Melbourne United's Milton Doyle has inflicted opening-round pain on his former NBL club, sinking two key shots in the final minute to pip the Tasmania JackJumpers 88-84.
The American, who switched allegiances in the off-season, was off target for most of Thursday night's clash at MyState Bank Arena in Hobart.
However, he lifted when the game was in the balance, breaking an 81-81 deadlock with two points, then a step-back three.
Tasmania import Bryce Hamilton gave a sold-out home crowd a glimmer of hope when he landed three points with eight seconds on the clock.
Doyle then nailed two foul shots to seal the deal, finishing with 22 points in a tit-for-tat contest that included 38 lead changes.
"I'm learning more about him," Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman said of Doyle.
"He's so relaxed, even talking to him about where do you want the basketball in key moments.
"(He said) just get it to me in the middle of the court and I'll make something happen.
"I just love the calmness he plays with, I thought he was pretty solid defensively too."
Tasmania coach Scott Roth, who won the club's maiden championship with Doyle in 2023-24, said his team did a good job on his former charge for most of the match.
"He went seven from 21 ... but at the end of the game we didn't finish our possessions with rebounding, shooting ourselves in the foot," Roth said.
Hamilton (24 points) and fellow American signing David Johnson (22 points) were impressive in their debuts for Tasmania.
"There is a tremendous amount of growth in those guys over the course of a season. The excitement of our group is the unknown," Roth said.
The JackJumpers were outpointed convincingly in offensive rebounds, with United winning the stat 22-10.
The home team started the contest strongly on the back of Johnson, who picked up seven points in the opening quarter.
But United came to life with a run of eight points to take a 23-22 lead into the first break, Doyle getting a three-pointer on the buzzer.
Doyle did the same thing at the end of the second quarter, sinking a deep two-pointer with the clock ticking down for a 47-46 halftime lead.
Tasmania had some sloppy moments in the second quarter, including two turnovers from inbound passes.
United went on an eight-point run in the third, but Tasmania's Nick Marshall got a crucial eight points with his first taste of action to bring it back.
