There was excitement everywhere over the last two days, with some big wins for Thames Valley, Nottingham, Essex, Newcastle and CoB.
Loughborough stole the show however, bringing an end to Hemel's lengthy win streak as they knocked off the defending champions on Saturday evening.
We take a look at all the weekend's action below, with links to live stats and live streams at the bottom of the page.
Nottingham got one over on local rivals Derby in a high-scoring encounter, with the Hoods coming through as 106-100 winners.
Based on previous form in the KitKing Trophy, this one looked to be firmly in Derby's grasp but a standout performance from Greg Skoric (30pts, 12reb) plus excellent support from Johde Campbell (27pts, 11ast, 6reb) was enough to get the hosts a valuable early-season W.
The result wasn't always clear-cut however, with Nottingham leading for the majority of the first half before DTB rallied back.
Seizing the initiative in the third quarter, the visitors would lead by seven at 92-85 with 7:15 remaining but Nottingham would go on a 21-8 run the rest of the way to seal the win, with Skoric scoring six of those points in the last 91 seconds.
Sam Masten (32pts, 8ast) was once again a standout for the Trailblazers, with Corey Johnson(24pts) and Malcolm Smith (20pts) both chipping in.
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Greg Skoric catches the lob as Hoods lead Derby 😳💪#NBL2324 pic.twitter.com/dZDfN9DbEE
— NBL (@NBLengland) October 7, 2023
City of Birmingham Rockets (1-0) won their first taste of top-flight action as they beat Barking Abbey (0-1) 81-63 behind a strong second-half showing, turning a 29-28 half time deficit into a sizable win.
Loughborough Riders (1-0) handed Hemel Storm (0-1) their first defeat in any competition since 24 April 2022 as they won 92-87.
Elijah Bailey played the hero for the Riders as he dropped a game-high 30 points, cancelling out Hakeem Sylla's 24 point, 11 rebound double-double.
KitKing Trophy semi-finalists Bradford Dragons (0-1) stumbled out of the blocks of their league campaign as they lost out 84-78 at home against Thames Valley Cavaliers (1-0).
The teams were tied at 56 with 2:53 left in the third, but by midway through the fourth Thames Valley would lead by 15, with AJ Roberts (20pts) and Bode Adeluola (19pts) combining to down the Dragons.
Newly-promoted London Elite (0-1) couldn't copy Birmingham and start their D1M campaign with a W, going down 90-85 against a Logan Rooney-inspired Team Newcastle University (1-0).
The weekend came to a close with Essex Rebels (1-0) beating last season's playoff finalists Worthing Thunder (0-1) 73-66.
Thunder claimed the opening period 23-11, setting the stage for a dramatic Essex fight back that included a 23-10 final quarter.
Connor Nelson top scored for the hosts with 14 points off the bench, with Daniel Johnson-Thompson (14pts, 12reb, 6/9 shooting) playing an efficiency ball game for Worthing.
🍿 Highlights from today’s win in the capital…
— City of Birmingham Rockets (@cobrockets) October 7, 2023
Take a look back at the best plays from our opening day win at Barking Abbey!
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🎫 https://t.co/wOUvw49oHv#WeAreRockets pic.twitter.com/IHJjXwZYRz
4pm - Barking Abbey 63-81 City of Birmingham Rockets - LIVE STREAM
6pm - Loughborough Riders 92-87 Hemel Storm - LIVE STATS / LIVE STREAM
6:15pm - Bradford Dragons 78-84 Thames Valley Cavaliers - LIVE STATS
6:30pm - London Elite 85-90 Newcastle University - LIVE STATS
6:30pm - Nottingham Hoods 106-100 Derby Trailblazers - LIVE STATS
6:30pm - Essex Rebels 73-66 Worthing Thunder - LIVE STATS
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Main image credit - Lauren Newham
