Weekly WABL Wrap

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 7 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 Cockburn 82-20

Coach comments:

I was really pleased with the girls’ effort to sprint and get out in transition and their ability to keep their head up and pass the ball up the court when they could.
I was happy to see the girls continue to put in maximum effort for the full game, even though there was a large gap on the scoreboard.
Scarlett Hill came back into the lineup after rehabbing a fractured wrist and played a great game. Was great to have her back on the court.
Lainey Panizza showed great improvement on the defensive side of the court. Was pleasing to see her hard work paying off.
Jem Barr was unfortunately out due to an ankle injury but she used her experience and knowledge to talk to the girls while they were on the bench and help them out as much as she could.

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

Lost to Warwick 46-28

Coach comments:

This game was very physical and fast-paced but the girls kept their cool and played very selfless basketball. The girls gave 110% for the whole 32 minutes and never once thought that they couldn’t win, which at their age is an amazing mindset to have.
Sasha Kuan played amazing help defence, shutting down the other team on the drive.
Anabella Lewis did an amazing job at reading the passing lanes, getting quite a few steals.
Ada Mourish-Burke’s outlet passes led to many open layups for her teammates.

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

Won against Hills Raiders 40-25

Coach comments:

Hills was a team that had several confident and skilled shooters and it was challenging at the start of the game to defend their tallest shooter. In the second quarter the girls responded to our new focus points and became 1) more vocal both on and off the court, 2) strengthened the help defence and 3) ran faster than ever before!! The result was that we forced them into more than 6 turnovers in the second half
All of the girls contributed strongly today.
Nadia Slee was vital to our shutting down shooters, with speed, communication and amazing footwork.
Mia Exeter created 2 turnovers through her fast decisions and being the “brick”.
Jacinta Wladyka shot amazingly well and also assisted well from the top of the key as did Allegra Care.
Both Cara Hayes and Sally Dowling defended strongly in the key and resisted the urge to jump.
Alessia Wladyka took great shots and passed with accuracy under the basket as did Lottie Ballantine, who once again, inbounded with power, accuracy and speed.
Gracie Dillon’s footwork and speed in defence was unbeatable and frustrated her opposition.
Charlotte Davey worked really hard, successfully changed her dribbling in the frontcourt and created some unbeatable shooting opportunities.

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

Lost to Willetton Blue 57-31

Coach comments:

Our defence was much improved both on the ball and in help
Matilda Pyne did an excellent job of bringing the ball up the court this week.
Ebony Cox was great on the boards, finished with 11 rebounds. She was also really solid on defence.

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

Lost to Southwest Slammer 60-46

Coach comments:

I was super proud of how the team worked together, cheering each other on. There was great noise from the bench too. We did start a little slowly, but all the girls adjusted and made improvements.
Matilda Wyatt was amazing with her rebounding and second efforts at the hoop which resulted in scores on the board.

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

Won against Joondalup White 57-28

Coach comments:

The girls really set the tone to work hard on defence which was almost flawless and were rewarded for that effort when we held the Wolves to 0 points for the entire 1st quarter. They also worked together really hard on offence to find shot and drive opportunities. This was easily our best game of the season!
Mila Reyes had a FANTASTIC rebounding game despite being one of the smaller players on the court. That girl grabbed rebounds and went straight back up battling the bigs and walked away with 7 points! I am so impressed with her play.
Kaia Rukuata had a fantastic shooting game, drilling two straight 3s and adjusting to drives when the defence started to close her out. She walked away with a season-high and team-high 16 points.
I could go on about the whole team. Everyone played an amazing game, I’m very proud and looking to see them take this form into next week’s game.

U14 Division 4 Girls Grey – Lucy Dowling

Lost to Joondalup Green 67-28

From a team effort point of view, what pleased you most about this game?

The girls had a good first half, but the opposition was strong with good pressure which led to a few poor decisions. However, we kept fighting and managed to get some good stops and work on our half-court offence.
Ella Baxter keeps improving every game. In this one, she demonstrated good aggressive drives and good on-ball defence.
It was great to have Mya Slee back on the court after injury. She had a great defensive game.

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

Lost to Kalamunda 62-41

Coach comments:

The effort, attitude and intensity throughout the game were excellent. For the most part, our help-side defence and rotations were very good.
A big thanks to Nik Lackovic for his assistance at training and during the game this week. The team certainly benefited from your knowledge.
Sagal Elmi and Charlotte Broadbent lead the team offensively for the second week in a row.

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

Lost to Kalamunda 72-60

Coach comments:

We had great intensity all game and it was a great contest for much of the game – we let the Suns get a run at the start of the last quarter and while we came back strongly with some strong defence and nicely worked offensive sets, we ran out of time. Our best display so far as a team.
Isabella Wolfenden shot a very tidy 80% from the FT line with very nice form for a season-high 12 pts.
Abbey Macham continues to show great attacking instincts and in the last quarter played the point position with greater control which led to some great shot options.
Lily Leeder was a constant threat offensively.
Ellen Brieffies was active and effective at both ends of the court.
Dinelka Fernando ran hard and made good shot selections.
Ava Lindegger sets the standard for her defensive traps in the mid-court.
Ainsleigh Passi made the most of her time on court with some strong moves and has a knack of accumulating points at a high clip.
Tegan Wilkinson shows great desire and effort and is improving each week in applying in games what we practice at training.
Hannah Saliacus rebounded strongly with some great outlet passing and is becoming more comfortable every week handling the ball.

U16 Division 4 Girls – Geoff Alger

Lost to East Perth 47-44

Coach comments:

Our girls played some of their best defence for the season. They played basketball ‘our way’ at both ends of the floor for the vast majority of the game and showed once again their ability to play really good team basketball.
We had a number of girls play some very long minutes and their continuous commitment and concentration were impressive.
Taijah Babich did a great job creating team buckets.
Aaliyah Nunes made better decisions with the ball and continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Tiana Alger’s 8/9 from the free-throw line (plus O board and assist from the one she missed) ensured the Eagles paid for every foul.

U18 Division 2 Girls White – Brayden Cook

Lost to East Perth 70-56

Coach comments:

I was pleased with our effort for most of the game as we had two players out. We started the game with high intensity but unfortunately, East Perth was too strong in the second half.

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

Won against Joondalup 57-55 (OT)

Coach comments:

We tried some new defensive strategies and the team did really well, adjusting mid-game. We were down by 4 going into the 4th quarter and the girls really stepped up to get the lead, but a free throw from Joondalup made it even. The final 2 minutes went for ages with both coaches using our time outs to advance the ball, but neither team could manage to score. In overtime, our girls managed to step it up again and found some energy to get the win. The support from the players on the bench was amazing during the 4th quarter and overtime.
Charlotte Horniman (in only her 6th WABL game) was unstoppable taking it to the hoop relentlessly and making 8 free throws to finish with a career-high 20 points.
Emma Jones (also in her 6th WABL game) was all over the place with 6 assists and 6 steals, adding 14 points of her own.
Kirsty Slinger continued protecting the basket with 11 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals.

U12 Champs Boys – Aleks Lackovic

Lost to South West Slammers 52-50

Coach comments:

The team focus on achieving the game rebounding goal and handling the late-game clock with GF intensity saw us grab the lead twice inside the last minute and create two opportunities inside the last 10 secs to win the game. The bench positive voice pressure was encouraging and constant.
Xavier Allison had a monster game hunting rebounds, boxing out and creating massive defensive pressure in the paint.
James Galvin and Tomas Lackovic demonstrated excellent game control, decision making, attack at the ring and steals
Caeden Olowoyo was dominant in the keyway and in providing defensive help
Loved seeing Raj Berry’s transition bursts, ability to find open teammates and create space.

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

Lost to Cockburn Blue 66-41

Coach comments:

The boys did an amazing job at executing our game plan today. Playing the top team, we knew it was going to be tough, but with some clear areas of focus, they did a fantastic job at sticking to the plan for the entire game. If it wasn’t for the 7 threes the opposition hit for the game, we would have been in it.

U12 Division 4 Boys White – Jordan Hands

Won against Joondalup 60-33

Coach comments:

Our ability to get everyone involved not just on the scoreboard but within the game itself.
Well done to Myles Byrne who had 10 rebounds to go with 4 points

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

Won against Mandurah 58-28

Coach comments:

We ran a new press we had been working on at training with solid results which was pleasing.
Otis Farrelly and Will Hemingway both got the opportunity to play this week. Neither player looked out of place. Otis’s aggressiveness on the court was noticeable. Will found the basket a few times and looked settled in our team structure. Was great for them to be rewarded with plenty of court time for their ongoing efforts at training.
Travis Hunt was excellent for us. He showed a level of maturity I hadn’t seen yet this season from any of our boys. Directing teammates and setting the offence up when it would’ve been easy to just revert to old habits.
Joaquin Imperial dragged down plenty of boards and got buckets as a result!

U14 Champs Boys – Nik Lackovic (sponsored by Sto Australia)

Won against Willetton Tigers White 48-23

Coach comments:

The most pleasing aspect of this game was our outstanding team defence. Containment of the ball in both the full court and half-court was excellent. The team defended without fouling, moved their feet and showed hands on contact to create turnovers. Our frontcourt controlled the glass with the entire team focus on rebounding and not allowing any second-chance points.
The win was attributed to the entire team being committed to playing team defence with pride and passion. The commitment to communication was loud, early and often and the boys were accountable to our team rules and values. Our outstanding second-quarter defence held the Tigers to one point.

U14 Division 2 Boys – Mitchell Jesson

Lost to Kalamunda 63-49

Coach comments:

This was a very close game for the first three quarters and our team played hard. Unfortunately, the last quarter got away from us and credit to our opponents who took advantage of our errors.
There are excellent signs within the group: two boys had their best games for the season, our train on Luke Trevenen played well and Hamish Gibson returned from injury.
Ewan Maclean attacked the press and the basket (getting to the line 10 times as a result). He had 4 boards to go with 10 points while only turning the ball over twice.
James Bowen played well at both ends of the floor and led our scoring with 12 points at an efficient 55%.

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

Won against Kalamunda 85-42

Coach comments:

We played well together as a team. All the boys played for each other.
Michael Ryan led the way for us offensively and defensively against tough opposition.
Kane Matondo has started to get comfortable with the level required in his first season of WABL and has started to show his potential.
Cooper Poustie was consistent as usual on both ends of the floor with his scoring and defensive pressure.
Jack Dowd continues to be our energiser on both ends of the floor. His hustle was outstanding.

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

Lost to Warwick Senators 67-40

Coach comments:

Our first-half intensity and pressure was great – we only gave up 18 points for the half
Our transition on offence, outrunning the opposition was excellent
Tom Jakimowiez and Jalen Dunstan once again had the hard task of boxing out a taller player – and they delivered by getting rebounds and taking players out of the rebounding contest
Kobe Kalebic’s defensive intensity was exactly what I asked for – he made it easy for our defence when trapping and racked up a number of steals

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

Won against Mandurah Magic 76-68

Coach comments:

The team responded after a disappointing loss last week and, after trailing by 11 points during the first quarter, were able to maintain focus, lift their intensity and fight back into the lead.
Jaxon Sym was excellent in the way that he attacked the basket, committed to our team defence, and showed leadership throughout the contest.
Harry Wheatland played a series of crucial minutes in the second quarter that changed the shape of our game. Unfortunately, Harry did not return to the game after that due to injury, but his impact was felt.
Harry Cuerden demonstrated strong leadership in the final minutes when the game was on the line. His willingness to drive strongly to the basket was important.

U16 Division 3 Boys White – Luke Simonette

Lost to Mandurah 88-74

Coach comments:

The boys kept their heads high in a game where the ball just did not want to go in and things did not want to fall our way. We played really hard defence and did not let up barring foul trouble. Attitudes and team spirit remained high in light of a bit of a nightmare game.
Ben Wesseldine shot well and worked hard for rebounds. He showed great signs of improvement.
Drew Corry showed great intent on both ends of the floor. Sustained poor luck through the day but stuck with it

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

Lost to Senators 91-72

Coach comments:

We were initially jumped by the undefeated, top of the table and very strong Senators to find ourselves 24-53 down at halftime.
The team kept it together, kept positive and worked hard to win the second half and finish strong (albeit still 19 pts down).
This team has come so far, but this game gave us a good view of what we still need to do to be competitive with and beat the best.
Every player kept their head up, scored and contributed.
Caleb Hoenig showed what a pure shooter he was with some great baskets.
Josh Richards and Kalisto Ubu fought hard against very aggressive rebounders.
As a team, we all learned what we need to improve.

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

Lost to Cockburn 78-75

Coach comments:

The team played hard but our fouls necessitated a change to our game plan.
A few key shots rimmed out and we missed free throws that would have given us the game.
Great effort but we didn’t get the win.
This was a great team effort with most players scoring and all contributing
The standout was the effort and aggression of Josh Welsh who worked hard all game and finished with 20pts.
Riley Panizza continued his more aggressive approach to offence with 23pts
Romain Suraweera worked hard on his rebounding and was a presence, especially at the defensive end.

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

Postponed due to water on the court

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

Won against Redbacks Silver 80-58

Coach comments:

We did a good job adjusting to our opposition’s style of play and kept the defensive pressure on all game. We had a slow start in the first half again which needs adjustment to our pregame routine.
We all played a good containment defensive game especially the guards pressuring the ball. Anthony Pelle played a great game with ball pressure on D and much better shot selection

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

Won against Perry Lakes 74-69

Coach comments:

We really had to make a lot of adjustments and change a lot of our game plan on the fly. This really threw our rotations out. I thought the boys adjusted really well under some real pressure. Was good to get the win.
Ollie Watkins came in after sporadic minutes throughout the game to get a pivotal rebound and put back
Melvin Nwanko’s general energy in the second half was excellent

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

Lost to Perth Redbacks White 80-58

From a team effort point of view, what pleased you most about this game?

We were down some key players and up against another strong team in a tough stretch of our schedule. We embraced the challenge and led the game for the majority of the first half, playing excellent D and attacking the paint in O. We crashed the offensive boards better than ever and did a great job converting at the line. Redbacks White responded well with their own physical D and wore us down in the third, eventually breaking away. Fatigue was a key factor but we showed toughness the whole way through.
Harry Maude did a great job of attacking the paint and getting to the line. We had four players go 100% on free throws and Harry led them all with 7/7.
Mackenzie Tanner made a great in-game adjustment and started attacking the rim with determination, leading to a season-high 16 points.
Thanos Snooks-Holding crashed the offensive glass and got some great second-chance points. Bringing this kind of energy is a huge factor for us as a team and we look forward to more of it.

U20 Men White – Michael Clarke

Postponed due to water on the court

U20 Men Grey – Rob Gordon

Postponed due to water on the court