BIO: Christian Jurlina was born in Sydney (NSW).
Christian Jurlina made his NBL debut with the Sydney Kings at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
In 2018, Cairns chose to go in a new direction, parting ways with long-time coach Aaron Fearne after eight years of him patrolling the sidelines. Mike Kelly was brought in as his replacement and was tasked with rebuilding a roster that had already lost key players Cameron Gliddon (to Brisbane), Mitchell McCarron (to Melbourne), Jarrad Weeks (to New Zealand), and Stephen Weigh (retired).
With only a short time before the season kicked off, Kelly bolstered the roster by adding free agent Rob Loe (via New Zealand) and a new import trio consisting of Melo Trimble, Devon Hall, and DJ Newbill, while Nathan Jawai, Alex Loughton, and Jarrod Kenny were retained for their experience and leadership.
Cairns started the season with a dominant victory over Brisbane (88-70) in their opening game, but consistency soon became an issue. The team endured a six-game losing streak between 21 October and 9 November 2018. Despite these struggles, the Taipans managed some impressive wins later in the season, including a surprise victory over Perth (81-79) and a dominant win over Brisbane (109-80), but an inability to consistently win at home (3-11) or away (3-11) saw them finish the season dead last.
While wins were few and far between, Melo Trimble (21.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.2 steals) and DJ Newbill (14.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals) formed a powerful one-two punch this season. Trimble earned a spot on the All-NBL Second Team and was named the Taipans’ club MVP at the end of the season.
Alongside them, a healthy Nathan Jawai (10.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists), who saw his minutes and production nearly double compared to the previous season, and Devon Hall (8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists) were also key contributors.
Christian Jurlina had limited opportunities in the 2018/19 season, appearing in only a few games. Despite his best efforts, Jurlina was unable to make a significant statistical impact, finishing the season without registering any points, rebounds, or assists in his appearances.
The lack of pre-season preparation and large roster turnover prevented the Taipans from building momentum, leading to one of the worst records in franchise history (6-22).
Christian Jurlina played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Sydney Kings and the Cairns Taipans..
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018-19 | 24 | Cairns | 12-16 (7) | 3 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
2017-18 | 23 | Sydney | 11-17 (7) | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 | Totals | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.0% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018-19 | 24 | Cairns | 12-16 (7) | 3 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
2017-18 | 23 | Sydney | 11-17 (7) | 1 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 | Total | 4 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.3 | 0.0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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POS | TEAM | W | D | L | PTS |
1 | Top Club FC | 21 | 3 | 3 | 66 |
2 | The Reapers | 20 | 4 | 3 | 64 |
3 | Crimson Kings | 19 | 4 | 4 | 61 |
4 | Wind Slayers | 18 | 2 | 6 | 56 |
5 | Deadly Predators | 18 | 2 | 4 | 56 |
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