2021 - Week 7

 A’s vs. The Franchise

The Franchise 57 defeat Reds 50.

B’s vs. Forestville by Mike

Reds were eager to return to the winning side, and knew they’d need their A game against forestville eagle. Fortunately B’s rocked up with 8 strong, only missing Phil. The reds chose to play Man all game and run/sub as much as they could. Out the gates mike went for 6 of the first 8 points and was not hesitant on attacking for once. 

With some rebounding dominance, Krantz controlled the glass at both ends and ensured to minimise Forestville offensive attempts. Noah and Riley got out on the breaks and reds had a comfortable but not certain lead going in to the long break. 

Continuing in man with a rotating bench, paid dividends as the second half saw reds hit the lane with less resistance. Stacking on some points and keeping the eagles fairly quiet. Reds up 57-43, a good return to form. Votes are anyone’s guess but Mike would have tickets on himself.

C’s vs. Moonshiners by Matt

If there was ever a good loss. This was it. 

The reds looking for the first win of the season came out playing the best defensive half of their season. Holding a great team in the Moonshiners to just 2 points in the first quarter. Patience paid dividends on offense and with some fantastic offensive rebounding by Cameron, the reds were in great shape to claim their first victory. 

The second half the Moonshiners rallied and with a few quick cherry picks, were able to open up a sizable lead. The reds, unable to capitalise on good looks, started falling victim to our toughest challenge yet – keeping the paint open and avoiding clogging. 

With a spurt of quality defence late in the 3rd, the reds forced 4 turnovers in a row and pulled the game within striking distance for the 4th. 

With some mental lapses down the stretch, the Moonshiners took advantage and were able to close the game out. A tough loss for the team but a fantastic effort with noteworthy defence and a reason to keep out heads high going into the next round. 

Let’s get that win this Saturday. 

Moonshiners 46 defeat Reds 35 

D’s vs. E’s by Max

It was the derby game this week with the D’s facing off against the Reds E team. The E’s got off to a hot start and were 10 points up to a scoreless D’s by mid-way through the first quarter. Finally the D’s made a basket courtesy of Ethan Lunn who went on to score our first 7 points. At the end of the first quarter D’s were down 10-17. The E’s kept in front in the second quarter although an 8 point run by the D’s including 3’s from Manners and Max brought the gap down to 1.

In the third quarter the D’s kept close but couldn’t quite push in front. Ethan had another run of 8 points for the D’s, followed by a 4 point run from Lincoln, and a bucket from Connor to finally even the scores at the end of the period. The D’s carried the momentum into the fourth quarter with Connor and Lincoln again scoring to go up 39-35. The E’s kept in touch though with a pair of 3’s from G-man and another from Brad to again get the lead back 44-43. The D’s had possession with 25 seconds left and 1 point down. After burning some time off the clock Max drove down the middle of the keyway and found a cutting Bish for the lay in to give us the lead 48-47. 

The E’s had one last chance to comeback but Brad Daniel was called for a charging foul. It was a balanced scoring effort this week with all the D’s getting at least 4 points. Ethan led the way with 14 points and Lincoln had 11 points.

E’s vs. D’s by Caldy

This week the E's came up against friendly club rival the 'D's' or less formally, "Max's Team".

The E's came out on fire going up 10-0 to start the game and managed to keep that lead for most of the game, however the D's were slowly closing in. Some good shooting from both teams from 3 as well as strong post moves and a number of blocks was surely a spectacle to behold and no doubt the many family and friends that we manage to drag out each week were having the time of their lives.

Overall it was a hard fought and competitive game, both teams managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over with the result co

ming down to a 1 point differential. Unfortunately the E's went down, 47-48. Top scorer was Brad with 16, G-Man with 9, Simon with 8, Daniele with 7, Jon with 4 and Hendo with 3 points and just as many blocks. A good team effort and thanks to Jon for the post game beers and to Ainoa for doing scoring duties once again.

We are now second last on the ladder however look forward to the rest of the season, maybe we will have more success at the Quiz Night?

2021 - Week 6

 A’s vs. SHOC

Saints 47 defeat Reds 43.

B’s vs. Moonshiners by Mike

Jake Heuzy’s take on the game. 

Before I go to basketball I have a routine.

Firstly I like to get in the zone so I have to play my Jams, which is anything made after I was born in 2003. It gets me in the right headspace for a game. 

I then have to make sure I’m as comfortable and fashionable as possible. I best wear my casual shoes to the game, and make sure I’m not rushed. 

Rocking up early? Nah, I can’t have warm ups ruin my grove. Best rock up just on time. 

Check the game time? Nah, I’m certain it’s a game time that we are yet to play at this season. 

“Hey guys!” sees everyone sweaty and tired 

“Ummm”. 

56-42 loss to Moonshiners. 

Likely votes, hard to tell if you rock up at 2pm for a 1pm game. Unlike a gaily wrapped gift under a pine tree, someone was not present.

C’s vs. Saints B by Morgan

Red playing Blue is always a little special. I have always enjoyed the way the the scholars of the two schools change just a little against each other. This game was no different. It was very physical but still in control. We were all around the same in size as Saints were not as strong but more skilled and played better as a team. Reds were stronger and had far more heart. 

Damien started off the scoring for the Red’s and kept putting up consistent numbers all game with strong drives and the odd three. For any one who has not seen Damien play yet he is a player that has been improving with every game he plays. He is very short but has a very big chest and shoulders and tree stumps for legs and uses all of the above perfectly bouncing into defenders with his off shoulder creating space and putting the ball up always shocking the defence doing this with great handles and speed.

Matt Sallis was smooth creating good plays and space that reds don’t seem to be able to see or use yet. He also got some much needed points himself. Red and Blue were very even and low scoring due to a very physical nature of the game on both ends. Seb and Sam Higham were full of run and show a lot of heat getting a lot of rebounds at both ends. Karamoshos was solid in defence contesting making it hard for Saints.

Reds made a mistake taking Cam and Morgan off at the same time for to long, Saints taking advantage making some quick buckets. From there Reds never quite recovered. We did notice the lack of sneaky points from the injured Lachlan. Hopefully he heals quickly. Over all a loss but a massive improvement on the defensive end that has been terrible this year. Thanks for scoring Lachlan. 

Saints 47 defeat Reds 33

Damien Tudini 15. Matt Sallis 6. Cameron Smith 4.

D’s vs. Pace and Space by Tom Lunn

Pace and Space started the game like a number 2 seed, hitting jumpers, spreading the floor and rotating on D. We on the other hand started like the number 9 seed, missing shots, allowing fast breaks and fouling. 

Down 18 at quarter time we steadied in the second with Simon, Lincoln, Connor, Jarrod and Jimmy scoring to bring the gap back to 17 at half time. From there the opposition kept hitting shots while we racked up fouls (we got 17 versus their miserly 4) and we finished down 64-31. 

Scorers: Jimmy 7, Lincoln 6, Bishop 6, Miller 5 were the best.

E’s vs. Pick n Pop by Caldy

This week the Brigade were up against Pick n Pop. A team that reminds me more of KFC popcorn chicken than legendary San Antonio Spurs Coach Greg Popovich.

The game started as a bit of an arm wrestle with the Reds having plenty of good looks and playing some good defense however our shots just did not want to drop. 

Coming into the game with 5 players once again, we picked up a young recruit called Stu MacDonald (who looks like he could be a handy player). Through some crafty skills we managed to keep our score ticking over going into halftime at 14-23.

Unfortunately the second half wasn't as successful and we got blown out in the third quarter, finishing at 19-39. The last quarter was a much more even affair, we managed to keep them to only 9 points while adding 7 ourselves. Final scores 26-48 with Dangerous Stu scoring 10, Jon '3pt from well beyond the arc' Road Train Read with 7 points in his best game this year, Brad D with 5, Simon and Daniele with 2 each and Hendo with an uncharacteristic 0 points. Also in case you missed it, Jon hit a 3, showing his range from outside as well as inside the paint.

Thanks to Brad for providing some refreshing Pirate Life beverages and also to Jimmy for hanging around to score the first half.

Looking forward to the next game.

2021 - Week 5

 A’s vs. Saints A

Saints 64 defeat Reds 51.

Sam Warren top scores again with 24 and …  no recap.

B’s vs. Saints B

The only undefeated Reds team went into Saturday like they do every week, looking to grab boards, hit bodies and get out on the break.

It all started well, Noah getting out ahead and finishing, but the Reds couldn’t seem to stop the Saints from scoring. As usual, the Reds 3rd quarter was lacklustre and Saints started hitting 3’s where even their crap guy made the scorers work. 

Reds left a last minute run about 30 minutes late and ended up frustrated and empty. They’ll need to get some plays to beat man, and get hands to shooters in the future if they don’t want to end up like last year. A game they’d rather forget, hard to tell who was best on or just least bad. 65-39 loss.

C’s vs. Titans BC

Well, that was a hard one.

It’s hard to fault the performance of the Titans. Strong offensive game from Morgan, where his physical style of game was well matched to such a physical opposition.

Matt Sallis, a deadly man from the perimeter, was laying them down.

This is a good game to learn from. To learn about coordinating a structured defence and not forcing that hard shot. Ultimately, putting in the good fight.

We’ll get 'em next time. Loss 44 to 75.

D’s vs. Adelaide Allstars

This week against the All Stars again the D’s got off to a quick start again to go up 7-0 and then 9-2, before the All Stars evened the scores at 9-9. Simon Miller then pushed the D’s ahead with a fast break layup right at the 1st quarter buzzer. In the second quarter the All Star’s #9 got going making shots from 3 and also leading their fast break attack. The D’s kept in touch with shots from Lunny and Miller again in the final seconds of the half to come back to 22-24. 

In the second half, loose defence by the D’s against their #9 just gave him too many open shots from 3 point range. Meanwhile, Jimmy was doing damage of his own in the 4th quarter, hitting a pair of 3’s in the opening minutes to keep scores level at 37-37. The final minutes were played with a lot of passion, with the D’s called for 4 fouls in a row before Manners was fouled out with 2 minutes to go. Scores were tied until an unlikely 3 from their scoreless #6 with 48 seconds remaining. The D’s missed on their next trip down the floor and so had to foul. The All Stars hit the free throws and pushed the game out of reach. The D’s lost 45-40 in the end. Jimmy starred with 18 points (including four 3’s), Lunny had 8 and Bish had 7.

Reds 40 lose to Allstars 45.

E’s vs. Top Heavy

This week the E team came up against Top Heavy. This was always going to be a tough matchup going up against a multiple time league MVP and his band of cohorts but we were within striking distance for most of the game.

With the possibility of only having 5 players, we were lucky enough to snag Ollie Fox from the waiver wire to make up our team. Unfortunately for Ollie, after playing a very good game, he copped an unintentional elbow to the face which I am sure he will be feeling for much of this week. 

The Reds had a well rounded team effort with everyone putting points and fouls on the board. Jon with 3, G man with 4, Simon with 5 (and a 3 pointer!), Daniele with 6, Ollie with 9 and Hendo shooting lights out from 3 with 14 points. Hendo hit 2 3's in consecutive plays to bring us within 3 points of pulling off a surprising win towards the end of the game.

Unfortunately it wasn't to be as we fell short 41-49. Thanks to Nele for the post game beers.