NBL EXPERIENCE

Andy Blicavs made his NBL debut with the St. Kilda Saints at 25 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.

In 1981, Tony Barnett (to Geelong) and Gary Voss (retired) departed St Kilda after the Fighting Saints won the NBL’s first two championships in 1979 and 1980. Rumours persisted through the off-season that Olympians Danny Morseu and Larry Sengstock would also leave, but head coach Brian Kerle retained both and St Kilda returned with Morseu, Sengstock, Rocky Smith, Mike Slusher and Steve Breheny still in the mix.

Kerle added rookie Andy Blicavs to help cover the holes left by Barnett and Voss, and St Kilda opened the year as clear favourites after topping a pre-season poll of coaches and administrators.

Breheny returned after missing two seasons with injury and was part of Kerle’s preferred starting group alongside Morseu, Sengstock, Smith and Slusher as the Saints chased a third straight title.

St Kilda’s season began on 21 February in Launceston, where they were edged by Launceston Casino City 90–88 despite Smith (26 points) and Morseu (26 points) combining for 52, with Sengstock (12 points) and Breheny (10 points) also scoring in the narrow loss.

The Saints steadied immediately with a 93–88 win over Coburg the next day, then began building momentum at Albert Park with results including a 104–72 win over the City of Sydney Astronauts and a 114–100 victory over Wollongong.

Breheny appeared in only seven games across the season, and St Kilda leaned further into its depth as the year progressed with rookies Blicavs and Burbridge joining the rotation around the established scorers.

St Kilda strengthened their ladder position later in the year with a 120–95 win over Launceston Casino City at Albert Park, then produced one of their biggest statements on 14 June when they defeated Forrestville 115–98 at Albert Park behind Smith (44 points) and Slusher (16 points), with Morseu (14 points) and Burbridge (12 points) in support.

Blicavs also featured in the Forrestville win, adding (6 points) as St Kilda’s scoring depth helped sustain their late-season push from the top of the ladder.

The Saints closed the regular season on 18 June with an 85–83 win over Nunawading at Kilsyth Stadium, with Smith (23 points), Blicavs (19 points) and Morseu (18 points) driving the result in the final-round victory.

St Kilda finished first on the NBL ladder (17–5), three games clear of second-place Launceston Casino City, to claim the minor premiership after another dominant home-and-away campaign.

Across the season, St Kilda were driven offensively by Rocky Smith (28.8 points across 22 games) and Danny Morseu (20.0 points across 22 games) as the team’s primary scoring threats.

Other key contributors included Larry Sengstock (14.0 points across 22 games), Mike Slusher (11.9 points across 21 games), Steve Breheny (10.7 points across 7 games) and rookie Andy Blicavs (8.2 points across 18 games).

As a rookie, Blicavs worked into Kerle’s rotation and closed the season with his best known output in the final-round win over Nunawading, finishing with 19 points in the 85–83 result.

At season’s end, Smith and Morseu were named to the All-NBL First Team following St Kilda’s first-place finish.

With the 1981 NBL Finals approaching, St Kilda informed league officials they would instead compete in the 1981 FIBA Club World Cup in Brazil and forfeited their place in the playoffs, with Brisbane elevated into the finals in their place.

At the Club World Cup, St Kilda finished sixth behind Real Madrid (Spain), Sirio (Brazil), Clemson (USA), Atletica Francana (Brazil) and Ferro Carril Oeste (Argentina).

In the reshaped NBL Finals series, Launceston Casino City eliminated Brisbane 71–69 in the semi-finals and then defeated Nunawading 75–54 in the Grand Final as St Kilda’s season ended without an NBL playoff appearance despite the 17–5 minor premiership.

Andy Blicavs played two seasons the St. Kilda Saints. This included the St. Kilda Saints. He averaged 7.4 points, 0.2 rebounds, and 0 assists in 22 NBL games.