Weekly WABL Wrap – Round 8

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 8 WABL games went!

Women’s results and coach comments

12 RED – Joshua Wallace

Lost to Willetton 48-43

Josh loved seeing:

• The girls were down 9 points halfway through the third quarter and kept their heads and game up enough to take back the lead in the 4th quarter.
• Michelle Ninyette led the comeback in the third quarter by causing turnovers and getting us multiple good looks in transition.
• Leeshar and Mafa Tuialii’s presence on court, in particular when they were on together, proved a lot for the Tigers to handle. Their rebounding dominance and defensive pressure stood out all game.

12 WHITE – John Care

Lost to Joondalup 45-26

John loved seeing: 

• The girls’ fight till the end under pressure was great. It was a scrappy game that led to a few of our girls getting injured and coming off the court. The team was in foul trouble for a lot of the game and our bench stepped up and contributed well.
• This week everyone stepped up and must be commended for their efforts.

14 RED – Bri Bailey

Lost to Hills Raiders 51-33

Bri loved seeing:

• The girls on the bench going on with good energy.
• Charlotte Broadbent for playing huge minutes and rebounding so well. Going up for the shot through fouls and staying strong.

14 WHITE – Haylee Smyth

Won against Cockburn 68-33

Hayley loved seeing: 

• Effort and intent that were up a level from last week
• Harriet Woods was much improved this week in both her on-ball defence and her decision making. Hopefully, this is a turning point for her and she continues the improvement. 
• Miki Deshon continues to have outstanding decision making with ball in hand and this leads to easy catch and shoots for the team.

14 BLACK – Zac Belton

Won against East Perth 41-23

Zac loved seeing:

• I was impressed with our team’s ability to battle through adversity (fouls and exhaustion) to close out the game strong.
• Alex Temby’s confidence when shooting the ball – I was very impressed with her this week. 
• Keira Tran’s ability to get into position was a big reason we did so well – while she did miss a few, the fact she was confident putting up those shots is a fantastic sign. Her defence has been terrific these past few weeks and this game was no different. 
• The way Gabby Manolo battled adversity all game getting knocked and whacked. She, however, finished strong at the rim and applied some terrific defence.

16 RED – Adrian Warner

Lost to Willetton 97-25

Adrian loved seeing:

• We started well against the top side and played with a good level of energy and intensity for most of the game. We tried to play a more controlled half-court offense and created some good opportunities but our execution let us down.

16 WHITE – Anne-Marie and Bryn Arnold

Won against East Perth 49-44

Anne-Marie and Bryn loved seeing:

• Outstanding fighting effort. After a solid first half, including holding East Perth to four points in the first quarter, we lost Megan Taylor with an ankle injury early in the second half. Then foul trouble late in the third quarter and early in the last quarter saw the team play out the last eight minutes with only four players. Every player had moments of outstanding play that enabled the team to hold on for the victory.
• Issy Woods again led the team with her energy and top-scored with 17. 
• Ainsleigh Passi continued her recent good form and had her best game of the season.

18 RED – Brayden Cook

Won against Willetton 61-47

Brayden loved seeing:

• Overall it was a solid game from each individual, everyone played together as a team and contributed on the scoreboard.
• I was particularly impressed with Sydney Midgley, she played her best game of the season so far and finished up with a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds.

Men’s results and coach comments

12 RED – Brad Dowd

Lost to Cockburn Cougars 73-41

Brad loved seeing:

• Down three players, everyone had to step up and contribute. Defensively we managed to keep a player who was averaging 17 points per game to only 8. Offensively, although we worked hard to put up a good volume of shots, we rushed more than we had to and struggled to get those shots to drop
• Ewan Maclean did well with his defensive tasks, shutting down specific players when asked to, while also leading our team with 3 assists and contributing 5 rebounds and 2 steals. 
• Jaden Exeter continues to execute well in the paint at both ends recording a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to go with his 4 blocks.
• After being sick during the week Lionel Chitiyo contributed strongly across the board with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals

12 BLACK – Sam Sule

Won against East Perth 64-44

Ron loved seeing:

• We maintained a high level of intent and intensity for all 4 quarters. Everybody gave their best efforts to sprint back, man their player, backup their teammates on defence. Everybody contributed to playing high effort defence on ball, off-ball and rebounding full length of the court.
• Jackson Doyle was a team leader by example and voice. Played his role excellently. 
• Tyler Murphy put in a season-high performance on scoreboard pressure.
• Koby Kalebic performed high effort defence in the full court and halfcourt. He held his assignment to a low score. 
• Lenoxx Lyszkowicz manned down the interior, was a presence as usual there on offense and defence.
• Luke Trevenen put in good effort locating his man to defend and running hard.
• Tace Rankin played good defence staying with his man and taking his opportunity to play offense and help the team.
• Aiden Cooper – pleasing to see him sprint and be focused on manning his assignment and being in the action of the play.
• Deacon Hollow – exciting to see him winning his match up, pressuring the defence for deflections and steals. Well taken attacks to finish at the rim. 
• Max Quantock pleasing to see him expanding his confidence and competency in his role of manning the bigs in the paint. High pointing the rebounds and outletting them. Backing up his teammates for contests.

12 WHITE – Dylan Vilardi

Lost to Cockburn Cougars 41-42

Dylan loved seeing:

• The energy the boys started the game with

12 GREY – Jacob Kelly

Lost to Rockingham White 75-48

14 RED – Colin Driscoll

Lost to Joondalup Wolves 56-22

Colin loved seeing:

• The level of growth as individuals and as a team is huge. Still in the game at half time against one of only two undefeated teams was a joy. Momentum in basketball is such a game-changer. Two lapses in the second half were just too big to overcome
• Big ups to Joshua Welsh and Evan Berson for taking on defensive assignments against much bigger and key players for the opposition

14 BLACK – Ash Brian

Lost to Willetton Blue 83-33

Ash loved seeing:

• Even under the pressure, the team worked through some early adversity to the point where our press breaker was showing some good signs.
• Ollie Graham was a beast on the offensive rebounds, which led to a solid scoring performance. 
• Caden Kelemanis took on some extra minutes this week and gave the team a great run of energy and passion.

14 WHITE – Al Lackovic

Won against Joondalup Green 73-62

Al loved seeing:

• The team’s maturity and mental toughness peaked again in the top of the table clash of two undefeated teams. We adjusted early to the opposition who jumped us early with physicality. We made up for it and as a team by taking turns attacking and setting the tone. “Our intense defensive pressure”, trust in executing our offense and the fact that we were willing to help each other in D immediately put us in control and held them to 3pts until late in the 2nd quarter. We always had 4 guys willing to help towards the ball defender and recover. Our rebounding paint beasts mentality ensured we remain undefeated.
• Jerry Davies has another career-best game as a defensive nightmare for the opposition and found driving lanes in offense to score/assist.
• Ben Galvin, Jack Saliacus & Samuel Peirce all battled the bigs, boxed out and screened relentlessly.
• Maksim Lackovic crushed the pressure to control the game tempo and execute the game plan.
• Zac Anfuso, James Bowen and Hamish Gibson’s work rate, intensity, talk and discipline to execute according to plan.

14 GREY – Alex Maude

Lost to Hills Raiders 49-43

Alex loved seeing:

• Our best rebounding game this season. The boys boxed out and showed they wanted the ball more than the other team
• We ran the lanes in transition well and this resulted in scores when it was 3 on 2 in our favour 
• Great shot selection, and limiting our three-point attempts
• Cleon Ryder was everywhere in the game. On defence he was applying pressure, forcing turnovers and getting steals. He fought for the rebound and created good looks for his teammates on the offensive end.
• Nik Burza and Murphy Martin got the majority of our rebounds by boxing out hard and hustling for the ball. They looked to post up, draw multiple defenders and pass to an open teammate 
• Jamie Wilson worked extremely hard on the offensive end, drawing multiple defenders then passing, or taking a mid-range shot if the opposition gave him space. On defence he applied pressure which resulted in steals

16 RED – Luke Notley

Lost to Southwest Slammers 87-66

Luke loved seeing:

• We never lost our cool even though we were pressed hard and turned the ball over, missed some easy buckets and didn’t get some calls we should have. We worked hard to stay in the game and push through it.

16 BLACK – Bevan Rankin

Lost to Perry Lakes 70-60

Bevan loved seeing:

• Our defensive transition
• Thanos Snook-Holding kept us in the game in the first half with his perimeter shooting.
• Ethan Saliacus was again dominant on the boards and managed to restrict the opposition to just one shot attempt on most occasions.

16 WHITE – Mark Edman

Lost to East Perth 79-77

Mark loved seeing:

• The first half we played great D and offence.
• Jack Stahl was solid as usual
• Harrison Clarke showed great composure once again
• Harry Cuerden’s hard driving to the basket was great to see

16 GREY – Andre Colley

Lost to Kalamunda Suns 90-60

Andre loved seeing: 

• Our defensive pressure in the second quarter
• Taj Hollands was a very reliable guard creating plays and bringing the ball up

18 RED – Gavin Burnett

Lost to Perry Lakes Hawks 111-73

Gavin loved seeing:

• We came out strong against a very good team and held our own in the first quarter, leading for a good part of it and only being three points down at the first break with two of our best players unable to take the court through injury. halfway through the second quarter and throughout the third the opposition went into overdrive dropping 12 three-pointers at a very high percentage. We could have dropped our heads but we set a team goal of winning the last quarter, which we achieved and every player took to the court during that term. It shows what good character this group has that they continue to give their all in the face of adversity and look for the positives.
• Tobey Martin was the stand out player against his old team, dropping 21 points on eFG 62% shooting, six assists, four steals and 2 rebounds and topped all players with a VPS of 1.45. Owen Pang (14 pts, 4 rbd, 2 ass) worked tirelessly in defence all day alongside Connor Rothman (8 pts, 3 rbd, 4 ass – VPS 1.35). Mitch Nixon was the best of the bigs and just a whisker from a double-double with 9 pts, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks (VPS 1.15). Off the bench Ryan Duke Yonge was best, continuing his improvement with a VPS of 1.44 comprised of 8pts (eFG 67%), 6 rebounds, 2 assists and Riley Burnett (VPS 1.43) made contributions across the board.

18 WHITE – Simon Daff

Won against Hills Raiders 67-63

Simon loved seeing:

• That the boys kept their heads in the game and showed a level of maturity despite the MANY challenges within the game
• Tom Matson had his best game of the season and stayed calm but aggressive. Was patient and made the right decisions all day. Josh Paterson also had a great game as stand-in captain led the team well and rebounded very well from the point guard spot.

18 GREY – Carlos Uribe

Lost to Rockingham Black 74-62

Carlos loved seeing:

• The team maintained their enthusiasm and energy level pretty well during almost the whole game
• Luis Uribe, Kaden Morcombe and Abdullahi Mohamedhashi were the best rebounders and defenders, with more than 10 rebounds each

20 RED – David Swaby

Won against Joondalup Wolves 98-78
Dave loved seeing: 

• The physical and mental toughness we had as a team to battle through with only 5 guys.
• Lachlan Bertram’s big 47 point scoring performance can’t be ignored as he does a great job keeping the pressure on the opposition and being efficient. That being said I thought Fletcher Clemmence played a great overall game scoring, playmaking/assisting while playing great defence. Husam Roamer did an amazing job rebounding for us which was a huge key to victory.

20 BLACK – Luke Simonette

Lost to Lakeside 104-77

Luke loved seeing:

• Our resilience in the face of being down by a large margin
• Bench positivity 
• Sharing the ball
• Transition defence
• James Vegvary – Did what was asked of him every minute he was on the floor
• Baylee Trahorsch – Great rebounding effort, rewarded with inside buckets