Weekly WABL Wrap – Round 17

The Weekly WABL Wrap is proudly sponsored by Woods Insurance Brokers.

Congrats to all our WABL players, coaches, managers and parents for bringing great energy to Round 17 of the 2021 WABL season. Here’s the wrap up of how all our teams went including comments from coaches:

U12 Champs Girls – Josh Wallace (sponsored by Welsh Real Estate)

Won against Mandurah Magic 64-44

Coach comments:

Our defensive pressure, once again, was really strong in this game. This produced easy scoring opportunities for the girls.
We never gave up on the boards and this saw us have a dominant game on the offensive glass.
We also moved the ball beautifully up the court with our passing and this created a lot of ‘numbers advantage’ situations for us.
Sasha Nona was relentless in chasing down rebounds and did a great job protecting the rim. She also stretched the D with her shooting, knocking down three 3-pointers.
Grace Butcher did a really good job attacking the basket on the drive. Her increased confidence in this area has been great to see.
Scarlett Hill has really hit her stride the last couple of games and seems to be playing her best game every week at the moment. It was a really strong all-round performance from her.
Ella Welsh showed amazing mental strength during this game. The Magic put extra defensive attention on her and she responded with lockdown defence and great decision-making on offense.
Paige Ogden once again was a brick wall defensively in the low post, dominated the boards, and released quick outlet passes to trigger fast break opportunities.
Jem Barr showed really good composure on the offensive end and did a great job controlling the tempo. She also showed improvement in going strong to the basket and absorbing the contact, which was great to see.
Remy Sumich did an amazing job of staying in front of her player on the defensive end and continued to show her increased confidence when attacking the basket.
Lainey Panizza did a great job bringing the ball up the court. Fantastic to see her growing in confidence in that area. Her work rate defensively was also first class and great to see.

U12 Division 3 Girls – Emma Ormond (sponsored by DLA Piper)

Lost to Rockingham 45-21

Coach comments:

The girls’ ability to constantly change up defensive and offensive strategies were outstanding for their age. Every girl stayed on top of what their specific role was and if anyone was confused they made sure they were asking questions.
The effort really showed from our girls from start to finish and they were all constantly putting their bodies on the line to hustle for the ball.
Ada Mourish-Burke, once again, was unstoppable on the offensive end. She used her lethal crossovers to create scoring opportunities for not only herself but also her teammates. Ada also worked so hard in defensive transition, chasing down multiple fast breaks.
Harper Grace was strong on the defensive end. She chased down fast break after fast break and stopped many scoring opportunities for the other team.
Georgie Clark’s ability to create scoring opportunities for her teammates really showed in this game. Her spacing and IQ combined with her ability to see the court, allowed her to pass the ball forward to the open players.

U12 Division 4 Girls – Marcia Dowling (sponsored by One for Women)

Won against Wolves White 30-22

Coach comments:

We started strong and kept the Wolves to no score in the second quarter. Wolves had a surge in the third and I was very impressed by how the 8 girls we had (one recovering from illness) really dug deep and increased their speed and took care of their passes.
Both Allegra Care and Charlotte Davey were outstanding in their fight to protect the ball, particularly in the fourth quarter.

U14 Champs Girls – Haylee Smyth (sponsored by Mount Lawley Orthodontics)

Lost to Warwick 69-27

Coach comments:

We put a lot of effort into our help defence and getting through our offence in the second half which was improved
Keira Tran played excellent help D.
Matilda Pyne worked hard through the whole game and remained aggressive with the ball.

U14 Division 2 Girls – Shannon Ball (sponsored by Active Discovery)

Won against Mandurah Magic 61-42

Coach comments:

Every player in our team played their part and worked together really well. There was some great helping out in defence and some brilliant transition offence. We made quite a few costly turnovers but the girls didn’t drop their heads, they chased it back. When Mandurah staged a comeback, the girls re-grouped and powered ahead to our biggest win of the season. Great all-round effort.

U14 Division 4 Girls White – Zac Belton (sponsored by Redink Homes)

Won against Hills Raiders 47-44

Coach comments:

I loved our ability to close out the game and make critical adjustments when we needed it.
Grace Almond and Kaia Rukuata each had a terrific game in terms of ball movement. Their ability to work with each other in bringing the ball up was crucial during the game.
Sienna Duong did a really good job of refocusing and coming up big with deflections and some key rebounds. This was a big part of why we held on for the win.

U14 Division 4 Girls Grey – Lucy Dowling

Lost to Joondalup 62-28

Coach comments:

Our goal this week has been to work together:
- To get good options
- To stop the other team
- To support each other from the bench
I was so proud of all the girls in this game – they definitely achieved our goals and it made a big difference.
Offensively our ball movement and shot choice were great and defensively we got some really good stops.
Oliva Weddikkara demonstrated some great boxing out and rebounding to create good transition opportunities.
Salma Rahmadavi’s good ball handling and control kept the team calm.
All the girls did really well, and I’m very proud of them.

U16 Division 2 Girls – Bryn Arnold (sponsored by Smart Capital)

Won against Cockburn 56-48

Coach comments:

Our defence for the vast majority of the game was outstanding. We demonstrated great help-side positioning and rotations to hold our opposition to under 50 points.
We showed what our offense can look like when we look after the ball and move the ball with purpose.
Issy Woods, Tatum Cooper, Stella Gregory, Megan Taylor and Grace Dalton were outstanding defensively throughout the game. Well done.
Charlotte Broadbent, Sagal Elmi and Blaise Stancil (season-high 15 points) did a great job on the offensive end and cleaning the glass.
Jenna Jackson did an awesome job controlling tempo and closing out the game with a couple of great buckets.
A great team effort again ladies well done.

U16 Division 3 Girls – Adrian Warner (sponsored by MSP Electrical)

Lost to Senators 41-40

Coach comments:

Wow, a great performance that went right to the wire. We had a reduced bench again due to injuries but it was great to have Ellen Brieffies on the bench as chief cheerleader and support crew. We had a great start in the first quarter with our intense D taking Senators out of their transition game. We struggled to settle in offense and thus get the results on the scoreboard for our efforts but we went into halftime well in the hunt. Unfortunately, and similar to last week, we let Senators race out to a 12 point lead in the third quarter but to the girls’ great credit we stuck to our team rules and took the lead midway through the fourth. Senators made a few nice shots to get back in front by 5pts but we were able to keep Senators scoreless after that with fantastic pressure D as we made our run at them. It was a massive 27pt turnaround from our loss to Senators earlier in the season. We have learned how to stay in tight games with good defence. Now we have to learn how to win tight games through improved composure in offense.
Everyone is improving and demonstrating in recent weeks that they are trying hard to apply the team rules and stay focused during the games, which is really pleasing.
A few highlights this week include a big CONGRATULATIONS to our 100 gamer Isabella Wolfenden who was slightly embarrassed by the honour guard lineup we made her run through at the start of the game 🙂 Isabella continued her good form from last week and worked hard to maintain her focus and effort in D.
Ava Lindegger has taken her game up a notch (or two) in recent weeks and showed greater confidence with the ball this week with a couple of lovely attacking drives into the paint from the wing to finish under pressure.
Abbey Macham also shows no fear in attacking the paint and has a deft touch on her floater (both left and right-handed) that she used to good effect.
Matilda Thomson and Dinelka Fernando both showed courage to step up in help D and put their bodies on the line (they will have the bruises to show for it) and attacked the paint with increased confidence.
Ainsleigh Passi had another strong game on the defensive boards with good vision and decision making on the outlet pass to get us into transition.
Hannah Saliacus had some nice touches around the basket and is looking more comfortable each week in handling the ball.
Tegan Wilkinson plays with great energy at both ends but some cheap fouls cost her court time this week so I am hoping for that same energy level to translate into a big dent on the scoreboard next week.

U16 Division 4 Girls – Geoff Alger

Won against Senators 53-35

Coach comments:

The intensity with which our girls attacked this game was exciting to watch and the ability to maintain that for all but a brief period in the fourth quarter was great to see.
I really loved holding the Senators to just 35 points for the game and only 11 points across the decisive second and third quarters.
Particularly pleasing was that we achieved this by:
- Looking after the ball – reduced turnovers enabled us to defend every possession and all but eliminated transition scores for the opposition.
- Winning the rebounds – more girls attacked the boards with vigour which meant no second chances for Senators and multiple points from offensive boards for us.
- Constant but disciplined pressure – this disrupted the Senators’ offence right from the outset and our girls’ commitment to sprint back and cover any transition when they did break our press was telling.
Aaliyah Nunes had another outstanding all-round game, scoring, passing, rebounding and forcing jump balls.
Tiana Alger’s rebounding and facilitation were excellent.
Taijah Babich’s on-ball defence, offensive composure and facilitation played a big part in setting up the win.
Casey Meyer provided outstanding energy all game and I was really pleased with how she sacrificed some of her game to take on an unfamiliar but valuable role for the team.
Amelia Weber was, as always, incredibly brave and committed in defence.

U18 Division 2 Girls White – Brayden Cook

Lost to Willetton 54-42

Coach comments:

This was a tough game for us. We were down three players and so only had two subs throughout the game. Full credit to Willetton for getting the jump on us early and taking the lead. Unfortunately, we were playing catch up the whole game and we found it hard to get our rhythm going. I was pleased particularly with our reserves who got the chance to play extended minutes. Everyone fought hard till the end.

U18 Division 2 Girls Grey – Brad Dowd (sponsored by Protek)

Lost to East Perth 88-31

Coach comments:

Despite the score, this would have been one of our better games this season. The last time we met, we lost by 101 points, so to only lose by 57 this time is a massive win for us. The girls fought hard from start to finish, surprising the top team a number of times. East Perth’s coach commented on how much the girls have developed. East Perth moved the ball really well, however, our defence managed to make it quite difficult for them to score.
Charlotte Horniman returned to form with 9 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Emma Jones played aggressively again with 13 points and 5 steals, often making something out of nothing.
Meg Capewell rebounded well with 10 for the game.
Kirsty Slinger rebounded well and had a couple of nice putbacks.

U12 Champs Boys – Dylan Vilardi

Lost to Senators 81-41

Coach comments:

We started the game flat and let Warwick gain a 20-5 lead. At quarter time we talked it over and we came out with more hunger and fight in us.
Tace Rankin was extremely aggressive from the moment he stepped on the court. He was attacking the ring, getting great looks and finding his teammates. In addition to being outstanding on the offensive end, he was also always hustling to get back every possession on the defensive end too.

U12 Division 2 Boys – Ash Brian (sponsored by Drafting Now)

Lost to Warwick Blue 55-48

Coach comments:

We went into the game down a few players, but the boys put up an amazing fight against the second top team, eventually going down by just 7.
As a coach, I’ve been so proud of the boys and their discipline to maintain our systems, especially in the latter part of the season. At the beginning of the season when playing most of the quality teams in our grade we would stay disciplined for 2-3 quarters, but things would unravel in the 4th as the boys got tired. We’re now remaining focused for longer and giving the top teams a real shake as we play them for a second time.
We’ve been practising our threes all season at training, but the boys aren’t allowed to shoot them in games unless we’ve gained an opportunity through passing within our offense and their feet are set. This has seen us shoot only a small number of threes each game, but at a make percentage of above 50% for most games. This week Cooper Roskell, Aiden Little and Oskar Wang dropped 7 threes between them out of a total of 11 shots by the team.
Filip Jokanovich also played his game of the season with a fantastic effort boxing out their six-footer while netting his season-high score at the same time.

U12 Division 4 Boys White – Tyler Cusworth

Won against Hills Raiders 66-39

Coach comments:

We got off to a slow start but were able to reset and get back to our strengths.
Was good to see the boys move the ball well in the last quarter.
Luka Delic came up big on the boards and put back buckets. It makes it easy for us when he is aggressive on the boards.
Liam Shelhot played his three-man role well and is starting to show a good understanding of the correct positioning.
Ollie Gruber made some good runs and Myles Byrne made a few great passes.

U12 Division 4 Boys Grey – Andrew Logan (sponsored by MD Building Maintenance)

Won against Joondalup Wolves 58-35

Coach comments:

What a game! A comprehensive win against a team that had beaten us earlier in the season. All the boys brought their ‘A’ game. We set three targets throughout the game and hit them all. Our defence was intense and purposeful. There were glimpses of great half-court offense but it was our press that did the damage, creating turnovers and leading to easy transition buckets.
Joaquin Imperial had 21 points and 20 boards – it was a great performance to crush all the opposition’s big men.
Toby Summers’s role was to shut down the opposition’s best scorer (avg 19 pts a game). Toby kept him to 7 points. Excellent individual defence.
Max Woods continues to grow as a player and have an impact off the bench.
Kimzy Matondo controlled the game for periods with his excellent ball-handling skills, ability to get to the rack and his solid D.
Ethan Kingsbury kept our dominance in the paint when Joaquin had a rest. Great decision making and understanding of positioning on the offensive end. He is making a habit of bringing his aggression to the table each week. Love it.

U14 Champs Boys – Aleks Lackovic (sponsored by Sto WA)

Lost to Warwick 73-43

Coach comments:

The team effort and energy was outstanding. Up against a #1 ranked opposition team that came out very hot and built a 15-point lead, we absorbed the pressure and executed our systems at both ends of the floor to level the game before halftime.
We won the rebound count against the tallest team in the comp, all due to our containment, hit and sit and hunting rules.
The team yet again set another benchmark at being great teammates under extreme pressure.
Recognition needs to be made of the incredible second-quarter defensive performance by the unit that was on the floor that turned a 15-point deficit into a 1 point lead. The team’s high-pressure defence created turnovers and run-outs into transition that were converted and the group’s competitive nature was amazing to witness. That group was Jaxon Kowal, Maksim Lackovic, Mason Clark, Ben Galvin and Romeo Lyszkowicz.
Jack Saliacus had a lockdown game focus in taking on the league’s biggest and highest average scoring player, keeping him to half his average points and minimal rebounds.
Zac Anfuso, Jerry Davies and Levi Hewett initiated a direct, faced pace, transition and physical yet controlled defensive pressure.

U14 Division 2 Boys – Mitchell Jesson

Lost to Senators Blue 68-37

Coach comments:

The Senators are the top team and played as such.
At the final break, I asked the boys – ‘give me something to write about in my coach report’ and I’m pleased to say we won the quarter 16 points to 10.
The fightback was what pleased me most and the fact it came from some boys who have been down a little in form and confidence was even more pleasing.
Hamish Gibson top-scored for us with 10 points (6 of which came off steals) but it is all the small things he does for us that I appreciated in this game. He fought well to bring the ball up the court through an unrelenting press and worked to bring others into the game.
Last week I challenged Jaden Exeter to step up and this week against a very talented and big lineup, he did just that. Ex (as we know him) ran hard both ways and in a game where we struggled to get the ball up the floor, made the most of his scoring opportunities.
Cuba Brian had a great second half and it was so great to see a smile on his face as the Senator bigs learned putting the ball on the floor near him is dangerous. Confident attacks on the basket also saw him get to the foul line.

U14 Division 3 Boys – Adam Kudray (sponsored by Euroz Hartleys)

Won against Mandurah Magic 74-63

Coach comments:

Collectively the boys changed defensive strategy well and kept Mandurah on the back foot.
Lionel Chitiyo demonstrated great footwork
There were some sneaky steals from Zak Magdy
It was nice to see Kano Kudray looking out for Mainey

U14 Division 4 Boys – Alex Maude (sponsored by Masterwall)

Lost to East Perth 59-52

Coach comments:

I was impressed by our hustle on the ball, half-court defensive pressure, good shot selection and efforts in transition
Tyler Murphy’s defensive effort was once again impressive. It stopped their leading scorer from getting hot. He also delivered some great passes on the drive to the basket.
Tom Jakimowiez was giving everything he got on the rebound, boxing out and starting transition with the best pass presentable. He also did an amazing coast-to-coast play which ended in him scoring
Seb Bourne did all the little things and extra one-percenters, as well as listening to the instructions I gave him specifically. For his size, he wasn’t hesitant in getting in every rebound contest possible and showed patience on the offensive end.

U16 Division 2 Boys – Paul Cassir (sponsored by Infuse Life)

Lost to Senators Blue 89-76

Coach comments:

The team demonstrated good resilience despite falling behind by over 20 points during the first quarter.
The players are commended on making defensive adjustments that allowed us greater success in forcing turnovers. Unfortunately, we struggled to convert many of these opportunities into scores.

U16 Division 3 Boys White – Luke Simonette

Won against Redbacks Grey 63-48

Coach comments:

This was a really good defensive effort to keep a high scoring opposition under 50. We also moved the ball great offensively – 20 out of 29 of our made field goals came off an assist.
I loved seeing Drew Corry fitting into a new playmaker role.
Bas Allegre and Sam Burnett dominated the rebounds with 31 between them.
Jack Stahl returned from injury and had an immediate impact.

U16 Division 3 Boys Grey – Anthony Nixon (sponsored by Auto Control Systems)

Lost to Redbacks White 63-48

Coach comments:

In a reversal of what happened the last time we played this Division 3 derby, Redbacks White was at full strength while we had injuries to key players and the bodies we were able to put on the court were tired and recovering. I was proud of the way the boys kept their heads high and kept playing hard, albeit not with the speed and energy of six weeks ago.
With our finals place assured, our fingers are crossed in hope of seeing a return to a full squad in coming weeks to regain the momentum we enjoyed earlier in the season.
Caleb Hoenig was an absolute standout in this game. He was challenged before the game to ‘shoot the ball’ which he did so beautifully for a game-high 17 points. I am so proud of this young man in the way he approached this game and delivered under challenging circumstances!

U16 Division 4 Boys – Anthony Nixon (sponsored by TECC and Insight)

Lost to Lakeside 103-65

Coach comments:

With next week being a bye this was the last game of the season.
It was great to see injured Nik and Naoki there to support the team and we wish them a speedy recovery.
The team were amazing playing top of the table Lakeside with only 8 players and being down 52-66 at three quarter time.
We worked well together, were positive, had great fun the whole game and played a great brand of basketball. In the end we were ultimately outplayed by Lakeside’s dominant guard and center.
The boys finished the season playing great structure and competitive basketball and I know they will work hard in the off-season to be back fitter and stronger next year!
Oliver Graham and Josh Welsh finished off their seasons well.
Riley Panizza had a great but frustrating game where his shots didn’t drop.
Declan Kenny and Romain Suraweera were strong under the basket.
Sasha Zugic continued his great form of recent weeks.
Griffin Williams-Antulov had some great rebounds and played well.
Noah Rees-Turner had his best game of the season. Well done Noah!
Huge thanks to coach Mitch who has done a great job with the boys esp in the past month.
Thanks also to Denzel Jackson (NBL1) for joining us for the game and adding some awesome insights and passion and to Marshall Nelson (NBL1) for dropping in during the game to say hi!
And finally … thanks to a great bunch of parents who have encouraged and supported the boys all year. I really appreciate you all!

U18 Champs Boys – Simon Daff (sponsored by Della Franca Farms)

Lost to Warwick Senators 88-55

Coach comments:

For the last few weeks we’ve only had 8 players able to suit up. It’s been a struggle but the boys always show a willingness to fight. Our defence and our rotations were a highlight this week. We played good defence for the first 15 seconds of the shot clock and really it was only in rebounding that we came unstuck. It was also nice to see the boys showing more trust in each other.
Connor Wilson stepped into a starting role and played with great energy for four quarters and was rewarded on the scoreboard.
Charlie Morcombe continues to impress me as an underage player. Really looking forward to seeing him play next year in a more dominant role.

U18 Division 3 Men White – Luke Notley (sponsored by McDonalds Karratha)

Won against Perry Lakes Hawks 84-63

Coach comments:

After last week’s sub-par performance, we did a fantastic job to bounce back, play our style of game and really play great pressure defence all game long. We kept the opposition to only 25 points in the second half and everyone got on the scoreboard again. There was a finals-like intensity to the game and it was great for our team to experience that with finals starting in two weeks.
Finn Warner top-scored again and was a rock for us in this game with some really good contributions from Anthony Pelle and Darren Fernandez. Finn, Luis Uribe, Lachlan Taylor and Oliver Pedley all put in great effort on the boards and in the paint.

U18 Division 3 Men Grey – Brandon Riley (sponsored by Inspirations Paint)

Won against Slammers 107-70

Coach comments:

I loved seeing our ability to run our offences after a few weeks of tweaks. Everyone’s effort on defence was at a high level and we adjusted well to the refs’ interpretations of the rules.
Our wings shot well. But the bigs kept going hard without much going their way on the offensive end. They were battling heavy contact the whole game and still did well on the glass.

U18 Division 3 Men Silver – Sam Fox (sponsored by Strut Specialists)

Won against East Perth 82-69

Coach comments:

This was an excellent team win. We played our style the whole game and, though we let the gas off in the fourth and let them score more than we should have, we were dominant. We switched our D numerous times in the game and never looked out of sync. Our ball movement and execution in O was fantastic. We’ve now won seven of our last eight. If we win our final game, we will fall one W short of finals. (Frustratingly, lockdowns meant we missed playing the ninth-ranked team twice.) However, I couldn’t be prouder of our growth, our commitment to each other and our competitive drive. Let’s get this next one!
Declan Pyne took a huge step on D this week by taking hits on the chest and shutting down all manner of drives. He also made some great passes and some huge shots. It was great to see his game come together at both ends.
Oakley Fung did an awesome job of getting in the paint and making things happen—contributing 9 points, 4 assists and a heap of defensive pressure. He trusted in his game, stayed on the attack and played great throughout.
Thanos Snooks-Holding made some incredibly precise passes in this game. I love the reads he makes in offense even more than his great shooting. If he can unleash this IQ on the defensive end and go for it more, our whole team will elevate. Bring it this week, Snooky.

U20 Men White – Michael Clarke

Lost to Lakeside 104-73

Coach comments:

We started out strong against a very good opponent but, unfortunately, couldn’t sustain it to keep our finals hopes alive.

U20 Men Grey – Rob Gordon

Lost to Rockingham Flames 106-75

Coach comments:

Down by 28 at the half, our lads fought back to outscore the Flames 28 to 24
Josh Dohler had a big game at both ends of the court – was defensively great while also pouring in a season-high 33 points
“Mr Consistency” Kaden Morecombe backed up last week’s game of 19pts with another 18pts and numerous boards also
Adam Stanley on his return from a three week lay-off due to injury hit 11pts.

Lost to East Perth 95-69

Coach comments:

Playing the top side in the league, even though the game ended in a loss we drew both the 2nd and 4th quarters and really only lost the game on the defensive boards. All in all – it was a pleasing effort.
Ashwin Creswell had a night out, scoring 22pts, Josh Dohler backed up his 33pts from Sunday with 17 in this game and Cooper Mason chimed in with 11pts