with the win, and that was good.

"But I think what's important for us right now is focusing on how we can get better and focusing on that next game, not being satisfied.

"We've been here before where we might have won one or two games and taken a step back. I think what's really important for our group is being able to compound these little wins and big wins, and go 1-0 every day.

"It's a team effort. Sam Waardenburg, man, I can't sing his praises high enough. That dude comes out here and competes day in, day out.

"He might be one of the harder players to score on in practice, and I think that shows in the game.

"I'm really proud of how we guarded as a group, and I think we can continue to do that."

Breakers 67-year-old head coach Gordon Herbert missed his second game of the season because of illness. Assistant Sebastian Gleim stepped in again and said he found out: "In the car on the way here.

"I stepped in the car, and coach said he was really unwell.

"He is really unwell, so all the best to him for a quick recovery. Then I just stepped up.

"Congratulations to Melbourne United. They deserved to win. They made big plays. They played extremely smart. They used all their players on offence and found each other.

"We fought. I'm proud of our guys and how we tried to come back. Any time we were down, we tried, but we couldn't get the control in the game that you need to win here.

"It was again an uncommon situation. We just came here, Gordie felt really unwell, and we jumped in. We fought on the court also for him, to get that win."

Chance's first concern after the game was Herbert.

"Firstly, just hope Gordi's all right," Chance said.

"Never fun when you're in those positions. Shout out to the assistant coaches over there. They do a good job. It's a good coaching staff, and they gave us some real problems to think about in that first half, particularly with Bediako on the floor and how they structured up defensively.

"We talked about it a lot going into the game. They're a team that dare you into some pretty poor shots at times if you're not disciplined enough.

"At the other end, we were just bleeding points at the front of the rim. I think we gave up 16 attempts or 18 attempts - I can't remember whether it was at half-time - 18 at the rim. Last game, we gave Cairns 15 or 16 for the whole game, so that was affecting our transition game.

"We came out in the second half and just doubled down, got back to protecting the rim, and that got our transition game into it.

"Shout out to New Zealand in tough circumstances. It's never easy being in that position.

"They gave us some real problems, and I'm just happy our guys were able to come out in the second half, adjust and execute."

Chance, a former G League head coach for the San Antonio Spurs affiliate, had nothing but praise for Oduro.

"I've sat in here before and spoken about him," he said.

"He represents all the things we want players at our club to be about from a values standpoint. He puts his hard hat on every day, comes to work, and he's a monster. He gets after it on the glass.

"I think he's giving teams a lot of trouble in the post right now, his ability to pass and handle. Just a competitor.

"I'd seen him, about this time 12 months ago, kick my arse in the G League, which I've spoken about a couple of times.

"I'm just lucky to have him here."

Watch

NBL27

Melbourne United vs New Zealand Breakers | Round 7 Highlights

Watch the highlights as Melbourne United take on the New Zealand Breakers in Round 7 of NBL27 on November 2, 2026.

What you need to know

• Melbourne United beat the New Zealand Breakers 94-74 at John Cain Arena on Monday night in Round 7 of NBL27, their third win in a row and second in three days after beating Cairns in Cairns on Saturday. United are 6-5, and the Breakers are 4-7 after a third straight loss.
• United won three of the four quarters, 28-19, 27-16 and 24-19, and the Breakers won the second 20-15. The Breakers' last lead was 10-9 midway through the first, their biggest all night was a single point, and they last drew level at 28-28 in the second, after a 12-0 run.
• Cole Anthony ($300,000) top-scored with 21 points on 8-from-14, including 4-from-6 from three and 13 points in the first quarter, and Sam Mennenga ($303,100) led the Breakers with 15 on 7-from-18.
• The game turned late in the third. From 51-49, United went on a 9-0 run, and after two Breakers baskets a 10-0 run, to lead 70-53 with nine seconds left in the quarter. The Breakers got no closer than 12 after that.
• United made 11-from-33 from three to the Breakers' 6-from-30, a 15-point gap in a 20-point game. United shot 36-from-74 from the field to 30-from-78, blocked eight shots to one and turned it over 11 times to the Breakers' 15.

Milestones

• Sam Waardenburg ($277,500) played his 100th NBL game.
• Fabijan Krslovic ($172,300) played his 245th NBL game and moved to 952 career NBL points
• Sam Mennenga played his 95th NBL game.
• Shea Ili ($175,300) played his 293rd NBL game
• Kouat Noi ($185,100) played his 194th NBL game
• Luke Travers ($292,900) played his 144th NBL game
• Parker Jackson-Cartwright ($405,200) played his 93rd NBL game, seven short of 100.

Melbourne United

• Cole Anthony ($300,000) top-scored with 21 points on 8-from-14, including 4-from-6 from three, with 13 of them in the first quarter, eight in a 9-0 run that turned 10-9 down into 18-10 up. He also had five turnovers.
• Josh Oduro ($277,000) had 17 points and a game-high 19 rebounds on 7-from-15, six of them offensive, with two blocks.
• Luke Travers ($292,900) had 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists on 5-from-13, including 2-from-5 from three, with four turnovers.
• Malith Machar ($69,000) scored 11 on 4-from-7 in 17 minutes, with two steals and two blocks, and seven of his points came in the third quarter.
• Fabijan Krslovic ($172,300) had all five of his points in the 9-0 run that took United from 51-49 to 60-49 in the third, on 2-from-3 in eight minutes.
• Joe Ingles ($300,000) had five points and six assists off the bench, his three making it 85-70 with 1:23 left.
• Sam Waardenburg ($277,500) had five points, six rebounds and two blocks on 2-from-5 in his 100th NBL game.
• United shot 36-from-74 from the field, 11-from-33 from three and 11-from-16 at the line, with 46 rebounds, 20 assists, eight blocks and 11 turnovers.

NZ Breakers

• Sam Mennenga ($303,100) top-scored with 15 points and four rebounds on 7-from-18, including 1-from-6 from three.
• Carlin Davison ($121,600) had 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds on 4-from-12, with six turnovers, and scored five of the seven in a run early in the fourth that cut it to 74-62.
• Charles Bediako ($277,000) had nine points and 12 rebounds on 4-from-7, six of them offensive, with two steals.
• Dejan Vasiljevic ($144,000) had nine points on 3-from-10, including 2-from-6 from three.
• Anzac Rissetto ($69,000) scored eight points, all in the fourth quarter, on 4-from-6 in seven minutes off the bench.
• Parker Jackson-Cartwright ($405,200) had six points and four assists on 3-from-10, missing all five of his threes.
• Reuben Te Rangi ($97,100) had five points and four rebounds on 2-from-4 off the bench, and picked up his fifth foul with 12 seconds left.
• The Breakers shot 30-from-78 from the field, 6-from-30 from three and 8-from-11 at the line, with 46 rebounds, 19 assists and 15 turnovers.