BIO: Liam Santamaria was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Knox basketball program.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Liam Santamaria made his NBL debut with the Victoria Titans on 20/10/2001. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Victoria’s 22-6 first-place finish in 2000/01 ended with a semifinal loss to Townsville, leaving Brian Goorjian outside the Grand Final for the first time in seven years. Goorjian moved away from the Titans’ three-centre rotation, with Ben Pepper (to Wollongong) and Glen Siegle (to Brisbane) leaving the roster. Darryl McDonald’s naturalisation opened another import position for Jamahl Mosley (via Salamanca), while Nathan Crosswell (via Melbourne’s state league squad) joined the backcourt and Mark Dickel remained an import because New Zealand players were not considered locals until 2003.

Victoria opened the season against Melbourne at Hisense Arena on October 13, although Vasiljevic did not play. Dickel (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and McDonald (19 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals) led the Titans before the Tigers won 109-103.

Vasiljevic (4.7 points across 15 games) remained at the end of Victoria’s frontcourt rotation behind Chris Anstey, Brett Wheeler and Mosley, with 14 of his 15 appearances lasting fewer than 10 minutes before receiving an expanded role in the regular-season finale.

His first appearance came against Perth on October 20, where Vasiljevic (2 points and 1 rebound) played 1:11 minutes as Victoria defeated the Wildcats 103-85. Ronaldson (33 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) and McDonald (16 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals) led the Titans to their first win of the season.

Vasiljevic (4 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks) played 9:35 minutes against Cairns on October 26, providing a defensive presence from the bench during a 91-74 loss. Dickel (20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) and Mosley (12 points and 6 rebounds) were Victoria’s leading scorers.

Against Melbourne on February 8, Vasiljevic (9 points and 3 rebounds) made all four of his field-goal attempts in 6:42 minutes as Victoria defeated the Tigers 123-98. Jason Smith (27 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) and Darren Smith (18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) helped the Titans record a 25-point win over their cross-town rivals.

Captain Ronaldson (19.5 points and 4.5 rebounds) led Victoria in scoring and earned All-NBL Third Team selection, while Jason Smith (18.8 points and 5.4 rebounds) returned from a serious knee injury to strengthen the Titans during the second half of the season. Anstey (16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks) moved into the starting lineup, was named Titans MVP and earned All-NBL First Team selection.

McDonald (12 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 2.3 steals) led the league in steals and joined Ronaldson on the All-NBL Third Team, while Dickel (11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assists) provided another playmaker. Mosley (11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds) became the first import to win the NBL Best Sixth Man award, with Darren Smith (8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds), Brad Sheridan (8.1 points), Wheeler (7.3 points and 6.2 rebounds) and Crosswell (5.3 points) completing the main rotation as Goorjian was named NBL Coach of the Year.

Vasiljevic’s best game came in Victoria’s regular-season finale in Brisbane on March 23, where he made 13 field goals and three three-pointers to finish with 30 points, 13 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in 36:36 minutes. Mosley (29 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) and Sheridan (21 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) also produced double-doubles, but Brisbane won 124-109. Victoria still finished first with a 21-9 record and secured its second consecutive minor premiership.

Vasiljevic did not appear during Victoria’s six playoff games. The Titans opened the qualifying finals against sixth-placed Melbourne with a 113-107 win behind Jason Smith (27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals), Anstey (19 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Sheridan (15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block), while Hoare (20 points and 13 rebounds) was Melbourne’s best.

Game two remained in Melbourne, where Copeland (41 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals) and Timmons (19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) carried the Tigers to a 107-105 win. Jason Smith (22 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals), Sheridan (14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals) and McDonald (11 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block) led Victoria as Melbourne forced a deciding game.

Game three saw Anstey (32 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks), Ronaldson (24 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) and Jason Smith (11 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block) lead Victoria. Copeland (37 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Timmons (21 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks) powered Melbourne to a 103-97 win, although the Titans progressed as the highest-ranked losing team from the qualifying finals.

The semifinals opened in Melbourne, where Ronaldson (27 points and 5 rebounds), Jason Smith (19 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Anstey (17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals) led Victoria. Farley (25 points and 4 rebounds) and Maher (23 points and 8 rebounds) carried Adelaide to a 99-92 win.

Game two moved to Adelaide, where Anstey (26 points, 12 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks), Jason Smith (20 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists) and McDonald (13 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists) led Victoria to an 86-81 win. Farley (24 points) and Maher (15 points) were Adelaide’s leading scorers as the Titans levelled the series.

Game three remained in Adelaide, where Farley (33 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists), Maher (16 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Rees (16 points and 9 rebounds) led the 36ers. Ronaldson (26 points and 6 rebounds), Jason Smith (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists) and Dickel (14 points, 3 rebounds, and 9 assists) carried Victoria in the 103-92 loss.

Vasiljevic (to Canberra) signed with the Cannons following the season.

The semifinal defeat became the final game played by the Victoria Titans, with financial problems leading the club to sell its licence to a group headed by Peter Fiddes and rebrand as the Victoria Giants for the following season.

Liam Santamaria played one season in the NBL. He averaged 1.6 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 10 NBL games.