This Weekly WABL Wrap is brought to you by Baskin & Robbins East Victoria Park (828A Albany Highway, East Victoria Park). Every WABL player in our club will receive a 2 for 1 voucher from them this week so make sure you head into the store in the next couple of weeks for some cool and yummy ice-cream action after your game!
Women’s results and coach comments
12 RED – Joshua Wallace
Won against East Perth Eagles 73-23
Josh loved seeing:
- Ella Welsh’s on-ball pressure
- Michelle Ninyette chasing down offensive players in transition
- Sasha Nona sprinting to get open in offensive transition
- Leeshar and Mafa Tuialii’s rebounding
- Overall, this was a real team win. Every girl applied lots of ball pressure and hunted the passing lanes. Every girl was putting their body on the line and diving on loose balls. Everyone was sprinting to get back on D and gave the Eagles nothing easy from start to finish. Offensively, the girls lived up to our team rule of “passing up good shots for great shots” and our scoring spread reflected this. We had eight girls play today, with our lowest scorer putting up 6 points and our top scorer putting up 18.
12 WHITE – John Care
Lost to Willetton 44-38
John loved seeing:
- Given we were down by 20 points at one stage, I was so pleased we didn’t give up. It was a great effort to only go down by 6 in the end. Our team showed heart, pushed through and helped each other to the end.
- Ava Wolfenden hustled and pushed through with her defence in the second half. That helped pressure Willetton and forced them to turn the ball over multiple times.
14 RED – Bri Bailey
Lost to Hills Raiders 56-38
Bri loved seeing:
- Our team really clicked towards the end of the game and worked together well.
- The way Abbey Macham was aggressive and attacked the basket. Awesome defence too.
14 WHITE – Haylee Smyth
Won against East Perth 46-35
Hayley loved seeing:
- How well our team worked together when the scores were close.
- Kate Anderson fought hard for rebounds, played good defence and chose good options offensively
14 BLACK – Zac Belton
Lost against Mandurah Magic 53-18
Zac loved seeing:
- Our team handled pressure a lot better this week than last. Our offense was patient – shots just weren’t falling.
- Gabby Manalo’s incredible defensive efforts
- Alex Temby’s countless encouragement for the team.
- Matilda Wyatt’s aggression and put back points.
16 RED – Adrian Warner
Lost against East Perth Eagles 56-53
Adrian loved seeing:
- We maintained a high level of defensive pressure for the entire game and some of the defensive transition principles we had worked on during the week started to be applied. We had a huge increase in our voice, including from the bench and it paid off.
- Amber De Rossi was super intense on the midcourt intercepts and generated a lot of turnovers.
- Joia Kowaleski made the adjustment in spacing we spoke about pre-game and also applied herself diligently to instructions I gave during time outs and was rewarded with a lot more court time.
16 WHITE – Anne-Marie and Bryn Arnold
Won against Joondalup Wolves 46-32
Anne-Marie and Bryn loved seeing:
- Every time we got challenged our players responded.
- Mia Connors and Amelia Weber getting their first WABL wins!
18 RED – Brayden Cook
Won against Willetton 67-49
Brayden loved seeing:
- Our team’s effort and ability to adjust to playing against a zone. We were able to keep calm and have the discipline to get a great scoring opportunity instead of settling for an outside shot.
- Kerry Hayden and her ability to continue her elite shooting with 5 three’s finishing with 15 points. Mickayla Little was also reliable with 15 points of her own. This week also saw an opportunity for our train on Jayda Corunna to play, she brought great energy and effort in her time on the court.
Men’s results and coach comments
12 RED – Brad Dowd
Won against East Perth Eagles 65-41
Brad loved seeing:
- The great energy and hustle our whole team displayed
- Individual players executing a role to the benefit of the team
- Cooper Poustie and Flynn Hamilton being given the defensive job on the opposition’s best player and doing a great job limiting his impact on the game.
12 BLACK – Ron Flores
Lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 62-50
Ron loved seeing:
- The way a few players really stepped up to the challenge of the game.
- The whole team’s effort and intensity in the fourth quarter as it really showed their potential.
- Jackson Doyle’s intensity on both ends of the floor was great and he showed great leadership.
- Tommy Jakimowiez really battled hard on both ends of the floor and is really starting to show his potential.
- Lennox Lyszkowicz also had a great game on both ends and showed his willingness to work hard.
12 WHITE – Dylan Vilardi
Won against East Perth Eagles 64-28
Dylan loved seeing:
- Team defence is what won us this game. The first four possessions of the game we had an 8-0 run which was all off either deflections, steals, or defensive stops which led into a fast break or a good offensive set.
- While Caeden Olowoyo was our leading scorer, I particularly want to highlight how outstanding his hustle on defence was. There wasn’t a single possession where he would jog back or drop his head on a mistake. Caeden got fouled extremely hard at one point in the game but did not let it get to him. He just shot his free throws and came back harder.
12 GREY – Jacob Kelly
Lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 26-44
Jacob loved seeing:
- Our team’s defensive efforts
- Luka Delic playing really good defence and getting a lot of rebounds
14 RED – Colin Driscoll
Lost to Willetton 39-86
Colin loved seeing:
- An improvement in spacing and movement from last week’s game.
- How Ethan Harders grew in confidence as the game progressed. He displayed a gritty attitude under great pressure
14 BLACK – Ash Brian
Lost to Willetton 53-55 in overtime
Ash loved seeing:
- Great game today even though we lost in the end! We talked prior to the game about owning the paint and for 95% of the game we did that very well.
- Andrew Cook is improving at an extremely fast rate!
- Stirling Barnett was given a starting role and really stepped up to the challenge.
14 WHITE – Al Lackovic
Won against Cockburn Blue 60-34
Al loved seeing:
- Our team’s defensive talk which increased in the second half and our energy on the court for four quarters
- Romeo Lyszkowicz’s defensive efforts to anticipate the pass for multiple (5) intercepts
- Hamish Gibson’s ability to change gears and create offence with speed.
- The ability of Jack Saliacus and Ben Galvin to adjust when our offensive play calls changed.
14 GREY – Alex Maude
Lost to East Perth Eagles 54-43
Alex loved seeing:
- Our hustle for the ball, perimeter ball movement, shooting, defence.
- The way all the boys fought hard throughout the game and that they got reward for that effort in the last quarter.
16 RED – Luke Notley
Won against Cockburn 86-68
Luke loved seeing:
- Our shell defence was solid, we competed for rebounds and played a good team game.
16 BLACK – Bevan Rankin
Won against Willetton Tigers 75-56
Bevan loved seeing:
- The players communicated really well on the court and their rebounding effort was excellent.
- Kade McMillan was outstanding on the offensive end scoring 24 points. More importantly, however, he was also the ultimate floor general and got the entire team involved in the game.
16 WHITE – Mark Edman
Won against Hills Raiders 73-41
Mark loved seeing:
- Our second half was amazing on both ends with all 8 players contributing
- Drew Corry played a fantastic game on both ends. Taking charges!
16 GREY – Michael Riley
Lost to Willetton Tigers 78-44
Michael loved seeing:
- That we didn’t drop our heads in face of the scoreline and there were patches in the game where our defence was really great.
- The way Owen Kraft listens to what he is told when a play is broken down and then executes on what he heard.
18 RED – Gavin Burnett
Won against Kalamunda Eastern Suns 83-69
Gavin loved seeing:
- The intense effort on defence, particularly in the first half where we restricted the opposition to just 28 points. Players were sprinting back into defence, closing out perimeter shooters, protecting the paint and rebounding as a unit.
- The effort from our starters was outstanding. Victor Komaiya was brilliant with 16 rebounds and 26 points. He dominated the paint despite being the smallest ‘big’ on the floor. Josh Draper finished with 25 points and 7 rebounds despite some very close attention on defence. Harper Gadsby was outstanding at both ends of the floor and was only one rebound off a triple double (15 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds) and had a Value Point Score (VPS) of 2.97. Mitch Nixon with 7 blocks and 4 deflections constantly forced the opposition to change their shots. Off the bench, Riley Burnett was best with 6 rebounds, 6 assists and three steals and a VPS of 2.17.
18 WHITE – Simon Daff
Won against Willetton 78-72
Simon loved seeing:
- That we can find a way to win despite not playing our best
- Maxx Della Franca – he plays the game the right way, plays very physically for an undersized player based on his position in the team and had a very solid game.
18 GREY – Carlos Uribe
Won against East Perth Eagles 61-56
Carlos loved seeing:
- Excellent team attitude from the very beginning with high intensity energy level and great effort in the paint, dominating the rebounds on a team that was bigger and stronger. Also great passing to and positioning of the big guys.
- Our big guys performed very well: Abdullahi Mohamedhashi, Kaden Morcombe, Robert Watson and Lachlan Taylor. They made the difference. Our wings, Oliver Pedley, Luis Felipe Uribe Carrero, Dhaarsh Krisshnan Murithi and Jafari Davison also spaced well and drove hard to the basket well which opened up opportunities for everyone.
20 RED – David Swaby
Won against Perry Lakes Hawks 90-74
Dave loved seeing:
- The locked-in focus and intensity from each player on the court and on the bench for the entire game. We did a great job of paying attention to detail, executing and really supporting each other.
- Lachie Bertram had a big game with 31 points but I really thought this was a complete team effort, especially defensively, working as a unit.
20 BLACK – Luke Simonette
Lost to Kalamunda Eastern Suns 105-75
Luke loved seeing:
- The good efforts in defensive transition and boxing out (which admittedly came in spurts!)
- Tyler Hardy’s persistent offensive efforts
- The leadership shown by Eddie Farquadson
- Caleb Norman’s great help defence