2019 #7 Round 5 Recaps - C's turn off the Taps, while A's knock off the Champs

Key Dates

• Intercol – Monday 22^nd of July
• Quiz Night – Saturday 27^th of July – More details to be announced soon
• Players Player – Saturday 24^th of August
• Club Lunch – Saturday 12^th of October

**Housekeeping - captains please send me your game reports by Sunday evening so I don't have to chase up individually ... and feel free to spread the writing duty around your team. Always entertaining to hear different voices! 

SACBA Central Men 3

G’s (Rookie Reds) v King’s Baptist by Noah

This week the Rookie Reds came up against King’s Baptist in a hotly contested matchup. Our opposition again were much older and a little bigger than us, but luckily we had the 6 foot 8 frame of Grant (Noah’s Dad) filling in for our depleted side.

King’s Baptist got off to a quick start, getting up 10-5 early in the first half despite only having 4 players to begin the game. They were able to get inside our zone with their big bodies and get second shots with offensive boards. However, we fought back late (thanks to a few bonus points for our opposition’s late arrival) to be up 21-20 at the half.

The second half began fairly evenly, with Crawf finding the basket with some smooth floaters and nice finishes, Steve driving hard to the rim, and Grant giving away some fouls. However, with 3 minutes to go we found ourselves down by 5. After a short timeout and a few inspirational words we came out firing. Some strong work on the defensive end and really good team basketball in transition saw us go on a 10-0 run to round out the game, leaving us winners 40-35. With this win, the Rookie Reds maintained their position on top of the table making us the team to beat in the competition.

Score: Rookie Reds defeated King’s Baptist 40-35

Points: Crawford 11, Miles Jr 8, Ottanelli 5

SAABL Division 3

F’s v SPOC Saints Gold 3 by Road Train

We knew we were in for another treat when Saints brought two teams, or near enough, to the competition. This was the newly regarded team down from Div 2, where they were winless. We could tell straight away that they were very excited to be there, whereas our pregame discussions centred around the fact that Trev had volunteered to bring post game beers but hadn’t yet turned up!

Luckily for us not long after the game started he turned up, so our post game refreshments were in the bag. From that point on the game became secondary. We didn’t play particularly badly, but 7 ageing guys against 9 or so younger players was always going to be a struggle. Church spec reffing was also the order of the day, despite SAABL promises to the contrary.

We had our moments during the game, but we couldn’t come away with a respectable result, much less a win. It was commented after the game that we could see how they were winless in Div 2, possibly with a full squad and decent warm up we might trouble them more.

Nele the only player out of both teams to remain scoreless. Caldy with 2. G and Hendo with 5 each, both with a 3 point shot each. Trev with 6 from a couple of threes. B-Rad with 7 and RT with 11.

I would take the scoresheet with a fairly big pinch of salt, as I am 100% certain I got 8 or maybe 10 and I would think Brad had more than me. We had a player scorer doing the scoreboard, they had a scorer who admitted it was his first time. As mentioned, post game beers by Trev, chips by RT.

Score: Reds 36 lose to Saints 67

E’s v Saints White 3 by Ollie

Saturday’s game started out with a horrendous score of 0-0 for both sides until 5 minutes into the half where Ollie Fox started us off with a nice floater. Moving on from there it was a basket for basket scenario with Saints narrowly leading for most of the first half. The last two minutes of the first half were stuffed with some timely and-ones from the fill in James. At the half PAC Lead by 6. At the break the team discussed their ball movement and decided to get longer offences to free up space in the paint for people to go to work.

As the second half began we hit the ground running. A couple of timely threes from Ollie and few inside buckets from Tim and James were a big help in the overall outcome of the game. This run continued throughout the second half with us knocking down shots and getting second chance shots. All in all great game by the boys with well-run offences and good presence on the boards. Special mention to Todd Fischer as we set him a target of 20 boards and securing a total of 22 boards. Also his highest scoring game with a massive effort of 2 points.

Score: Reds 47 defeat Saints 36

Points: James 17, Ollie 15, Tim 13

D’s (All Stars) v Top Heavy by Manners

The All Stars came up against Top Heavy, another newcomer to SAABL. The first half was tight, with Madman making a baseline jumper to get proceedings underway, then Lunny hitting Stu with a nice pass for a lay-up. Tight scoring for both teams, the All Stars just weren’t hitting shots, only one of their players doing the scoring. Scores close to even at the half and unfortunately for the Stars, the shooting yips continued second half. 

Top Heavy drew many fouls and their only scorer made the Stars pay from the line. Late second half Stu came alive driving in the keyway and making tough layups. Still, the Stars couldn’t stop #25 Tim Lai from Top Heavy who continued.  The Stars down 2 with 5 seconds to go drew up an inbounds play for Stu, which didn’t come off. Stars go down by 2 in a disappointing loss and one they’d like to have back. Some poor turnovers, allowing second chance points on rebounds the biggest culprits.  

Score: Top Heavy 27 defeat All Stars 25

Points: Stu 14, Manners 4

SAABL Division 2

C's vs Taperoo by Jon Foo

First half: Cs got out to a great start, jumping out to a 22-10 start - Isaac opened the game with a tough reverse layup then scored on the break - Dylan, Dan and Jon all hit early 3s! Morgan scored inside and was causing havoc with steals and deflections - Cam took a great charge and was solid on D getting a block as well. Taperoo gathered and made a run towards the end of the half - Cs up by 9 at the half after a pair of free throws from Dan and a 3 with 4 seconds left in the half from Dylan.

Second half: Taperoo continued to stay in the game with a couple 3s and attacking the paint. Jon got out on the break and scored inside a couple times. With 5 mins to go, Cs were up by 5 - Morgan scored a clutch bucket inside - Dan hit a baseline jumper - Isaac sealed the game with an and-1 with 30 seconds to go. Great bounce back win against the top team after losing 3 straight.

Score: Reds win 49 to 44

Points: Foo’s 27 (Jon 14, Dan 13), Issac 8, Dylan 7

B’s v Coyotes (the artist formerly known as ‘Undecided’) by Baker

Frustrating game for the B’s this weekend. Krantz and Gus were dominant on the glass early and our ball movement was okay - but there was a lid on the basket. We put up 8 points in almost a half of basketball, thank fuck Brandon finished the half with a big three giving us some momentum going into the break ... albeit down 21-11

Half time proved positive - the consensus being we won’t have a worse shooting half for the year and we were only down 10. The second half was a game of runs. Kara had two big buckets to open the half and we ramped up our defense and built momentum, going on a 14-6 run in 4 minutes flat to close the gap to 4.

The Coyotes called a timeout then responded with a 14-0 run of their own on the back of some hot shooting from deep. In the end, they made shots and we didn’t. Our defensive effort and offensive execution improved in the second half, but as Lenny wisely noted from the scorer’s bench -  we needed to stop the game and their decisive run earlier.

Thankfully post game beers and wings at KTH lifted the spirts. Cheers to Gus’s roommate Paddy for filling in and we look forward to Self sorting his life out so he can provide some offensive firepower next weekend.

Score: Coyotes 53 defeat Reds 40

Points: Gus 15, Brandon 11, Baker 6

SAABL Division 1

A’s v The Schitz by Lachy

So SAABl has had to make a few changes to the fixture recently because some teams, well. Some of them just https://youtu.be/otCpCn0l4Wo?t=18. This led to the A's season fixture being changed so that we now have 6 games at PAC instead of zero. That's fine.

BUT WAIT! Classic 2019 A's drama - how many fucking players do we have?? This week’s timeline - even the fill in pulls out on Saturday morning.

With Mike and Lachie reffing at Rostrevor and trying to figure out who to ask to play, the first thought was "hey, how about that high school kid from Trinity?". Twenty phone calls alter, Lachie finally remembers the A grade player who is always keen to play - cue Craig "How is the most handsome guy on the team the less good looking person in the marriage" Garrity lacing up at the eleventh hour** for the Old Reds for the first time this Saturday season.

Prior to the game, Lachie overheard one ref mention to another that 2 of the players for the Schvitz**** are COPS. Oh no, the safety! Lachie called one of them over to confirm the status of the 3rd guy there. The response? "We're ALL cops". Now, I'm not gonna say the younger refs looked intimidated. But I definitely saw one get out a parking ticket.

GAME TIME!!!

Last time we played a regular season game at PAC, Big Phill scored a literal billion* points in the first 13 minutes, completely obliterating Mike Hill's previous scoring record.

This time around, he didn't want to be a Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, or Derrick Rose**, starting with some amazing cuts down the base for good finishes. But cuts without a passer mean nothing, and Brendon "how old is that guy anyway, did he just turn 21 or 22" Francesca started out hot hot HOT

D-Dawggy Dawg for the first 5 points, then 2 assists, then more points. Around about this time, the other team made a bucket. The bastards. Time to get to work, I guess?

The Schvitz won last season for a reason - namely, they're quite good. They started hustling a bit more, and dropping some buckets to close the lead. Meanwhile Reds, with a damaged***** Captain Point Guard, Reds starting racking up a few turnovers

Having learned the lessons of the previous weeks, Reds were smart enough to pull the trigger on early timeouts to stop enemy momentum and have a bit of a rest. A lot of trading back and forth happens over the next 25-30 minutes, but the Reds continued to 

Kerwin Penn (aka Mike Hill's former best friend before Lachlan "Best-Beast" Campbell) continues to be the biggest worry for the Reds, as he's one of the best shooters and is having a good day. To quote him post game "yeah that was a good close out, I couldn't even see the ring" BUT HE STILL MADE IT!!!

Talk from the boys on court has been phenomenal at this point, as we're well aware that we need to overplay Kerwin "Hothand" Penn in addition to Aljosa "Big body, small head Severinski. At this point, most points for the Schvitzy-Schvitz are coming off long rebounds and broken plays.

The Schvitz decide to go to a man defence, which pretty much is what your boy eats up for breakfast. Slop it on a plate and sop it up with a bisket. Having said that, when the best defender on the team swaps onto you and the worst/laziest onto Liam "Alchemist" Golding, you're gonna enjoy just watching your teammate turn bad defence into gold results. Liam taking some sweet drives and a couple of nice finishes. Only problem... some of those great looks aren't dropping. And Kerwin "please go away" Penn is still making tough shots.

While the Reds have some good looks on the push which should have converted, and admittedly the passes were quite good, we looked like we wanted to quit basketball and open a bakery******

The last few minutes were quite tight - Kerwin making a couple more 3's, Phil "more balanced than he looks" Modra getting to the line. Nathan Broadbent hits a trey as well to really break the sweat out on the Reds bench.

Reds clamp down on the turnovers and make good decisions though, B-Dawg getting another field goal to extend the lead to 4. Fouls going down the court and Schvitz want to make a play - Reds calling to not foul but contest clean.

Brendo takes a rebound and BECAUSE HE'S SIMPLY A BAD PLAYER******* he runs on the sideline while dribbling the basketball for the worst turnover in history. Period.

Lachie contests the inbound and Modra also steps on the sideline, giving the ball to the Reds for the last 3 seconds and the win. Reds 49 defeat reigning champs The Schvitz 45!

Many thanks to Craig Garrity for coming out this week, I'm sure we'll have you again!

Likely votes: Brendon, Phill, an immodest myself.

*patently untrue, though Big Phill did have a monster game.
** one and done players. I hope you all got that reference
* he answered the phone around 11.50, fill ins have to be registered by 12. Pretty close, ey!
** don't think I worked up enough that we're playing the reigning champs
*** by himself. He fucking hurt himself while drunk, AGAIN. Someone needs to baby proof the world for this mofo
**** turnovers
*****pretty much the opposite of this

Note from Baker - if you made it to the end of this blog and understood Lachie's 'footnotes' I commend you ... anyway good wins guys!

2019 #6 Round 4 Recaps - Ageless Allstars Notch First Win

SAABL Division 1

A’s v Kings Park Royals by Liam

Ok ***drumroll for Mikes favourite joke about Mike*** excessive length warning.

The pre-match excitement was all for the All Stars and one particular shooting star who broke the mould (kids, ask your parents about that reference) meaning we had little time to talk tactics. Luckily our starting five was set and tactically had some familiarity having played a solid 40 with each other the previous week. They would also be going for the full 40 this week with the same work, back and footy related concerns as round 4 (or game three or whatever). 

Lachy noted that the opposition was familiar as mainly the Sturt boys from Tuesday plus a couple of others. This meant we knew their main scoring threats, Tom and Andy, and we then watched on as they top scored for KPR. To be fair, Andy can shoot the lights out so we were pretty happy keeping him relatively quiet. On the other hand, Tom shot the 3, hit pull ups, drove and got to the line, but at least we were aware of the threat.

The start was back and forth with each side hitting threes and getting inside and getting to 7-7 after 5 minutes. We then strung together a few stops and kept scoring to build a mini break. About this time, it became clear to me that every time I walked past Mike I got a bit drunk. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised considering Mike’s pregame insistence on telling me how he got caught in the dunnys without paper and the high jinks that ensued. Luckily his neighbour had a square to spare (trust me kids, Seinfeld was a big deal back in the day partly because we all had to watch *gasp* free to air TV) and Mike was able to exit the stalls and record a not-at-all incoherent video with Palky.

We went into a timeout in good shape and came out of it continuing to build our lead to 18-9, though KPR had broken their scoring drought and we were starting to look a bit leggy. B was playing solid D and was out running the break to give us some easy points, but KPR had started to get back in the game with decent inside/outside play. We took a timeout aiming to recharge and hold a lead into half time. It didn’t really work, as KPR took the lead, but we responded with a late 3 and Lachy getting inside for a three point half time lead.

Coming out of the half our five were a bit spent, Lachy and Mike struggling for fitness - one from illness and the other from life choices (actual shocker about which was which there) and Phill and Liam struggling with getting their zimmer frames around the court. B was great his energy got us our scoring early in the second half, while Phill’s intensity got us another couple of baskets before we took our scheduled rest time out at about the 10. 

Personally, I’d had the highly satisfying experience of players saying shooter whenever I was near and not then stepping off as far through the end of the first half and to this point in the second. While I enjoyed this, I had not worked hard enough to get open. They’d switched to a 3-2. This meant we found space at the high-post. 

In this space and through this time, Mike continued to drunk drive like Homer after the Duff factory tour i.e. with surprising competence and effectiveness though he may have failed the breathalyser (from 3 min, but the whole clip is quality – kids, this is what the Simpsons used to be like back in the day sharp and funny – once again, ask your parents). His passes found B, and Lachy in particular but dimes were not forthcoming. This felt like opportunity slipping through as KPR were starting to have the balance of the play and looked likely to edge away. 

Happily, my realisation that cutting to get open is important and our continued exploitation of the high post and solid inside passing to add to that meant we started to score again. With five to go back to back threes got KPR to call a timeout and a free rest for us with an eight-point lead. Woo Hoo! Mike, B, and Phill kept the scoreboard ticking over including from the foul line after Phill got a kind call on a shot down low. Mike then shot the half court buzzer beater with about 6 seconds still on the clock and the game was over. 

Reds A’s go to 2-2 and are good for third on the ladder (third is also equal seventh so let’s take Harvey Keitel’s advice here). It’s a good even league and there’s a long way to go, but it’s nice that right now we’re just a single shot away from being equal top. Now we need to come out hard after the week off and keep it rolling.

Score: Reds 55 defeat Kings Park Royals 42

Points: Liam 20, Phill 13, Mike 8, B 8

SAABL Division 2

B’s v Old Ignatius Wolves by Brandon

The B’s came into week 4 after an ugly but gutsy win over the Spartans and were looking to go 3-1. Up against a solid St Iggies outfit we started off well with a 6-point lead 10 minutes through the game off the back of Gussy’s 16-point half. However, things then started to slow down, and we found it difficult to score whilst also giving up some cheap buckets through a lack of communication on D. A quick timeout after going down double digits midway through the 2^nd half was exactly what we needed, as we identified our issues and started to make a nice run. Gussy again being aggressive and getting to the ring and Baker showing some nice hustle on both ends of the floor, managing to draw the game even and head to OT.

After Timmy went down with some knee soreness leaving us with 5, our fatigue set in. We managed to send it to a 2^nd OT but were unlucky to see Old Ignatius score a 3 off a broken play and ended up losing by 5. It was nice to see some resolve and great teamwork from the boys after finding ourselves in a difficult position and hopefully we can take some confidence from how we can play if we are able to work together.

Score: Reds 62 lose to Wolves 67

Points: Gussy 26, Brandon 20, Krantz and Kara 5

C’s v RAVSTASS Ravens by Jon

The Cs came up against a veteran RAVSTASS squad on the weekend. The team started off slow falling to an 8 point deficit in the first 10 minutes. After regaining composure the team brought it back with scoring from Dillon and Jon in transition. The team ended the half down 19-21. In the second half the RAVSTASS switched to a man defence. The Cs did a decent job adjusting playing through Dan and Jon and finding shooters / cutters. Dan had a sweet dish for a Cam layup and Dillon got open for a 3 and a baseline 2. While the Cs zone defense was solid the RAVSTASS did a good job getting in the gaps and hitting midrange jumpers. With 4 seconds to go we had a chance for a 3 for the tie. Jon got his man in the air with a pump fake at the top of the key but missed a leaning 3 pt attempt.

Score: Reds 41 lose to RAVSTASS 44

Points: Jon 15, Dillon 9, Cam 6

SAABL Division 3

D’s (All Stars) v Adelaide University Blacks 3 by Palky

An arm wrestle early against the raw yet feisty Uni Blacks 3. The All Stars were blessed with the return of Club superstars Stu MacDonald and Andrew Williams, they were less blessed with the return of Palky ... his jumpshot did not make its way across the border. The All Stars played like the wiley veterans they are - lots of ball movement, great cutting, interior passing, making open jump shots, finishing at the rim ... not a lot of running fast breaks and high flying rebounding and shot blocking. It was a joy to behold - it was like watching guys that have played for 20 years together play basketball together. Madman was knocking his jumper, Stu hitting 3s and getting crafty layups, Lunny dominating down low with post ups, BB playing great D and finishing on the break, Manners jumped on a loose ball with 40 seconds to go when we were up 30, Bishop seems like a veteran head and big body with good b-ball IQ, Big A made an awesome and 1 where he drew contact and made an off balance leaner from 12 feet. Palky went 0-10 from 3, turned the ball over 4 times in the second half .... the boys look relieved it’s his only game for the season. It was a pleasure to play with these old lads - they know the right way to play, it was so much fun.

Score: Reds 49 defeat Blacks 18

Points: Stu 19, Lunny 12, Madman 7. Everyone scored!

Average age 74!

E’s v RAVSTASS Leprechauns by Ollie

This week the PAOCBC Es were up against the RAVSTASS Leprechauns. The other team came out much more physical and began the game with a few easy buckets before we had the ability to contain them in transition. Harrison Crawford coming up huge with some massive defensive efforts in the post which were turned into transition buckets from Tim Sibly and Ollie Fox on the break. The last part of the first half was dominated by a 10-0 run with all points coming from some timely threes and quick pull up jumpers from Ollie Fox which put us up by 12 going into the second half.

Around two minutes into the second half the team was hit with a big loss with Harrison Crawford going down with an ankle that will most likely put him out for weeks if not the season. This was a massive loss for us as Jeremy Pierce became our tallest player on the court. This height difference proved to be tough to overcome as the Leprechauns began their run, slowly breaking the lead down. We did a very good job of managing the pace of the game with some long offences of 10-12 passes each which allowed for open buckets however the lack of height and the foul trouble towards the end of the game gave the Leprechauns the lead. With them winning by 10 points. Credit to all the boys as they played one of their best games of the season.

Score: Reds 45 lose to RAVSTASS 55

Points: Ollie Fox 23, Tim Sibly 17

The aforementioned ankle ... shit I thought I looked bad the morning after 

F’s v Top Heavy by RT

Once again the former Gold team struggled for player numbers, with a squad of 5, fittingly for a 5pm game. The opposition, Top Heavy, looked young, fit and in good form. They had two tall and athletic players that we could tell would cause us trouble.

A pretty sloppy centre tap saw us with possession and the first 5-10 minutes were quite promising. We weren’t winning the ball game, but all of our players were in good form. Shots were mostly dropping and we looked pretty good. One of their big guys attempted a dunk, but was solidly blocked by the ring, which was pleasing to see. Their inside penetration was slowed down by solid defence, in fact there was even a charge or two called.

Unfortunately all of our skills couldn’t slow down the onslaught of a much younger team with 6 players, allowing them to rotate for rest time on the bench. It would have been easy to have a blow out, but in the second half we managed to get back within 10 or so points before a spate of threes opened the gap again. 

Final score: Reds 46 lose to Top Heavy 62. 

Points: B-Rad and Nele with 16 each - a really outstanding effort. Hendo with 8 including our only 3 for the game. RT with 4 and Caldy with 2, once again showing his unselfish play. B-Rad with the post game beers.

SACBA Central Men 3 

G’s (Rookie Reds) v Seeds Uniting Blue by Noah

This week the Rookie Reds came up against a side which was both a bit taller than us, and considerably older than us, in Seeds Uniting Blue.

The game started with Noah trying to be like Crawf was last week, getting two quick fouls straight off the tip. We were very ill-disciplined with fouls in the first half, allowing the team into the bonus quite early on. The opposition were able to pass well through our zone defence effectively, and some strong offensive rebounding on their end kept the game close. Our opposition were getting a bit seedy (haha), and at half time the game was tight with the Reds down by a point.

However, the half time talk was one of pure inspiration by Martins Lidums, with comparisons to ‘Al Pacino – Any Given Sunday’ heard after the game. A quote that will resinate with the whole team said by our leader Martins was “We are in zone defence right now, gentlemen believe me and we can stay here and get the shit kicked out of us or we can go to man and find our way back into the light.”

And with this powerful message, The Reds came out firing in the second half. With Crawf acting like Gandalf the grey in the paint, and Noah then deciding to go on a tear like his also named counterpart Noah’s Ark, he was finding all the 2s. Matteo (Stephen Ottanelli) Denaro then started to heat up dropping a few average baskets. To finish the game Noah was very selfish and wouldn’t pass. Bouncing back in the second half, the Rookie Reds were able to put together some strong running on the break to put together a convincing win against a tough opponent.

Score: Rookie Reds 48 defeated Seeds Uniting Blue 35

Points: Miles 25, Ottanelli 10, Crawford 9