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 11 WABL games went.
Women’s results and coach comments
12 RED – Josh Wallace
Won against East Perth 83-30
Josh loved seeing:
- The girls were relentless defensively, which led to the eagles forcing bad shots and turning the ball over constantly. The girls spacing and ball movement in transition and the half-court were the best they’ve been all season.
- Sasha Nona had her best game of the season. Her running the wings in transition led to a lot of layup opportunities and she spaced and positioned herself perfectly in the half-court, again giving herself a lot of quality looks.
- Millie Stancil showed strong improvement in her understanding of split line help and the pass and cut concept on offense. Was great to see her have such a strong game in these areas.
- Michelle Ninyette was smothering on the defensive end. She was hunting passing lanes and harassing ball carriers from start to finish and would have easily finished with 10+ steals.
12 WHITE – John Care
Lost to Willetton 44-8
John loved seeing:
- This was a game where not a lot went to plan, unfortunately. But it was also an opportunity to try different combinations of players out on the court.
14 RED – Bri Bailey
Lost to Rockingham Flames White 53-48
Bri loved seeing:
- The girls stuck together for the whole game and worked so well as a team.
- Every individual played their role perfectly
14 WHITE – Haylee Smyth
Won against East Perth 76-31
Hayley loved seeing:
- The way we executed our defence, especially after half time, was outstanding and kept East Perth to 11 points in the second half. Our high-pressure defence allowed us to run on offensively and our passing up the court was excellent. I loved the way everyone played their role for the team.
- Miki Deshon’s defensive intensity and decision making were again highlights.
- Blaise Stancil’s defence was the best we have seen all season, at the front of our press she set the tempo for our defence.
- Kate Anderson was outstanding at getting into the right spots and reading the game to get lots of intercepts.
- Ebony Cox was much more aggressive offensively which was great and getting into the lanes was very good in the last quarter.
- Matilda Pyne’s defence was very good; she was able to set good double teams and intercept when she needed to. Her offensive decision making was also greatly improved
- Steph Hunt’s ability to contain an offensive player
- Harriet Woods had much-improved decision making and her defence in the last quarter was especially good.
- Jade Warner was aggressive offensively and she had some good box-outs.
- Saoirse Smart rebounded the ball really well.
14 BLACK – Zac Belton
Won against East Perth 30-28
Zac loved seeing:
- The scoring load being shared by everyone. I was also impressed with the girls’ ability to relax on offense and be more patient.
- Alex Temby’s confidence really flourished this game hitting some clutch shots to give us the lead. She also took the role of getting up on inbounders and setting an example for all the other girls, a fantastic job this week.
- Keira Tran did a fantastic job of getting into positions to score, and while they might not always drop, just being in a position to score makes her a threat.
16 RED – Adrian Warner
Lost to East Perth Eagles 50-44
Adrian loved seeing:
- It was a close and tight game throughout and we had our chances to win. It was great to see the mental toughness from the entire team to stay focused when it looked like the game might get away from us in the second quarter. We were much better bringing the ball down against a press and with our foul discipline this week although in the end we still lost it on the FT line.
- Although she fouled out Sagal Elmi stayed on the court for longer this week, brought great energy and led the scoring for us. Jasmin Wynn was strong on the boards at both ends against some really tough opponents. Caitlin Lea worked really hard and had much more intensity and great voice this week – displaying some good leadership on the court.
16 WHITE – Bryn Arnold
BYE
18 RED – Brayden Cook
Lost to Perry Lakes 59-55
Brayden loved seeing:
- The girls stuck to our structure and ran through our offense well. We were getting some good shots and scoring opportunities because we were disciplined and stayed within our structure all game.
- Kaja Todorovic played a great game again with a double-double. 12 points, 11 rebounds.
- Sydney Midgley was impressive on the rebounds finishing with 13 boards.
- Kerry Hayden continues to be consistent scoring 13 points with 3 three-pointers
Men’s results and coach comments
12 RED – Brad Dowd
Lost to East Perth 63-52
Brad loved seeing:
- We went into this game missing two of our starters and leading scorers (due to injury) and after a slow start, found ourselves down by 11 at quarter time. The boys rallied beautifully in the second quarter to be down only 1 at half-time. At which point the game had to be relocated due to the court being slippery. After waiting nearly an hour to re-start our game, the third quarter went point for point and this continued until mid-way through the fourth quarter at which point we ran out of steam and missed some opportunities. But all in all, it was a great effort by the 8 boys.
- Jaden Exeter (17 points, 10 rebounds) was again solid in the big man role. Jaxon Kowal (12 points, 3 assists, 3 steals) and Cooper Poustie (10 points, 4 assists) really stepped up this game and had a major impact.
12 BLACK – Ron Flores
Lost to Perry Lakes Blue 63-52
Ron loved seeing:
- The boys rally back from a big deficit. They were first to the floor and were really encouraging towards each other and the atmosphere was great as they reduced a 17 point deficit down to 5 leading into the 4th.
- Deacon Hollow really stepped up on both ends of the floor. He kept our team within contact of the opposition.
- Lennox Lyszkowicz showed great fight for the ball and rebounding effort even though being greatly outnumbered.
- Jackson Doyle controlled the game tempo really well and found teammates in the correct spots at the right time.
12 WHITE – Dylan Vilardi
Won against East Perth 53-46
Dylan loved seeing:
- The team being able to hold it together when it seemed the opposition had the advantage with more energy and a few runs in the last quarter. We stayed strong, didn’t let them get to us and continued to play Redbacks basketball
- Raj Berry came off the bench and did an amazing job on the intangibles, such as boxing out, hustling on the ball, cutting with purpose and bringing energy on the court. He had about 10 easy baskets just off a simple back screen BLOB play.
12 GREY – Jacob Kelly
Lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 44-29
Jacob loved seeing:
- Toby Deshon played a great game and work hard the whole game.
14 RED – Colin Driscoll
Lost to Willetton 69-42
Colin loved seeing:
- We never gave up, listened well and had good success with adjustments we made, and shared the ball well.
- Riley Panizza’s decision making was outstanding, particularly his passing in the third quarter.
- Noah Rees-Turner, Sasha Zugic and Declan Kenny did a great job in slowing the opposition’s superstar as the game progressed.
14 BLACK – Ash Brian
Lost to Willetton White 54-50 in OT
Ash loved seeing:
- We went into the game undermanned. Considering our strength is our bigs and rebounding, having no Ollie Graham was always going to make it difficult for us to compete against one of the Willetton powerhouse teams. We knew Andrew Cook and Romain Suraweera would have to play a bulk of the 4 and 5 man minutes with Caden Kelemanis supporting throughout the game. While they were tired at the end of regular time, that was the moment I felt our pre-season fitness training and the running we do at the end of every regular training session really paid off. Andrew, Romain and Caden were absolute workhorses today, all the way to the very last minute.
- Stirling Barnett was an absolute beast today. He was everywhere pulling down boards as one of the smallest players on the court. He was in the lanes getting steals or causing deflections and he was running back on D to stop transition layups and to protect the paint.
- As a team, we did a great job executing our offence. Our offense is designed to get us open shots and when all of the guards are getting twice to three-times more shots than usual, then we know our offense is working. So well done to the guards (particularly Xander Fry and Seb Bourne) for reading the play, knowing when to drive and taking those mid-range set shots that the team worked so hard to create.
14 WHITE – Al Lackovic
Won against Kalamunda 73-26
Al loved seeing:
- Our work rate, hustle, commitment to team first principals and humble approach at both training and the game ensured we supported each other for all 32mins of Sunday’s game.
- Hamish Gibson’s role as floor general, managing tempo and executing our O and D sets.
- Romeo Lyszkowicz, Samuel Pierce, Ben Galvin and Jack Saliacus’ PAINT BEAST mentality to ensure our 2:1 domination on the boards and constant voice.
- Zac Anfuso’s neverending pressure, leadership and support.
14 GREY – Alex Maude
Lost to Joondalup Green 65-43
Alex loved seeing:
- Our defensive footwork, help defence, running the lanes in transition, good shot selection, rebounding
- Cooper Thomson’s defence was a standout, moving his feet and getting in front of the opposition, confident when bringing the ball up the floor and smart passes which lead to scores
- Cleon Ryder’s defence when playing full-court press and help defence didn’t go unnoticed as well. His awareness on the floor enabled him to pick off passes and get steals
- Mateo Rea’s aggression on offence was the best all season, he attacked the rim and got rewarded with scores or headed to the free throw. His hustle on the loose ball was also great, as the smallest player in the court, he throws his body on the line, wanting the ball more than anyone
- Jamie Wilson is very ball smart and that showed on the offensive end, drawing multiple defenders on the drive and giving the smart pass to a teammate cutting the basket or set up for an open shot
16 RED – Luke Notley
Won against Willetton Tigers 95-77
Luke loved seeing:
- We played better defence than last week, pressured the ball well and played better team basketball than last week
- Finn Warner continues to put up a solid game each week. Jake Vilardi, Ari Menogue and Brayden Atwell were solid off the bench and kept the defensive pressure on. Zviko Tinayenda, Malik Powell and Charlie Morcombe had great solid games that put our team into a great position to win the game.
16 BLACK – Bevan Rankin
Won against East Perth 82-80
Bevan loved seeing:
- Our attitude. We went down 14 in the second quarter, but we never dropped our heads and stuck to our processes.
- Our rebounding was elite, led by Daniel Ryan and Ethan Saliacus, we managed to limit East Perth to one shot on most occasions.
- Daniel was also a monster on the offensive boards and gave us multiple opportunities.
- Ethan Saliacus was also dominant on the offensive end and provided a great target on the inside and finished well.
- Kade McMillan was again outstanding and did what he does on the offensive end scoring 32 points and leading the team.
- Jesse Overmars and Akira Rowe-Fox provided some valuable minutes off the bench.
16 WHITE – Mark Edman
BYE
16 GREY – Michael Riley
Lost to Joondalup Wolves 65-43
18 RED – Gavin Burnett
Lost to Cockburn Cougars 101-72
Gavin loved seeing:
- We went into the game against the equal top team with only seven (7) fit players and missing three regular starters. However, we agreed as a unit that we would give everything we had and play aggressive defence and free-flowing offence. We executed our strategy brilliantly in the first half and but for a few turnovers against their press, we were the equal of one of the best teams in the comp. Incredibly proud of the efforts of these “Magnificent 7” that did not take a backward step and left nothing out there on the court by the end of the game. The margin does not reflect fairly how well these boys played as we simply ran out of legs in the last five minutes.
- This week all seven players who hit the floor made a contribution. We had two players record double-doubles with points and rebounds – Josh Draper and Riley Burnett with 12 points apiece and at least that number of rebounds each in a strong performance on the boards at both ends. Tobey Martin top-scored with 17 points but was also hard working in defence. Mitch Nixon was a strong presence in the keyway, grabbing numerous boards and forcing shot changes. Connor Rothman and Ryan Duke-Yonge busted their guts on defence and ran the floor hard both ways. Cooper Mason had his best WABL game and would have made 10 points but for his final second dunk attempt in the fourth quarter that bounced out. Cooper has improved his defence substantially from the beginning of the season and is making some great decisions in offence and making some great passes to players in scoring positions.
18 WHITE – Simon Daff
Lost to South West Slammers 83-76
18 GREY – Carlos Uribe
Won against Rockingham White 93-64
Carlos loved seeing:
- The team was with great enthusiasm and high energy level from the very beginning. In the court or on the bench players were integrated, cheering and talking to each other
- Stephen Phipps and Anthony Pelle guided the team with enthusiasm and great scoring, while Kaden Morocombe had double figures (11-13) on rebounding and scoring and Lachlan Taylor (9-12). Rest of the team contributed a lot in all aspects. Great team effort!!!
20 RED – David Swaby
Won against Lakeside Lightning 111-76
Dave loved seeing:
- How we really locked in and showed our dominant potential when it counted most. The execution and intensity especially on the defensive as well.
- Lachie Bertram followed up his season-high 51 points with a 54 point effort this week which was more impressive considering we trailed for more than half the game against a quality team. Definitely want to highlight a great game by Jacob Kelly who really led the charge defensively and was the spirit of our team. His aggressiveness offensively and defensively was contagious. Ronan Coppin’s consistency on both ends is truly impressive and really sets the tone for us.
20 BLACK – Luke Simonette
Lost to Kalamunda 91-78
Luke loved seeing:
- Very proud about how the boys approached the game. Pushed a top 3 team to be within 2 points with minutes left. Offensive execution is growing, as well as spacing principles when we are in a scrambled set. Both zone and man defence was good and consistent
- Tyler Hardy – 37 point performance
- Caleb Norman – Great all-round performance offensively
- James Vegvary – Played his defensive role great, got out on fast breaks