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 14 WABL games went.
Women’s results and coach comments
12 Red – Josh Wallace (sponsored by Welsh Real Estate)
BYE
12 White – John Care (sponsored by DLA Piper)
Lost to Kalamunda 53-31
John loved seeing:
- Despite the fact that the team is still doing it tough with injuries, we put a lot of heart and effort into this game against a strong Kalamunda. Unfortunately, foul trouble left us with only 4 players in the end but the girls didn’t give up.
- Remy Sumich had a fantastic game today taking it to Kalamunda in her best offensive game this season and solid defensive performance too.
14 Red – Bri Bailey (sponsored by Allen Physiotherapy)
Won against South West Slammers 47-26
Bri loved seeing:
- The girls gave it their all and were supporting one another the whole game. The bench was cheering the whole game also which uplifted the energy on and off the court.
- This was an all-round team effort but special mention to:
- Olivia Bennison who showed great aggression both inside and also when moving out to the short corner while the ball was being driven to the basket for a little dish and jumper.
- Lily Leeder who controlled the pace of the game and dished out some good assists!
14 White – Haylee Smyth (sponsored by Mount Lawley Orthodontics)
Won against Joondalup White 64-26
Hayley loved seeing:
- Harriet Woods had an excellent defensive game and kept her player well-contained.
- Saoirse Smart had another excellent rebounding game.
- Blaise Stancil would have had double figures in deflections which is a great effort.
14 Black – Zac Belton (sponsored by HPH Solutions)
Lost against Warwick Senators 54-42
Zac loved seeing:
- The girls played hard and remained motivated to continue and finished the season strong. I am so proud of the whole team in how they went out fighting.
- Matilda Wyatt had a fantastic game on the boards and took on a tough assignment. She played a terrific game today and I’m super proud.
- Alice Inman had one of her goofy games for us but begun a momentum shift after scoring 5 straight points bringing us to within 3 points.
- Talia Bentley was the most aggressive I’ve ever seen her in a basketball game and she was so effective because of it.
- Olivia Mirco really pushed the pace on offense and showed she can be relied upon to create for her teammates.
16 Red – Adrian Warner
Won against Perry Lakes Hawks 74-55
Adrian loved seeing:
- We maintained our good form of the past few weeks and sustained another solid 4 quarter effort against a side that beat us in the first round to achieve a 20+ point turnaround. Our defensive intensity was great and we had much better spacing and ball movement in the offensive half court.
- Grace Dalton played her best game for the season. She was confident bringing the ball up the court and attacked the basket hard to great effect.
- Amber de Rossi showed how dominant she could be when she attacks the basket with energy.
- Sagal Elmi stayed out of foul trouble again and played with high energy and was much more team-oriented but still managed to score a heap of points.
- Jasmine Wynn made it look easy at times with some strong post moves – we just need to learn how to get the ball to her at the right time.
- Caitlin Lea was strong at both ends and showed great desire for the ball.
- Joia Kowaleski was solid as usual, particularly on D, and was in the thick of it all game.
- Indi Ennis played with much more confidence, better spacing and decision making and as a result found some nice shot opportunities.
- Chloe Hind played with greater on-ball defensive intensity and forced a couple of turnovers in mid-court that helped stem a mini-run by the Hawks.
- Tyra Moody’s mid-court pressure, energy in transition and effort on the boards at both ends set the standard for the team.
16 White – Bryn Arnold (sponsored by Build Well Group)
Won against Rockingham 46-45
Bryn loved seeing:
- As I said last week, the character of this team is first class. After controlling most of the first three quarters we found ourselves down six points early in the fourth. But the team fought their way back and ground out a win to finish the season off in style – a little reward for all their hard work throughout the season. The team has come a long way this season and it’s a shame it’s over as we were just starting to find our feet. The progress they have made was fantastic and I would like to thank everyone for the efforts throughout the season.
- Issy Woods’ effort on both ends of the floor, week in and week out, was first class. She again led the team in scoring this week. (Please practice your free throws Issy ?)
- Amelia Weber was again tenacious on the glass and had her best offensive game for the year scoring at crucial times.
- Everyone scored and everyone contributed at critical points in the game. Overall it was a great team effort that got the W. Well done.
18 Red – Brayden Cook
Won against Mandurah Magic 55-46
Brayden loved seeing:
- I was happy that the girls kept their focus during the game and played as a team. We were able to make the opposition quite tired when we pushed the ball quickly down the court into our offense. We did well to counter their zone defense and get really good shots from the outside.
- Mickayla Little was again a standout with 17 points including 5 three’s.
- Porscha Barnes was great on the defensive end being very disruptive and causing steals/turnovers.
- Kerry Hayden continues to be reliable with 13 points once she had her shoes on her feet!!
Men’s results and coach comments
12 Red – Brad Dowd (sponsored by Swish Publishing)
Won against Lakeside Lightning 55-46
Brad loved seeing:
- It wasn’t our best game to finish the season on, but the boys did enough to get the win. Well done to them all for a great season and bad luck on missing out on playing finals by only 1 win.
- Lionel Chitiyo had a great game, shooting 100% from the field in the first half.
- As a team, we dominated the boards. Cooper Hewer led the way with nearly 20 rebounds and was well-supported by Jaden Exeter and Jalen Dunstan.
12 Black – Ron Flores
Lost to Warwick Senators White 49-38
Ron loved seeing:
- The way the team came together and supported each other
- We had a balanced team effort today with everyone contributing.
12 White – Dylan Vilardi
BYE
12 Grey – Jacob Kelly (sponsored by Woods Midland)
Won against Kalamunda 43-25
Jacob loved seeing:
- As a team, we played very well in containing our man on defence and getting big rebounds
- Max Woods had an awesome game and dropped 8 points while playing some fantastic defence. Liam Shelhot had a wicked game of rebounding.
14 Red – Colin Driscoll (sponsored by Welsh Real Estate)
Lost to Lakeside Lightning 68-46
Colin loved seeing:
- After a slow start saw us down by 10, we fought hard to get in front in the second half. Basketball being a game of runs unfortunately then saw a lapse which put us in the hole by 18 at the half. The second half effort was very pleasing, however, as we matched them most of the way.
- The defensive efforts of Ethan Harders and Evan Berson
14 Black – Ash Brian (sponsored by Masterwall)
Lost to Warwick Senators 30-40
Ash loved seeing:
- This was the game of the year for us. It took until the last game of the season to pull it together, but the boys were disciplined in sticking to the game plan, which we knew would rattle Warwick as the top team.
- Today was all about a team effort. We have been talking about and preparing for this game for weeks. We tweaked our press breaker 4-5 weeks ago in preparation and slowly worked on it. The boys were disciplined in defence and stuck to the plan, which was evident by keeping the undefeated Warwick to their lowest score for the year.
14 White – Al Lackovic (sponsored by IMO)
Won against Cockburn Blue 79-48
Al loved seeing:
- The boys trained the house down this week taking intensity and quality to the next level. This standard transferred to the game and TOGETHER they executed containment rules and intense defensive pressure for four quarters yet again. The team smashed another goal in having our lowest turnover game as we extended our winning streak to 14 games.
- Paint beasts Jack Saliacus, Ben Galvin, Romeo Lyskowicz and Sam Peirce ensured we dominated the rebound count yet again.
- Kade Mendes showed great defensive hustle that led to team transition assist/buckets.
- Jerry Davies also showed great defensive hunt and hustle feeding a career-best day.
- Hamish Gibson, James Bowen and Zac Anfuso’s ability to execute our plan and always be in control and to ensure reads over rules was excellent.
14 Grey – Alex Maude (sponsored by Hartleys)
Lost to East Perth Eagles Red 50-45
Alex loved seeing:
- Our full-court pressure, good shot selection and excellent help defence
- Griffin William-Antulov’s non-stop rebounding efforts, didn’t give up on any rebound and made the good outlet pass to start transition
- Cleon Ryder’s defensive effort was a standout, reading the opposition’s passes and stealing the ball off the dribble. His aggression to the basket was also really good and made the good passes to teammates that are open
- Jamie Wilson’s driving force on the offensive end resulted in him scoring or drawing multiple defenders and passing to an open teammate.
- In his first game back after injuring his finger, Ben Maine showed that he hadn’t lost the aggression he was improving on. Attacking the rim and using his speed to get back on defence and prevent multiple scores.
16 Red – Luke Notley
Lost to Warwick Senators 128-88
Luke loved seeing:
- It was tough for the last game of the season to be playing one of the top teams again for the second time. We did well to battle through the game and we did a great job getting Senators onto the back foot in the early part of the game which made them adjust.
16 Black – Bevan Rankin (sponsored by MSP Electrical)
Won against Lakeside 74-67
Bevan loved seeing:
- This was our best game of the year. All the boys contributed and we led from start to finish to beat a very good Lakeside team for the second time this year. (It’s a little frustrating that they will finish above us and play finals!)
- The whole team’s effort and intensity was amazing.
- I absolutely love this bunch of boys, I love how they approached this season and this game just could not have ended our season on a better note. Great season boys.
16 White – Mark Edman
Won against Rockingham 92-56
Mark loved seeing:
- The first quarter was the best defence our team has produced all year. Everyone did their job and held the opposition to 6 points.
- Our ability to run transition straight out of our hard work on defence allowed layups instead of setting up.
- Hamish Elder, Jaxon Sym, Drew Corry and Alistair Hartmann played the best defence they’ve played all year.
- Cameron Ford had a great shooting performance.
- Mani Ngugi and Harry Cuerden got the job done inside.
- Harrison Clarke was his usual consistent self at the point.
- Well done Harry Wheatland (train on) who played his first WABL game!
16 Grey – Michael Riley (sponsored by Swan River Electrical)
Lost to Mandurah Magic 78-47
18 Red – Gavin Burnett
Won against Mandurah Magic 87-56
Gavin loved seeing:
- This was probably our most complete performance in this season. We started aggressively in defence which set the tone for the game. The starters secured a 23/0 lead within five minutes of play and then the bench continued the good work and we finished 37/8 at the quarter time break. We won the boards, easily won the turnover count, forcing 41 turnovers while only conceding 13 for the game ourselves. We took a staggering 40 more shots at goal than the opposition and if our radar was on, we would have produced a mammoth score. However, having every player hit the court in every quarter and every player having at least 16 minutes of court time for the game and making a contribution in a comprehensive win was the most rewarding aspect of our win.
- Every player in the team made a contribution to the win. Every player on the court grabbed at least 3 rebounds each, nine players contributed an assist, no player had more than 3 turnovers, nine players scored and eight of those contributed more than 6 points each. It was an even team performance built on aggressive defence and unselfish offence. Owen Pang, Harper Gadsby and Joshua Draper set the tone with an almost impenetrable press that resulted in 14 first-quarter turnovers for the opposition. We never looked back. Owen dropped in 12 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 6 assists and had 2 steals: Harper finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while Josh contributed 8 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists and a staggering 8 steals.
- Our starting bigs, Vic Komaiya and Mitch Nixon guarded the paint and made life generally difficult for the opposition. Vic top scored with 16 points, grabbed 8 boards and had 3 steals (VPS 1.88). Mitch had 4 pts, 3 rebounds and 4 blocks and made a very solid defensive contribution with his presence in the key. Our bench continued to apply the pressure and they all hit the court for at least 16 minutes of court time. Connor Rothman led the way for the bench, finishing with 16 pts, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals (all in 22 minutes); Riley Burnett had 7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists providing solid back up for the starting bigs on the boards. Cooper Mason stepped up again and contributed 9 points including an amazing tip-in/put back over a Mandurah defender. He also grabbed 3 rebounds and 3 had steals. Tobey Martin dropped in a couple of nice 3s and had 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Ryan Duke Yonge pulled in 4 rebounds and dished out an assist. Overall, it was a complete team performance and a great way to end the season in what is the last game of junior basketball for most of these boys. Good news for Redbacks and bad news for the rest of the 18s competition next year is that they will have to face the formidable Redbacks duo of Vic Komaiya and Josh Draper again.
18 White – Simon Daff
BYE
18 Grey – Carlos Uribe
Lost to Lakeside 82-52
Carlos loved seeing:
- Despite knowing we were out of the race for finals, the team came with great attitude and determination during the first half of the game and even in the second half when we started losing ground, the bench kept on cheering the team up.
- The whole team played a great first half in this game.
20 Red – David Swaby (sponsored by Della Franca Farms)
Lost to Hawks 83-69
Dave loved seeing:
- The guys came into this game with a strong desire to get the win. It wasn’t our day but we’re in finals so there will be a chance to reset and go again this Sunday
20 Black – Luke Simonette (sponsored by AddStyle Cabinets)
Lost to Willetton 114-70
Luke loved seeing:
- Most impressed with the 40-minute effort displayed by the boys. Everyone did what was required of them on both ends of the court. Attitude towards the game, each other and officials was sublime as usual
- Caleb Kingston – Great energy
- Tyler Hardy – Good shot selection
- Matt Wallwork – Great defensive effort