BIO: Matthew Andronicos was born in Sydney (NSW) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Hills basketball program. Andronicos received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2012. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Matthew Andronicos made his NBL debut with the Cairns Taipans at 20 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

2014/15
Cairns entered 2014/15 after a 12-16 season had left the Taipans outside the playoffs. Aaron Fearne retained Alex Loughton, Cameron Gliddon, Cameron Tragardh, Stephen Weigh, Matt Burston, Mitchell Young and Shaun Bruce, while Jamar Wilson (to Adelaide), Clint Steindl (to Townsville) and Demetri McCamey departed. Scottie Wilbekin (via Florida), Torrey Craig (via USC Upstate) and Corey Maynard (via Bryant) were added to the main roster.

Andronicos (0.5 points across 4 games) returned for a third season as a Cairns development player after also spending the 2014 QBL season with the Cairns Marlins. He remained outside Fearne’s regular rotation, with his on-court minutes coming in three regular-season games.

His best and highest-scoring appearance came against Melbourne on February 13, when Andronicos (2 points) made his only field-goal attempt in 3:52. Craig (21 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Wilbekin (17 points and 3 rebounds) led a comfortable 84-62 Cairns victory, while Daniel Kickert scored 17 points for Melbourne.

Wilbekin (15.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists across 32 games) became Cairns’ leading scorer and playmaker, won the club MVP award and earned All-NBL First Team honours. Tragardh (12.1 points and 4.8 rebounds across 32 games) was named NBL Best Sixth Man, while Loughton (11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds across 32 games), Gliddon (10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals across 32 games) and Craig (8.9 points and 5.7 rebounds across 32 games) supplied much of the remaining production. Fearne was named NBL Coach of the Year as Cairns finished 21-7, secured the first minor premiership in club history and became the first regional team since Geelong in 1984 to finish on top of the NBL ladder.

Andronicos did not play in the opening semifinal against Perth, where Wilbekin (23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal) and Tragardh (16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists) led Cairns, while Jermaine Beal scored 20 points for the Wildcats. The Taipans won 71-64 to take a 1-0 series lead.

He remained out of the lineup for game two at Perth Arena, with Wilbekin (16 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Weigh (16 points and 3 rebounds) leading Cairns, while Beal scored 21 points and Matthew Knight added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Perth. The Taipans won 80-68 to complete the sweep and reach the second Grand Final series in franchise history.

Andronicos did not take the court in game one of the Grand Final against New Zealand. Wilbekin scored 16 points and Gliddon added 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, but Cedric Jackson (22 points and 7 rebounds) and Ekene Ibekwe (19 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks) carried the Breakers to an 86-71 victory.

He again remained out of the playing lineup in game two in Auckland, where Tragardh (17 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block) and Craig (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists) led Cairns, while Thomas Abercrombie scored 19 points for New Zealand. Wilbekin tied the game from the free-throw line with 1.2 seconds remaining before Ibekwe hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to give the Breakers an 83-81 victory and complete the 2-0 Grand Final sweep. Jackson was named Grand Final MVP.

Matthew Andronicos played three seasons with the Cairns Taipans.