The Miners led for most of the contest, but Geelong rallied in the last quarter, led by Latrell Jones who made some crucial buckets in the final moments, to see the visitors sneak home 81-79.

Ballarat had a couple of chances to either tie up the contest or take the lead, but couldn't quite nail the baskets when needed as Geelong held their nerve in the tense final seconds to score the victory.

The Miners led by seven points at half time, with import Tyler Rudolph dominating the board with 12 points and seven rebounds to the main break. But he found himself in a little bit of foul trouble in the third quarter, with three against his name. It was when he was benched Geelong made their move back into the contest.

Still, Rudolph would finish with 21 points and 13 rebounds for the game in a best-on-court display, but it wasn't quite enough to lift his side over the line, despite him hitting a three with just seconds left to reduce the margin to two.

Earlier Max Cody looked to have serious hurt a shoulder in the first quarter and seemed to be uncomfortable for much of the first half, but was able to play on throughout the match.

The difference between the two sides lay in Geelong's rebounding with United bringing down 50 for the game compared to Ballarat's 39.

The Miners walk away from round one with a 1-1 record, but now face a big couple of weeks ahead, starting with a road trip next Sunday to play Mount Gambier.

Ballarat Miners 79 (T Rudolph 21, M Puondak 15, N Stoddart 13) def by Geelong United 81 (L Jones 21, L Herbert 15)