2016 SACBA Week 18 Results + Players' Player Preview

The Players’ Player Awards Night is on this Saturday 27th August @ The Seven Stars. This is the night where we award each Saturday Team’s Best Player according to his teammates – by tallying all the votes that have been meticulously kept throughout the season. It is like the Brownlow … but 8 of them all on the one night.

We can arrive from 6.00pm (earlier if you want a cheeky drinks before the count) – the count will start at 7.00pm. The count should wrap up around 10.00pm. You can order meals from 6.30pm. Food and drinks are pay as you go. You can bring as many guests as you like – everyone welcome – partners, friends, family etc.

We will have the Betting Boards again. Always a great night – beer, food, vote counting, basketball chat and possibly Intercol games.

Below is my betting guide - I get it wrong every year so this is just a guide.

Palky's 2016 Player's Player Form Guide:

A's - This is a tough one - they have won so many games this year easily with lots of guys filling up the scoresheet.

Palky's Winner: Josh Orken - Pros: scoring machine, he is tall, he gets blocks, loves dunking/tinder ... preferably both ... Cons: Shoots too much.

Contenders:
Jon Foo - he gets the buckets, then he gets the ladies.
Liam Golding - I thought you were supposed to get less good when you get older ... and fatter. Bloody Liam.

B's - The B's have had a long and tumultuous season.

Palky's Winner: Phill Farrer - works harder than anyone on the glass, gets mad at himself when he has no right to ... he is the only one giving 100% 100% of the time. For every rebound he gets - he should get one "yelling at Jono and Gus credit" ... he can use if without fear of reprisal. "Get back in D you lazy sh*ts", "stop just passing to each other - there are 3 other people on the court and Dillon was wide open" etc.  Might have missed a couple too many games but anyway ... go Phill!

Contenders:
Jono Self - Pros: Scores lots - team's leading PPG, inside/outside player, can play D when he wants to (see; Harden, James), has won 2 of these already so proven vote getter. Cons: Relies on Gus to give him lifts to games and rewards Gus' tardiness by exclusivley passing him the ball, only played 15 of 19 games.
Brendon Francesca - Has played all the games, has had some big games and is the teams leading scorer. Improvong in D and as a passer, good around the basket. Works hard.

C's - This will be super close - could be one of 4 guys I think. All the contenders pretty much played most of the games.

Palky's Winner: Lachie Campbell - should be in the A's but decided to play C's ... someone told me he thinks it was because he wanted to win a Players' Player. Best player in Central 1

Contenders:
Andrew Good - Has won the last 2 C's Players' Player and is having a good season again
Jay Nguyen -  Teams leading scorer, hits 3's, silent assisain - has had a few big games this year  
Jamie Banks - Hot and cold Jamie - never know which one you will get - sometimes it changes mid game - has had 2 games where he had 0 at half time and scored 18 in the 2nd.

D's - Should be a race in 2 I would have thought

Palky's Winner: Stu MacDonald - He has won 5 of the things ... if he wins this year he will be the only 6 time winner. He is the leading scorer of Central 1. Has only played 13 games. Good at layups.

Contenders:
Tom Oliphant - Thommo scores inside, rebounds and is a savvy passer inside ... good looks/top blokeness will help his cause. I think he is the only other one that can really chanllenge Stu
Andrew Williams - I will chuck in 3 more possible - A polled in every game last year and his votes in finishing 2nd would have won 4 other teams medal. He is having another great season.
Ben Palk - remember when I hit 10 threes in a game ... man I have been shooting great.
Matt Just - Plays D ... will get votes.

E's - this will be an interesting count will be hard to pick

Palky's Winner: Morgan Hodson - I am going with the tried and tested rule of most games, most points ... I am keeping it simple. Sometimes does not come off.

Contenders:
Simon Miller - the E's struggled with guard balance early - when Sime came back he added scoring and defence. He is having one of his best seasons - will poll well.
Mark Powell - again, this team has no guards - so Max will poll. He scores and has played a lot. Sounds like a pub pick up resume.
Jon Read - he will start slow but he has had an awesome last 6 or 7 games - if he picks up some early votes I would think he would be in the mix ... but I say that every year and every year his teammates let him down. I am surprised that some of you have not been donked on the head.

F's - two guys do most of the scoring - the rest of the dudes have to do everything else =)

Palk's Winner: Cam Smith - he came out of nowhere last year and jagged the PP. I don't even think I had him in my picks. With Brad out has been the lone big. With guys chucking up shots someone needs to play D ... I think he will be rewarded.

Contenders:
Nathan Graham - loves to make buckets, has been making buckets, not sure if he has been playing D or rebounding ... if he has he will get votes. Has won 3 before and if anyone will be Cam it will be G.
Josh Moorfoot - everyone loves the guy who tries and hustles ... that is Moorfoot - when he isn't too hungover to play or chasing Melbourne skirt.
Charlie Baker - again all hustle ... Charlie is fun to play with (in a basketball sense) - will jag a couple.

G's - another race in 2 but I think this is a pretty easy one.

Palky's Mega Lock: Reid Amos - team's leading scorer, avering over 10 a game and the team averages 28. Played the 2nd most games - he will get a heap of votes in the games he played without Matt.

Matt Lawson - when Matt plays he will likely get the 3 or 2 votes but don't think he has played enough.
Simon Caldwell - fan favourite Simon Caldwell will get votes ... and we will all cheer cos we all love Caldy. In the games I've watched Caldy is the one that controls the team ... if he is the head ... the rest of the guys are the crazy Michael J Fox arms and legs.

Lady Reds - I will have to be careful here ... I don't think Megan will win but I have to be diplomatic =)

Palky's Winner: Rachel Meyer - Rachel is the gears that makes the team go. She is 2nd in PPG, she plays guard and forward and is the best passer in the team.

Contenders:
Alicia Woodrow - Alicia has set the team scoring record and 3 points in a season record. Only downside - Alicia has had big games when other people have had big games ... and I know for experience - 3 point shooters sometimes get overlooked.
Tracey Todd - Tracey goes about her business - she works hard in D, is a crafty passer and gets out on the break. This could def be Tracey's year.
Hannah Boylan - the lone big for most the season when O Buckets got injured, she works super hard and hustles like crazy. Will get everyone's 1 votes every week.
Megan Button - I don't think Megan will win ... but she is so damn likeable - she will poll. She got screwed over last year - she had it in the bag and Silz bloody stole it away from her. 

To the reports:
A's (16-2-0) v B's (2-16) - NO REPORT - so I will guess these things happened. Orken dunked and all was right with the world, Foo did many Euro steps and looked nonplussed, Liam hit many 3's (I know this happened cos I saw the scoresheet), Phil got mad cos his teammates did something that displeased him, Jack yelled at Phil for being mad, Phill Farrer tried super hard and watched his teammates try not as hard as him and he was "philled" with rage but quelled his furious anger and got rebounds, Jono looked lost because there was no one to pass to (note: Gus is overseas), Tim, Dillon and Mitch chugged along thinking "when will this freaking season be over", Brendon thought "buckets, buckets, buckets, buckets, buckets" for 40 minutes. A's win 67-26 - Liam 22, Phil 17, Orks 12 - Mitch 14 (nice work), Brendon 5, Moops 4.

C's (15-3) v SPOC B (7-11) - Written by Jay - We were missing Goody and Lachy, but Saints were even shorter as they only brought out 5 for the game. We quickly got on top of them, with Krantz doing work down low and Jay hitting three 3s in the first half. Their lone big guy picked up his 5th foul right before the half, getting a tech for the road. The game was essentially over at that point as Saints were already down 23-8. We got a little bit messy in the 2nd half as the steam was out of the contest and we were trying to run fast breaks the majority of the time. Final score 55-24. Jay 16, Krantz and Ned 10, Jamie and Alex 9. 

D's (11-8) v Unley Park A (3-15) - We had 8 for the 1st time this season and it took a bit to get in the flow - Unley were playing an odd D and it threw off our rhythm. I can't really remember a whole lot - Thommo was scoring inside heaps, Palky hit a couple of 3's (took lots in his limited minutes), NEWS FLASH: Madman hit baseline jumpers, Purge got an and-1 layup and a 3, Rough was everywhere, Stu was quiet, Fooey was getting to the basket and finishing lefty, A played great D. Win 54-29 - Thommo 15, Rough 9, Palk and Purge 6.

E's (8-9) v Knightsbridge A (10-1-5) - Written by Max - After an up and down season the E's clinched their place in the finals with a dominant victory over the top of the ladder (albeit slightly depleted) Knightsbridge team. Max got the scoring going with a couple of long jumpers, however Knightsbridge replied with successive three pointers to keep things close. Tye came off the bench with a great shooting display of his own, while Reggie was setting up opportunities on the fast break, allowing the E's to eek out an advantage.  A change of defensive tactic by the E's in the second half shut down Knightsbridge's outside shot and they wilted. It was too easy for Morgan around the basket finishing with 8 for the half. Special mention to Hendo with 4/4 from the free throw line!  The E's won convincingly in the end 42-19. Scoring was very balanced, Morgan had 10, Miller and Tye 8, Max with 7. Thanks to Sean for scoring for us.

F's (9-7) v SPOC C (6-2-9) - NO REPORT. Loss 24-32. JT 14

G's (6-12) v Burnside A (11-7) - NO REPORT. Loss 22-30. Reid 6, Cale, Nelly 4.

Lady Reds (12-6) v Unley Park A - This was must win the Lady Reds if they were going to finish top 2 - SPOILERS: they didn't win. Halftime was close with the Reds down 3. The 2nd half Unley's best player went nuts and scored 17 of their 22 points - they couldn't keep her off the glass and she made FT after FT. Reds struggled from the floor and were missing a lot of jumpers. Tough day - we will meet them again. Loss 19-34. Jordy 7, Rachel 6, Tracey 4.

Palky's Player of the Week - Week 18: I dunno ... Liam I guess haha!

Week 19 Game Times: 
A's v Gateway A - 5.10 @ Saints
B's v SPOC A - 3.30 @ Saints
C's v D's - 2.40 @ Saints
E's v F's - 2.40 @ Mars Crt 2 ... short 3 point line =)
G's Spicer A - 3.30 @ Mars Crt 3
Lady Reds v St Casmir - 1.00 @ Immanuel

2016 SACBA Week 17 Results

The Players’ Player Awards Night is on – Saturday 27th August @ The Seven Stars. It is the night of our last minor round game. This is the night where we award each Saturday Team’s Best Player according to his teammates – by tallying all the votes that have been meticulously kept throughout the season. It is like the Brownlow … but 8 of them all on the one night. We can arrive from 6.30pm (earlier if you want a cheeky drinks before the count) – the count will start at 7.00pm. The count should wrap up around 10.00pm. You can order meals from 6.30pm. Food and drinks are pay as you go. You need to let me know ASAP - just write in the comment section (likes will not be attributed as attending ... just an indication that you like said event)– so please respond because there’s a lot to be organised and the less time I have to spend chasing people the better – in your response let me know if you plan on having a meal (I need to let the venue know). You can bring as many guests as you like – everyone welcome – partners, friends, family etc. We will have the Betting Boards again. Always a great night – beer, food, vote counting, basketball chat and possibly Intercol games.

To the reports:
A's v Gateway A - Written by Jack - Gateway decided not to bring out any players over 5'11 and we genuinely did whatever we liked. Scored 90odd points without getting out of first gear. They played ok and shot heaps of threes, but the 38pt margin did not reflect how much of a blow out this actually was. Thanks to Lenny for scoring. Win 87-49 - Orks 24-, Phil and Foo 19

B's v SPOC B - Written by Brendon - The B's played against the old enemy Saints at Saints, starting off in the usual 2-3 zone due to low numbers. The B's were feeding Phil inside whilst Tim & Brendon were getting out on the break. For Saints Yeo & Gibbons were penetrating, Halftime B's 23-28 Saints. The second half didn't start off well for the B's, with missed shots & turnovers occurring regularly which lead to fast breaks & easy looks for Saints. Saints were more composed on the day, final score B's 34-52 Saints - Brendon 15, Phil 11. Thanks to Sean for scoring & coaching.

C's v Unley Park A - Written by Jay - Unley is last in our league and the Ds always smash them, but they always seem to give us trouble. Saturday’s game was no exception as Unley scored the first 8 points and were up double digits most of the first half, ending up leading us 22-11 at the break. They only had 5 players though, and we knew if we picked up the tempo they would start to struggle. Jamie and Ned were hustling all over the court causing turnovers, and Jamie continued his hot-second half trend, hitting three 3s and scoring 15.  We started hitting our open shots and were up 8 with 2 mins to go. They were able to keep it interesting and cut it down to 3 in the final 20 seconds or so (but for some reason didn’t foul us with the ball to try and get the ball back). Ended up winning 43-40. Jamie 17, Lachy 7, Jay and Ned 6.

D's v SPOC B - Up against Saints for what felt like the 6th time this season ... that is because it was. We have won by 17, 13, 11, 12 (and lost once). They do Saints-y things and we need to try and stop them from getting the O glass and making open jumpers. The D's picked Saints apart in the first half - Stu was getting to the basket, Thommo and A were dominating low socring 12 points between them, Madman in his return game made back to back jumpers from his corner - up 26-13 at half time. Second half was a bit more free flowing - one guy from Saints hit his 3rd and 4th 3 - which Palk was having none of and made four 3's in the 2nd half. Thommo, Roughie, Foo and Madman all scored a couple of baskets and Stu did Stu things - getting to the basket and finishing with layups - because he is good at layups. D's win 65-37. Stu with 17, Thommo 13, Palk 12, Madman 8.

E's v Big Sunday A - Written by Max - After a couple of close losses we thought we were out of finals contention this year, however the competitive Central 2/3 league keeps throwing up surprises with the teams around us on the ladder also tripping over themselves. This week shaped up to be a critical game with the 4th placed ‘E’s up against the 5th placed Big Sunday team, which we had lost to on our previous two encounters. Both teams started very intensely on the defensive end limiting early scoring opportunities. Mid way through the half Road Train came alive out muscling everyone around the ring, scoring and going to the free throw line multiple times. The highlight was a ridiculous fade away jump shot from outside the key on the baseline. Kara was battling away inside as well, inspiring everyone with a back to the basket post move that he finished so strong there might as well have been steam coming out of his ears! The second half was a great team effort by the E’s with some superb passages of play that weren’t always reflected on the scoresheet. E’s ran out winners 30-19, Road Train top scored with 10 but a balanced effort with everyone getting points. Thanks to super fill in BB for providing an extra spark off the bench and Kara’s dad for coming out to score for us.

F's BYE

G's v Big Sunday B - NO REPORT. Loss 29-39. Nick 23, Reid 5.

Lady Reds v Happy Valley A - NO REPORT. Win 43-22. Alicia and Jordy 13, Tracey 9.

Palky's Player of the Week - Week 17: Some great performances - all in the A's, Brendon's 1st half,
Jamie's 2nd half, Stu, Road Train ... but lets give it to a fill in who I have never met or never seen -
Nick "Lanky" Smolanko with 23 of his teams 29 points in the G's. Well done Lanky!

Week 18 Game Times:
A's v B's @ 4.20 - St Peters Crt 1 
C's v SPOC B @ 2.40 - St Peters Crt 1
D's v Unley A @ 1.50 - St Peters Crt 2
E's v Knightsbridge A @ 1.50 - St Peters Crt 1
F's v SPOC C @ 3.30 - St Peters Crt 1
G's v Burnside A @ 3.30 - Mars Crt 1
Lady Reds v  Unley A @ 3.30 - Wayville Crt 1 *Palky's Game of the Week - the Lady Reds have to win to give them a chance of finishing top 2.

Free Throws - Week 17
1. Thur - 58.1% *didn't move because I was not provided the scoresheet
2. A - 57.6%
3. Mon A - 56.7% (up 4%) - Up 1
4. Wed - 54.1% - Down 1
5. D - 50.0% - Up 1
6. Mon B - 49.6% - Down 1
7. B - 47.3%
8. C - 44.2%
9. E - 40.5% (up 3%) - Up 1
10. G - 40.2% - Down 1
11. F - 37.1%
12. Lady Reds - 34.7%

2016 SACBA Week 15 Results

2 links to get us started this week. Here is a guy reacting to Ben Simmons' high school mixtape . Here are things never noticed.

Aussie Boomers start this Saturday night. You'd be surprised how hard the schedule is to find so here is something I have put together - I am pretty sure it is correct. Aussies have to win one of their 1st 2 games if they are any chance of a medal.

Australia v France Sun., 7 Aug. 2:45 AM
Australia v Serbia Tue., 9 Aug. 2:45 AM
Australia v United States Thu. 11 Aug. 7:30 AM
Australia v China Sat., 13 Aug. 2:45 AM
Australia v Venezuela Mon., 15 Aug. 7:30 AM

To the reports:
A's (13-2-0) v B's (2-13) - Written by Mike - This is often a game hard to feel good about, At least one team walks away disappointed. The A's had their full 6 squad whilst B's made some phone calls to bring together a team with Tauny, Alex and Manners lending a hand to replace Phill, Self and Gussy. The game started in A's favour, again getting out on the break early and capitalising with some good inside passes, no one that could really Guard Orken in the B's line up. Luckily for them, Orken would throw down a monstrous dunk, and with safety in mind, took his time to land. This was met with a tech, and another tech for complaining about the first one. Well done officials, way to over control a friendly game.  A's down to 5 players, B's caught some momentum and brought the gap to 5 points at the break 21-16. The A's regrouped, pressed and changed the pace of the game. B's struggled to break the press and capitalise on opportunities when they did. Some stand out efforts by the B's but unfortunately over shadowed by a 40+ point half by the A's. A's win 65-27. A's - Foo 19, Liam 12, Phil 11, B's Mitch 8, Brendon 7, Moops 6.

C's (12-3) v SPOC C (6-9) - Written by Jay - Keen to avenge an ugly intercol loss, we started off…slowly. Saints were getting to the basket and scoring on offensive rebounds and we were out of sync, not scoring for the first 4 or 5 mins. Eventually some good movement resulted in Jay hitting a few 3s and Ned, Jamie and Goody scored inside and we were able to hang around, down 21-17 at the half. The 2nd half was a completely different story as we started pushing the pace and picking up our defence. Lachie was driving relentlessly, scoring and dishing when Saints collapsed around him. Ned was making them pay from the line, and Alex and Jamie both were hitting shots from deep. Saints only scored 5 in the half (quite late as well), and we ended up with a nice win 37-26. Jay 9, Lachie 8, Ned 7.

D's (9-6) v Unley A (3-12) - D's win by forfeit.

E's (6-8) v Blackwood A (5-1-7) - Written by Max - It was a tale of two halves for the E’s against Blackwood on Saturday. In the first half Blackwood were happy to shoot away from behind the 3 point line but couldn’t find the net. The E’s utilized their size advantage to dominate the defensive boards. At the other end the E’s showed flashes of brilliance. This included Road Train scoring off of a give and go, as well as some nifty passing between Morgan and Road Train around the keyway. Blackwood made a couple of late 3 pointers to pull back the E’s lead to 16-10 at the half time break. In the second half Blackwood found their shot including five 3 pointers and a number of long 2 point jump shots. Blackwood were making these shots in spite of decent defense from the E’s. The scoreline pegged along fairly closely for most of the half but the E’s 2 pointers couldn’t keep pace with their outside shooting. Morgan had a blinder with 13 points in the second half. In the end Blackwood came away with the win 43-39. Morgan had 14 points, Max and Sam had 7 each. A welcome return from Kobe after missing 8 weeks with injury. Thanks to Stu for scoring for us.

F's (8-6) v Knightsbridge A (9-4) - NO REPORT. Win 36-20. G 11, JT 10, Charlie 5. Come on lads ... someone can send me 4 sentences a week.

Because there is no F's report I will do a quick look at the next 4 weeks in the Central 2/3 Grade as it is very close. Below is the ladder as it now stands and the next 4 games. Note - all the teams that have 2 byes - got an extra 2 points. The E's and Taperoo only had 1 bye. 1* in the Bye column means they have had one bye and they have another one coming up.

The Knightsbridge v Taperoo and E v F game in Week 19 are huge and will likely shape the finals. The E's have an interesting draw - they play the top and the bottom teams, as the team they are vying for 4th with - their destiny is well and truly in their own hands and they could do a favour for the E's. The F's have a decent draw home (except the bye). The team that is probably in the best position is Taperoo - if they win their remaining games - they could really help the Reds.

Team	Pos	Points	%	For	Ag	Play	Won	Lost	Draw	Byes	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Week 19
Knightsbridge Baptist A	1	34	107	441	411	15	10	4	0	1*	BYE	SPOC C	E	Taperoo
PAOCBC F	2	30	101	426	419	15	8	6	0	1*	St Paul	BYE	SPOC C	E
Taperoo Uniting A	3	30	99	407	411	15	8	4	1	1	Blackwood	Northgate	Big Sunday	Knightsbridge
Big Sunday A	4	26	109	376	343	15	6	6	1	2	SPOC	E	Taperoo	Blackwood
PAOCBC E	5	26	106	472	443	15	6	8	0	1	Northgate	Big Sunday	Knightsbridge	F
Blackwood C of C A	6	24	96	508	527	15	5	7	1	2	Taperoo	St Paul	Northgate	Big Sunday
St Paul's O.S.	7	23	99	450	451	12	6	5	0	1*	F	Blackwood	BYE	Northgate
SPOC C	8	22	94	468	496	15	3	9	2	1*	Big Sunday	Knightsbridge	F	BYE
Northgate A	9	22	89	415	462	15	5	7	1	2	E	Taperoo	Blackwood	St Pauls

G's (6-9) v Golden Grove A (11-4) - NO REPORT. Loss 20-36. Reid 13, Matt 3. Player Scorer 2. See F's comment above.

Lady Reds (10-5) v CityReach A (11-4) - Lady Reds had to win on Saturday to be any chance of finishing top 2. Reds started well with Megan and Alicia hiting early 3's and Rachel and Jordy getting to the basket - Reds up 16-7 at halftime. This was almost exactly the same scoreline last time we played CityReach - and then they scored 32 in a half. And once again CityReach came out hot - hitting jumpers that they were missing in the 2st half, scoring inside. The Reds kept the scoreboard ticking over - Jordy had a nice couple of jumpers inside, Tracey scored on the break, Rachel hit Hannah inside - when Megan hit a big 3 the score got back out to 6 and the Lady Reds were able to hold them off. Big win 31-27. Rachel and Jordy 8 and Megan 6. This was a big win for the team - 1. to prove that they can beat these girls and 2. it puts them 1 game behind. The Reds will need to beat Unley in 3 weeks if they are any chance of finishing top 2. Big month ahead.  

Palky's Player of the Week - Week 15 - Tough one this week. I'm going to give it to G - his 2nd half 11 points against Knightsbridge held them off in an important win.

Game Times - Week 16:
A's v SPOC A - 3.30 - St Peters Crt 1
B's v Gateway A - 5.10 - St Peters Crt 1
C's v D's - 2.40 - St Peters Crt 1
E's v Northgate A - 1.50 - St Peters Crt 1
F's v St Pauls A - 4.20 - St Peters Crt 1
G's v SPOC D - 2.40 - Mars Crt 1
Lady Reds v Trinity A - 1.00pm - Wayville Crt 1