This Weekly WABL Wrap is brought to you by Baskin Robbins East Victoria Park (828a Albany Highway, East Victoria Park). Why not take the opportunity to show them your support? Head into the store for some cool and yummy ice-cream action after your game!
Here’s how our Round 5 WABL games went!
Women’s results and coach comments
12 RED – Joshua Wallace
BYE
12 WHITE – John Care
Lost to Kalamunda 42-11
John loved seeing:
- The effort given by two individuals who never gave up even though we were behind all game.
- Sienna Care and Remy Sumich both put in a fight to get the ball and show some aggression. Combined they were in about 10 jump balls between two quarters.
14 RED – Bri Bailey
Won against Warwick Senators 32-28
Bri loved seeing:
- When we started turning the ball over we regathered and played like a team to bring the whole team’s confidence back up.
- Abbey Macham played awesome defence and created so well on offence. She really upped the intensity on defence to get everyone on the same page.
14 WHITE – Haylee Smyth
Won against Joondalup Wolves 87-17
Hayley loved seeing:
- Our teamwork throughout the game, we really looked to pass the ball ahead.
- Mikayla Deshon and Matilda Pyne’s defensive pressure up the court was very good.
- Jade Warner started the game on really well and managed to get lots of steals.
- Blaise Stancil’s ability to have composure with the ball was much better today while still being able to be aggressive
14 BLACK – Zac Belton
Lost to Willetton 53-27
Zac loved seeing:
- Our half-court defence which was fantastic
- Tahlia Bentley played a great defensive game and even took the ball straight towards the hoop which was fantastic to see.
- Gabby Manalo really put the pressure on their ball handlers forcing them to make mistakes.
- Alice Inman was patient on offence and made terrific decisions.
16 RED – Adrian Warner
Lost to Lakeside 87-63
Adrian loved seeing:
- Our intensity was great and initially, it was an evenly matched game. We started to apply a few of the elements we have covered in training and looked good in bringing the ball down against a press but our lack of discipline resulted in us getting into foul trouble early and then again when we didn’t have the bench numbers to play a high tempo game but couldn’t find the composure to slow it down in offence.
- Indi Ennis stepped it up a gear this week at both ends – she made some adjustments I asked of her and worked hard at both ends – her most complete game by far.
- Sagal Elmi played with great effort and intensity and much-improved decision making – she was particularly effective in using a V-cut to get open and we missed her when she fouled out of the game.
- Joia Kowaleski showed me she is trying to apply the concepts we have been working on at training – she ran the floor and attacked the basket well with good results.
- Caitlin Lea’s voice never stopped and she was strong on the defensive boards.
16 WHITE – Anne-Marie and Bryn Arnold
Lost to Mandurah 76-29
Anne-Marie and Bryn loved seeing:
- The most pleasing aspect was the vast improvement from the previous week. The team worked hard at training and took some really positive strides forward.
- Meagan Taylor was solid on the offensive end with a season-high 16 points.
- Ainsleigh Passi had her best game and rebounded solidly against much taller opponents
18 RED – Brayden Cook
Won against Mandurah Magic 65-53
Brayden loved seeing:
- The girls played well as a team and were able to move the ball well to find open looks for our shooters and post players when the opposition played a zone.
- Our defensive pressure to get multiple stops and cause disruption and confusion for the opposition.
- Kaja Todorovic’s ability to score inside under pressure.
- Ella Pronk’s defensive intensity.
- Kerry Hayden’s 3 point shooting.
- Mickayla Little’s ability to score and get a bucket when the team needs it.
Men’s results and coach comments
12 RED – Brad Dowd
Won against Lakeside Lightning 71 vs 52
Brad loved seeing:
- This was the first game our team really worked as one and moved the ball with pace up the court and scored relentlessly off the fast break.
- Our team’s desire to own the loose ball was huge this game and our full-court defence wreaked havoc.
- Cooper Hewer had a monster game with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Coop dominated with his size and strength at both ends of the court.
- Zak Magdy shot the ball at an amazing clip. He was running at 100% off his first 6-7 shots before ending with 8/12.
12 BLACK – Ron Flores
Lost to Warwick Senators 55-32
Ron loved seeing:
- Our defensive pressure at times was good
- Luke Trevenen has come a long way with his confidence in his game to match his improving skill set
12 WHITE – Dylan Vilardi
BYE
12 GREY – Jacob Kelly
Won against Kalamunda 67-28
Jacob loved seeing:
- Our drive this game was amazing – we went hard from the first second to the last
- If we had full stats I believe Jenson Harders would have recorded a triple double in steals, points, and rebounds.
- Zac Hollands had an 18 point game that included some amazing lockdown defence that caused many turnovers.
- Aiden Little had an amazing game with 20 points and defence that also caused at least 15 turnovers
- Jett Murphy played a great defensive game hitting an amazing three-point buzzer-beater from the corner with 0.8 seconds left on the clock
14 RED – Colin Driscoll
Lost to Lakeside 50 – 41
Colin loved seeing:
- The energy with which the team played defence in the third quarter
- Declan Kenny dominated the defensive boards in the third quarter
- The defensive intensity from Ethan Harders, Evan Berson and Caleb Hoenig
14 BLACK – Ash Brian
Won against Mandurah 61-52
Ash loved seeing:
- That while we were undermanned, we kept to most of our systems to grind out a solid win.
- With Cuba Brian and Stirling Barnett unavailable for this game, Xander Fry really stepped up. While he scored a season-high 13 points, the more impressive thing was his 6 rebounds, which shows his all-round performance.
- Seb Bourne also pulled down 4 boards making that 10 boards from the two smallest players on the team.
14 WHITE – Al Lackovic
Won against South West Slammers 65-43
Al loved seeing:
- The team effort was outstanding in:
- Team talk, which is constantly improving
- Rebounding – hitting our quarter by quarter goals
- Protecting the ball to minimise turnovers
- Positivity as ONE team on the bench and on the court.
- Ben Galvin had a great all-round game with 17 Rebounds, 7 Steals, 2 Assists and 10pts.
- Hamish Gibson had 10 steals and exhibited constant hustle, pressure and drive.
- James Bowen’s shift in transition and lazy 20pts.
- Maksim Lackovic’s ability to manage the floor and deliver 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 9 points
- Zac Anfuso led our team in our primary category in defence (TALK), whilst pushing his work rate to the maximum up and down the court.
14 GREY – Alex Maude
Lost to Joondalup 58-52
Alex loved seeing:
- Our sprinting back on defence, full-court pressure which created turnovers, good shot selection, taking care of the ball while bringing it up the court and our help defence
- The whole team played their best game, they all trusted each other on the court and were very unselfish on the offensive end, creating good looks for their teammates and using the extra pass to score
16 RED – Luke Notley
Won against East Perth 92-59
Luke loved seeing:
- After a slow first quarter, we knuckled down on defence and achieved our goals, limiting East Perth’s scoring to 33 in the first half and under 60 for the game.
- We dominated the paint in the last 3 quarters and played together.
- Zviko Tinayenda was our most vocal person on defence and was the deciding factor in lifting the team’s intensity.
16 BLACK – Bevan Rankin
Won against Lakeside 79-75
Bevan loved seeing:
- There were many ups and downs throughout the game and our boys kept their heads up throughout the game. We knew that if we stuck to our plans it would pay off.
- The win was an absolute team effort.
- We were down our starting four-man, but Thanos Snooks-Holding stepped up and was incredible. It’s not that he made some incredible clutch shots, but his rebounding and reacting to the pressure on him to fake pass and dribble the ball was outstanding.
- Benjamin Plewright was again ever-reliable and got us out of some tough spots with his consistency from both driving to the basket and making the big shot when needed.
- Also a special shout out for our bigs, Declan Pyne and Ethan Saliacus, outstanding job boys on taking care of the boards and Dec coming up with some massive points down the stretch.
16 WHITE – Mark Edman
Lost to Mandurah 49-46
Mark loved seeing:
- When we played D as a team we were able to make stops to close the margin.
- The whole team working hard till the end
- Cameron Ford did well coming off the bench with scoring and confidence.
- Jack Stahl and Drew Corry taking charges
16 GREY – Andre Colley
Lost to Warwick Senators 83-43
Andre loved seeing:
- Our offensive transition was good
18 RED – Gavin Burnett
Lost to Warwick Senators 94-70
Gavin loved seeing:
- After being down by 13 points halfway through the second quarter we were able to fight back and compile a 5 point lead in just a few minutes of really hard-nosed defence and cohesive offence. The effort and execution during that period of play were what we need to be able to replicate for longer periods of time but it showed what this group is capable of.
- Joshua Draper worked hard all game, finishing with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks (VPS 1.65). Owen Pang worked hard on defence and contributed 8 points, 3 assists. Three bench players made solid contributions when several of our starters had a rare quiet day. Ryan Duke Yonge compiled 5 pts, 7 rebounds (VPS 1.40); Riley Burnett 6 pts, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal; Tobey Martin returned to some good form with 11pts, 3 rebounds, 1 assist.
18 WHITE – Simon Daff
Lost to Warwick Senators 100 to 72
Simon loved seeing:
- Connor Wilson again was a standout. He never forces the play, rather allows the game to come to him and is never rushed. His ability to listen to instructions and play for his teammates is first class. Always plays the game with a mental maturity for his age. Made a record 8 free throws for the game.
18 GREY – Carlos Uribe
Lost to Lakeside 60-54
Carlos loved seeing:
- The team has demonstrated that we can do very well on different scenarios. Skills and capability is there, we just need further development and focus
- Kaden Morcombe and Luis Uribe were our best players this week with great rebounding, defence and positive attitude in the court
20 RED – David Swaby
Won against East Perth Eagles 97-85
Dave loved seeing:
- The mental and physical toughness we showed all game by consistently fighting and battling through adversity.
- Dylan Vilardi played a really solid overall game with no holes but more importantly showed great leadership taking ownership and responsibility of the team. Also want to highlight the contagious defensive effort of Fletcher Clemmence who during a critical stretch shut down the other team’s best shooter and sparked a defensive run along with Ronan Coppin.
20 BLACK – Luke Simonette
Lost to Warwick Senators 94-58
Luke loved seeing:
- We played 26 minutes of good quality basketball against a very good team. Within that 26 minutes our team showed grit, heart and did all the habitual things we’ve been working on
- Toorab Ali provided great energy off the bench
- Thomas Swindle locked down the opposition’s best guard in the full court