Weekly WABL Wrap – Round 18

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 18 of the 2021 WABL season. Here’s the wrap up of how all our teams went in their final regular-season games including comments from coaches:

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

Lost to Warwick Senators 68-67 (2OT)

Coach comments:

For the first time this season, these girls experienced a loss, but I have never been prouder to call myself the coach of this amazing group of girls. This was a double OT thriller that went down to the final possession. However, we didn’t finish the game with 5 players on the court like Warwick, we finished with 3. We didn’t even start the second OT with 5 players, we started with 4. I watched these girls give everything they had mentally and physically, and then some, in this game. To be outnumbered on the court for as long as they were, with possession and a chance to win it in the final 8 seconds, in my opinion, is a perfect example of the character of this group. These girls are flat out champions, regardless of what the scoreboard says.

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

Won against Perry Lakes 32-25

Coach comments:

I couldn’t be more impressed with how the girls handled the pressure and intensity of this game. Whether we were down or up, everyone played our style of game and outworked the other team the whole time.

Ada-Mae Mourish Burke dominated physically on both ends. Her mentality to “pass up good shots for great shots”, got her and her teammates multiple scoring opportunities.
Harper Grace would have had about 10 steals in the first quarter. She was a force to be reckoned with today as she was not letting the Hawks do anything easily.
Sasha Kuan’s ability to slow the ball and protect the basket is impeccable for her age. I can’t count the number of fast breaks from Hawks that she stopped just with her defensive positioning.
Leisha Charlie was our “crazy chick”. She would double team the ball at all opportunities which led to countless turnovers for the Hawks. Leish worked so hard today and even picked up on some of the Hawks tendencies and started exploiting them.
Georgie Clark’s composure on the offensive end is what kept us to a comfortable lead in the last quarter. This along with her ability to read the passing lanes and know when to go for the pass is why she was such a strong factor in our success today.
Ruby Taylor, as always, dove on every loose ball and put her body on the line constantly. She was strong with the rebounds on both ends of the court and her out letting led to many fast breaks.
Nora Ostermeyer’s defensive efforts today were incredible. Nora chased down fast break after fast break, applying as much pressure as possible. She shut down so many Hawks players on the drive as well.
Soniya Karimi’s ability to play make led to many open shots for her teammates. She lives by our team rule “pass up good shots for great shots”, which is why she was such an incredible playmaker today for her team. Very unselfish Soni!
We saw Anabella Lewis attacking the basket on multiple occasions, which got her free throws at one point. This aggression towards getting to the basket was so exciting to see!

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

Lost to Joondalup Green 39-35

Coach comments:

The girls worked well in the second quarter to bring the game back under their control and in fact got 16 points in front. In the last two minutes of the game, I loved that the girls kept fighting even in the face of the Wolves comeback.
Nadia Slee did everything we asked and did it very well. Her commitment to helping her teammates is amazing, particularly in defence.
Alessia Wladyka also followed our plan and kept trying to pass early.

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

Lost to Perry Lakes 64-31

Coach comments:

Today summed up what was a really up and down season for us.
We played well in patches but weren’t good enough for long enough. We upped our defensive intensity and rebounding early in the third quarter which was good to see.
Keira Tran just continues to do exactly what is asked of her at all times and her help defence was excellent.
Madison Makavilitoga was again really good on the rebounds and has improved her help defence and finishing.

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

Lost to Warwick Senators 57-44

Coach comments:

There were some really great passages of play in the game. We staged a comeback in the fourth and got within 6 points. The girls can hold their heads high with the way they finished the season. Their efforts were fantastic.

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

Lost to East Perth 44-42

Coach comments:

Seeing the give and go in action was wonderful to see. The girls came to play in the fourth quarter, unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
Emily Livingstone had a FANTASTIC defensive game! So proud!
Izzy Budby has been doing a fantastic job taking on the role of primary ball carrier!

U14 Division 4 Girls Grey – Lucy Dowling

Lost to Hills Raiders 76-18

Coach comments:

Our goal for this last game of the season was to play together and for each other which we achieved. The season with these girls has been absolutely amazing as I’ve watched them develop not only their skills but a love for the game and a love for each other, which really is the most amazing thing to be a part of. I’m so proud of them this season and their effort in our last game and not ever giving up was great
Ella Baxter performed amazing defence on the opposition in the half-court
Salma Rahmadavi demonstrated great ball handling and control in transition and in controlling the tempo on the half-court
Charlotte Dillon had a great game overall – her transition defence was good and so was her offensive spacing

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

Lost to Warwick 55-52 (OT)

Coach comments:

The way we continued to fight throughout the game was outstanding. Starting the last quarter down 10 points, we never gave up, eventually tying the game up with 13 seconds to go and forcing it into overtime.
This team has really grown over the season and in the last 6-7 weeks have shown they are capable of matching it with every team in the league. Well done to everyone. I look forward to watching you all develop over the coming seasons.
Charlotte Broadbent finished the season off in great style collecting a season-high 16 points and hitting the game-tying three with 13 seconds left.
Grace Dalton also finished the season on a high with 11 points and a couple of big 3’s down the stretch.

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

Lost to Mandurah Magic – 71-67 (OT)

Coach comments:

Our last game showed how far we have come over the course of the season. We lost to Magic by a whopping 49 points the first time we played them and this time we led them for most of the game until they came back at us to force an extra 5 minutes of overtime, where they just pipped us. Foul trouble hurt us a bit but I couldn’t be prouder of the effort the girls put in. We stepped up and played with much greater composure in offence without losing any defensive intensity and stayed in the game mentally for pretty much the entire game. I hope the past few weeks have been a real confidence boost for the girls as we now turn our focus to State Champs and supporting the Redbacks teams who did make the finals.
It’s hard to pull out individual performances from such a great team effort. We had an even spread of scorers and everyone contributed well. This team has been a delight to coach – although listening skills could always improve 🙂

U16 Division 4 Girls – Geoff Alger

Lost to Joondalup 76-56

Coach comments:

Our girls started the game offensively very well and finished the game with some good ball movement and spacing.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to make up for the easy transition baskets and second shots we allowed a harder working Wolves outfit.
Fortunately, this is a great reminder of what we need to work on at training ahead of our elimination final against Mandurah next week.
The whole team really enjoyed some of Anais Adnams’ blocks. When she uses this super ability it lifts the whole team and it was nice to see some of the Wolves girls making adjustments for fear of her. We look forward to seeing more of that next week.
Aaliyah Nunes did a great job forcing jump ball after jump ball grabbing anything that came near her.

U18 Division 2 Girls White – Brayden Cook

Won against Joondalup Wolves 57-31

Coach comments:

We played well from the get-go, leading for the whole game. We were able to get out and run in transition allowing for easy baskets.
I was really pleased with the way Caitlin Lea played in extended mins. She played with confidence I haven’t seen in a few weeks and it was great she was able to be a threat offensively.
I have been asking Lucy Dowling to be more aggressive on the offensive end and today she showed that. When she was aggressive and attacking, good things happened!

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

Lost to Perry Lakes 110-52

Coach comments:

The girls hustled the entire game, particularly in the second half. The entire season they played like this, it didn’t matter the score. We took each quarter at a time and they continuously played hard, which is a massive credit to the girls considering it was the first WABL season for half of them.
Charlotte Horniman had a blinder with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal.
Emma Jones and Aaliyah Shelhot created havoc in defence, upsetting even the seasoned Hawks players.
Meg Capewell, Kirsty Slinger, Leilani Avia and Leanna Fernando all worked hard pulling down defensive rebounds.
Charlize Nicolaou, Jayda Corunna and Georgia Edwards all brought energy to the game when they stepped on the court, getting involved in most plays.

U12 Champs Boys – Dylan Vilardi

Won against Mandurah Magic 75-66

Coach comments:

Being the last game of the season, from the start of the game the team was engaged and eager to finish off on a win. Both offensively and defensively the whole team was locked in through the entire 32 minutes.
Tommy Lackovic’s confidence in being able to shoot the ball throughout the game was amazing! He was hitting pull up threes in transition and went 2/3 from the three-point line.
Xavier Allison had an amazing game from the effort side of things. I can say I saw Xav on the floor hustling for the ball about 10 times in this game.
Lucas Fry had a task to shut down the opposition’s top player and he came out off the bench to do a phenomenal job of that which led to some beautiful offence from Lucas
Parker Dunstan switched on once he was pushed and did an amazing job on the glass. Was physical and made smart choices out on the court.
Seb Bourne came off the bench with great energy and put 110% effort into the game

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

Lost to Perry Lakes 49-45

Coach comments:

This was one of the teams we were looking forward to a rematch with after not playing well against them the first time. We mixed things up playing full-court man-on-man defence which got us out to an early lead. The commitment and discipline of the boys who hadn’t played much full-court man all year was fantastic.
No individuals today because this was just a massive team effort with everyone contributing!
I will shout out our wonderful parent group though as they have been an awesome support for this team all season.

U12 Division 4 Boys White – Tyler Cusworth

Won against East Perth 55-48

Coach comments:

In a game in which the opposing team became quite heated and argumentative, our boys stuck to our team values. They held each other accountable and showed just how mature they are beyond their years. Very proud game as a coach.
Mitch Thompson has a great day, baskets come so easy to him with that euro step he has on lock.
I also thought Ollie Gruber was awesome! He’s a real handy addition to have back playing consistently and will definitely help us in finals.

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

Won against Hills Raiders 73-39

Coach comments:

It was important for us to finish the regular season strong and execute what we have been working on at training. After a bit of a shaky start, we started to move the ball well, finding open players and pushing the pace of the game.
Kimzy Matondo was exceptional for us carving up the opposition with strong drives and finishing as well as finding open teammates. He finished with 15 steals!
Ethan Kingsbury, Rhys Tan, Max Woods, Ethan Cooper and Justace Roberts were all big contributors today off the bench. They hustled hard, fought for rebounds, took good shots and played unselfish basketball.

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

Won against Perry Lakes 50-36

Coach comments:

We elevated again in delivering four quarters of extreme defensive pressure to hold the opposition to their season lowest score.
It’s a pleasure to watch our boys’ ability to withstand pressure, gain the advantage and close games out.
At the start of the season we set the team goal of ‘qualifying for finals’. We’ve not only done that, it’s been amazing to see 18 rounds of amazing development, a team that believes pressure is a privilege and work with a squad full of future NBL One stars.
Mason Clarke was significant in us winning with his ferocious attacking mentality, always putting the defence under pressure, either off the bounce, at the rim or stretching the floor hitting 4 threes.
Maks Lackovic did a great job off the bench at both ends and it was his best game of the season. Really efficient on offence and hit some big shots when it mattered.
It was the same for Jack Saliacus on the inside – as usual, his work rate was high at both ends of the floor.
Zac Anfuso was solid in his starting role, bringing pressure and physicality on ‘D’.
Romeo Lyszkowicz’s coverage, containment and reads created transition opportunities for the team with his high energy activity in black 30 defence.

U14 Division 2 Boys – Mitchell Jesson

Lost to Mandurah 68-62

Coach comments:

Our last game of the season and we really wanted to win this one to go out on a high note. We started strong and led going into the half – however stronger bodies won the day and our enthusiasm got us into foul trouble with some of our key players.
What pleased me the most was the energy from the team – everyone played hard, everyone contributed and everyone had a red hot go.
Cooper Hewer played a strong last quarter for us and most importantly to us all, looked to be really enjoying the game.
With our primary point guard in foul trouble, our speed demon Ewan Maclean got the job done with 0 turnovers.
Jay Hazell has been superb in the last half of the season and he got the job done again in this game: 21 points @62%, 5/5 free throws, 14 boards and a monster block.

U14 Division 3 Boys – Ron Flores (sponsored by Euroz Hartleys)

Won against East Perth 66-59

Coach comments:

The game was very physical and the players showed great resilience in playing through the contact.
It was a very tightly contested game and as it came down to the wire the players kept their composure and continued with the game plan.
The boys experienced how it was to play with a hostile crowd and it was great to see them rise above it and keep their cool.

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

Lost to Joondalup Wolves White 77-65

Coach comments:

This was a game where we exhibited good shot selection, full-court man pressure and strong rebounding efforts
Kobe Kalebic’s defence is what started most of our transitions into offence, picking off passes and getting steals
Seb Bourne and Tom Jakimowiez were dominant on the boards. They were also patient on the offensive end to make good passes which led to scores
Flynn Hamilton’s aggression to the basket brought us back in the game in the second half. He also delivered some great defensive plays.

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

Won against Warwick Senators Green 82-70

Coach comments:

We did an excellent job of maintaining defensive and scoreboard pressure on our opposition. Our opposition were particularly physical and determined to win as this would keep their season alive. However, it was pleasing to see all players keep a balanced mindset and finish the game off strongly.
Jaxon Sym shot the ball impressively and made smart decisions with the ball. He also exhibited defensive discipline when playing through foul trouble.
Harry Cuerden was decisive in guarding both smaller and bigger players throughout the game, as well as taking intelligent shots when they were available to him.
Riley Ford worked tirelessly in rebounding and guarding larger players. He also demonstrated a significant difference in his poise on the court when the opposition were trying to make runs to get themselves back into the game.

U16 Division 3 Boys White – Luke Simonette

Won against Warwick 82-74

Coach comments:

Awesome ball movement led the boys to a win against the top team in the league. Were very happy and comfortable slowing down offensively and finding the best possible shot. Defensively did well in terms of rotations to ensure no easy points for the regularly high scoring opposition
Hard to pick out individual performances when everyone fulfilled their roles perfectly but Taj Racey had a quiet 29 points and Sam Burnett pulled in 18 rebounds.

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

Won against Cockburn 101-66

Coach comments:

After a long stint of player injuries, we finally had all 10 players back and it absolutely showed with a dominant performance.
There was a great energy about the team with players supporting each other to apply maximum pressure with regular player rotations.
The opposition was surprised by the 5 off/5 on subs that consistently allowed us to increase the pressure being applied!
Every player this week deserves accolades.
We had seven players scoring double figures and five players that scored a three-pointer. I can’t recall coaching a WABL game with that stat!
The three players that didn’t hit double figures were outstanding (along with the team) in applying maximum pressure on D and moving the ball well to create opportunities.
We now need to bring this energy to finals!

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

BYE

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

Lost to Warwick 109-74

Coach comments:

We have been outsized most of the year but always show a real fight. This continued right up to the last game and it was good to see the energy and fight there even when it’s been a tough year.
Ethan Port Louis had a nice all-round game. He is always smaller and gives up a lot of weight but you can’t fault his ability to fight and stay competitive.
Victor Komaiya has been our only true big man all year. He’s battled hard against bigger opponents and teams but always holds his own.

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

Won against Joondalup 74-71

Coach comments:

Missing Jesse and Ethan, we only had 7 fit players for this game.
We started the game really well and played the style we wanted, getting out to a 23-4 lead in the first quarter. Wolves were not going to go down that easy, however, and clawed their way back into the game to keep us on our toes all game long. With three and a half minutes to go, we had our third player foul out so we had to finish the game with four players on the court. The boys showed grit, determination and pulled together to withstand the barrage from Wolves and hold their own to win the game.
Anthony Pelle, Oliver Pedley, Finn Warner and Lachlan Taylor were warriors to hold out for the last few minutes with 4 players to get the win.
Finn had another dominant game for us scoring 34 points, but it was a fantastic team effort all game. Everyone contributed in different ways.
Luis Uribe was great on the boards again.
Miguel Chaitika had a fantastic game as well, playing pressure defense and getting into the paint.

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

Won against East Perth 108-68

Coach comments:

Our defensive intensity was at a good level and we moved the ball really well in offence.
Shout out to Rob Watson who played back-to-back games after filling in for the 20s. His energy was still at a high level and he worked hard in the paint with Ethan out injured.

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

Lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 81-64

Coach comments:

We came out a little tentative on D when our game plan was to pressure this team. It put us in a hole but at half-time we responded, forcing a heap of turnovers and preventing Perry Lakes from executing their half-court sets. We got it back to 10 but their rebounding and conversion around the basket was our undoing. Despite the loss, we played well against a strong side. This effort completed a season to be proud of. We won 7 of our last 9 games, took down 4 of the top 6 teams and finished just short of finals.
Jake Vilardi had a big game for us. He shot the ball very well, got to the rim and to the free throw line as well. It was great to see the diversity of Jake’s game in full effect.
Mandla Magwenzi had a fantastic game bringing great pressure D, making great reads and attacking the lanes. Mandla’s growth and dedication to the team has been excellent.
Harry Maude had a strong impact in this game and made some great in-game adjustments. Harry’s shooting and passing have both taken a big leap this season.

U20 Men White – Michael Clarke

Lost to Perry Lakes 125-74

Coach comments:

We showed glimpses of what we are capable of but were no match for the best team in the competition, unfortunately.

U20 Men Grey – Rob Gordon

Won against Hills Raiders 96-74

Coach comments:

This was a full blown team effort, and after a challenging year, it was great to get our first win of the season, even with only 7 players taking the court. It was nice to showcase what we can do when we play structured basketball with some flair. The very best part was we also won all four quarters even when pushed at one point in the game.
And while this truly was a team effort where each player ended up on the scoresheet, I will shout out Josh Dohler 28 points, Cooper Mason 26 points, Kaden Morcombe 17 points and Riley Burnett 15 points.