SACBA Week 3 Preview - Derby Round

Milestones:
On Saturday Jay Nguyen and Daniele Tosato played their 100th game for the basketball club.

Jay joined the club in 2007. He was in the B's for a number of years and won a B Grade title in 2007 - in the Grand Final Jay scored 20 points, hitting 5 threes.

Nelly joined the club in 2008 and won a title that year while playing in the E Grade.  Well done lads, great effort.

This weekend is the weekend of three Old Reds derbies - it can be looked on as a challenge but most of us look upon it as an irritating inevitability that comes with being in such a successful club and having so many teams in a competition with limit grades.

The week leading up there is a little tension in the air as you know you will have to compete against so many friends, that there is a team that is supposed to win and a team that will be the underdog, that some people enjoy the fact that they are in the "better team" and some people are of the opinion of "let's just get this over with". The next week is then tense because there is the reality of dealing with the fact that one team will lose and they have to face the people that defeated them ... and they can be somewhat smug about it. So all in all - it is tough.

That is why we are going to the pub after - to wash the bitter taste that is left behind out with ... the only proven solution to all of life's problems, beer!

Post Old Reds Derby Day Drinks
When: Saturday May 18
Where: The Seven Stars
Time: From 3pm - 6pm (then we can move if we are ticking over)

You will need to consider who will score your game and line it up early in the week - most of us will be playing.

Game Previews:
A's v B's - 1.50 @ Powerhouse Court 1- the A's have won every A's v B's derby of the 20 or so played ... except one. The one the B's won featured Phil, Hobbs, Foo and Orks ... and they all now play in the A's. It will be an interesting match up - the A's have shooting, athleticism and want for the ball. Hobbs causes all sorts of nightmares for the B's, they struggle to keep Phil out of the lane and Liam, Jack and Purge are tough to keep off the glass. The B's are still gelling and will need to use their size (Goody, Lachy, Davey and Mike) and shoot well (Darcy, Palky, Jamie and Ned). To beat the A's you need to slow the game, keep the A's from running the break, crashing the O boards, keep them out of the lane in the half court, stop them from shooting uncontested 3's while shooting well yourself - doing all 6 of those things is very tough to do but guess there is a reason they have won 5 titles in a row. A's should get the win.

C's v Holdfast A's - 1.50 @ Powerhouse Court 2 -  I haven't seen much of Holdfast - they look pretty big. The C's are playing great ball at the moment and I would dare say they would go very close to being in the Top 5 teams in the whole competition (not just A Grade). Big test this week - C's to win.

D's v E's - 1.50 @ Cedar Court 1 - This is a classic case of youth v experience. The D's have so much talent and it is harnessing that talent which is the key ... getting them to play hard at both ends for the whole time. The E's have solid veterans (Rough, Max and Diamond) and a lot of size (Brad, Cam, Moorfoot and Acott) and one Wrecking Ball in Alex Bubner. The E's need to make it a grind - keep the score low and beat up on the youth. The D's need to run (Sime, Pritch and the Mitches) and use their bigs to crash the glass and score down low (Gus, Krantz, Jono and Lunny). I'm gonna say the D's just but it is an interesting matchup so I really have no idea.

F's v G's - 1.00 @ Cedar Court 2 The F's killed the G's in the trial the other day - the G's were missing Townsend, Reid and Jacky ... so basically their backcourt. The F's are pretty good - Brad Hughes is dominating at the moment and would realistically be in the best 3 or 4 guards in the club at the moment. With the pedigree of both Stu and Jay and the monster in Jon Read ... it will be too much for the G's to handle. F's by a margin.

Lady Reds v Unley Park B @ Powerhouse Court 1 - I'm not sure about Unley Park B. They were not great last year but they could have improved. Emma is coming in for her first game, Jordy is missing.