BIO: Emmanuel Golong was born in Melbourne (VIC).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Emmanuel Golong made his NBL debut with the Melbourne United at 24 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

After missing the playoffs with a 13-15 record in 2014/15, Melbourne appointed Dean Demopoulos as head coach and reshaped its roster. Jordan McRae (to Delaware), Stephen Dennis (to Bnei Herzliya), Mark Worthington (to Cairns), Daryl Corletto (to Plymouth), Lucas Walker (to Adelaide), Auryn MacMillan and Owen Odigie departed, while Chris Goulding (via Spain), Todd Blanchfield (via Townsville), Stephen Holt (via Canton), Majok Majok (via Slovenia), Igor Hadziomerovic and Ekene Ibekwe (via New Zealand) joined. Ibekwe was released on compassionate grounds before the season and replaced by Hakim Warrick (via Turkey), while David Barlow’s season-ending Achilles injury led to Brad Hill (via Wollongong) joining as an injury replacement.

The young guard joined Melbourne on September 25 and remained in a development and depth role behind United’s experienced backcourt.

Golong’s best game came at Perth Arena on December 10, where Golong (13 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists) was inserted into the starting lineup and made four of nine shots, including two of five three-pointers, while playing 31:24. Kickert (23 points) and Holt (15 points and 4 assists) led Melbourne’s other scorers, but Jermaine Beal (40 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals) made 10 three-pointers as Perth defeated United 113-83.

Golong (4.7 points across 3 games) played against Sydney on November 1, Perth on December 10 and New Zealand on February 12. He was not reported to have suffered an injury during the season, with his other non-appearances resulting from his position outside Melbourne’s regular rotation. His final appearance came in Auckland on February 12, where Golong (1 point and 1 rebound) played 12:40 as Melbourne rested Goulding, Kickert and Warrick and lost 100-63.

Warrick (14.2 points and 6 rebounds across 23 games) missed six games with a groin injury during Melbourne’s 5-0 start, with Garrett Jackson (via North-West Tasmania) joining on October 29 as his short-term injury replacement before leaving the active roster when Warrick returned on November 22. Hadziomerovic (3.1 points across 23 games) was then ruled out for the remainder of the season with osteitis pubis in January and Odigie (via Melbourne) returned as his replacement.

Goulding (18.6 points and 3.8 rebounds across 28 games) led Melbourne in scoring and joined Kickert (14.8 points and 3.8 rebounds across 28 games) on the All-NBL First Team. Holt (15.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists across 30 games) earned All-NBL Second Team honours, Warrick won the NBL Best Sixth Man award, while Blanchfield (9.6 points and 6.5 rebounds across 30 games) and Majok (5.5 points and 7.1 rebounds across 30 games) helped Melbourne finish first with an 18-10 record.

Golong did not play in the postseason. Melbourne opened the semifinals at Hisense Arena, where Warrick (24 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks) and Goulding (23 points and 5 rebounds) led United, while Cedric Jackson (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Vukona (11 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals) led New Zealand to a 91-82 victory.

Game two moved to Vector Arena, where Goulding (23 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists), Warrick (17 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Kickert (16 points) led Melbourne, while Abercrombie (23 points and 4 rebounds), Cedric Jackson (19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) and Wesley (16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks) led New Zealand to a 91-78 win and completed the semifinal sweep.

Emmanuel Golong played one season in the NBL. He averaged 0.5 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0 assists in 2 NBL games.