BIO: Jonah Antonio was born and raised in Perth (WA). He also attended Sunrise Christian Academy [Wichita, Kansas (United States)].

NBL EXPERIENCE

Jonah Antonio made his NBL debut with the Cairns Taipans at 25 years of age. He scored 11 points in his first game.

Jonah Antonio signed a three-year deal with Cairns in June 2022, joining the Taipans after a season of foundational building under coach Adam Forde. Despite the previous year not yielding much on-court success, the groundwork laid resulted in Cairns having one of their most successful seasons ever during NBL23. The team retained key players such as leading scorer Tahjere McCall, Majok Deng, Bul Kuol, Mirko Djeric, and the league’s Most Improved Player, Keanu Pinder.

Cairns saw significant changes in their roster during the off-season. Major departures included Kouat Noi (to Sydney) and Nathan Jawai, who, despite expressing a desire to continue playing, was not re-signed by the Taipans or any other NBL team. The roster rebuild began with the signing of promising big man Sam Waardenburg (3-year deal), who was highly sought after by multiple NBL teams but chose Cairns due to being offered a starting role. Fellow college graduate Lat Mayen (Nebraska) and Jonah Antonio (via the Czech League) also signed multi-year deals, while Ben Ayre, who impressed as an injury replacement player last season, was elevated to the main roster. Imports Scott Machado and Stephen Zimmerman were replaced with DJ Hogg and Shannon Scott.

Entering the season as one of the youngest teams in the league, Cairns was widely predicted to finish at the bottom of the ladder. However, the Taipans defied expectations, starting their campaign with a 5-1 record, including upset wins over grand finalists Tasmania (106–84), South East Melbourne (85–76), and reigning champions Sydney (83–78). Their sole loss during this stretch was against Perth (76–105).

Notable performances throughout the season included two victories against Melbourne United. The first, a tightly contested game, saw Cairns outscore Melbourne 11-1 in the final four minutes to secure an 81–77 win, propelling them into second place on the ladder. Coach Forde praised Pinder (26 points and 10 rebounds), calling him “the best center in the league.” The second matchup was a dominant 25-point victory, where Cairns led by as much as 40 points in the final quarter.

Cairns developed a reputation for ending opposition win streaks. Notably, they snapped Brisbane’s three-game win streak in November (90–82) and halted Sydney’s record-breaking 17-game road winning streak with a thrilling overtime victory (94–88).

Despite losing Keanu Pinder to an ankle injury in December, Cairns surprised the league by going on a five-game winning streak. This stretch included wins over Adelaide (86–83), Illawarra (96–89 and 89–84), Brisbane (107–81), and South East Melbourne (94–85).

In the final month of the season, Pinder sustained an eye injury, ruling him out of the playoffs. Cairns and New Zealand battled for second place, with the Taipans finishing their regular season by defeating Perth (84–71). Although Cairns and New Zealand ended with identical records (18–10), the Breakers’ superior points percentage saw Cairns drop to third, necessitating a play-in tournament route to the semi-finals.

Cairns faced Perth in the play-in tournament without Pinder but triumphed behind a record-breaking performance from DJ Hogg (32 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists), who set the Taipans’ playoff scoring record in their 91–78 victory. This advanced Cairns to a semi-final matchup against Sydney.

The Taipans faced further adversity when McCall dislocated his shoulder in the seeding qualifier against Tasmania, forcing him to miss Game 1 of the series. Sydney capitalized on his absence, with Xavier Cooks (27 points and 14 rebounds) leading the Kings to a 95–87 win. Game 2 was marked by drama, including the ejection of Kings coach Chase Buford and multiple injuries. Amid the chaos, DJ Hogg (25 points and 8 rebounds) and McCall (20 points and 7 assists) led Cairns to a 93–82 win, forcing a decisive Game 3.

In the final game, Sydney’s Dejan Vasiljevic delivered in clutch moments, hitting three key three-pointers on his way to 15 points and 5 rebounds. Cooks added a double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds), and Sydney’s defense held Cairns to their lowest score of the season in a 79–64 victory to advance to the Championship Series. Ben Ayre was Cairns’ top scorer in Game 3, finishing with 20 points (4-of-8 from three) and 4 assists.

DJ Hogg (18.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks) led the Taipans in scoring and joined Pinder (16.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals) on the All-NBL Second Team. Pinder made history by becoming the first player to win the Most Improved Player award twice. Rookie Sam Waardenburg (11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) earned the league’s Next Generation Award.

Jonah Antonio appeared in 26 games for Cairns, averaging 3.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per game, contributing to a Taipans team that exceeded expectations and delivered a memorable season.

Jonah Antonio currently plays for the Cairns Taipans and has played 69 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 3.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists since entering the league in 2022.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

Cairns Taipans – 1 Year Deal (2024-25)

Dan Boyce (827 Posts)

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.