Tuesday, 20 August 2019

Round #14 - Spots for finals heating up

Key Dates

·      Players Player – Saturday 24th August  THIS SATURDAY***
·      Club Lunch – Saturday 12th October
·      Stay tuned for times/dates for the G's impending finals run and for teams making finals in SAABL***


     SACBA CENTRAL MEN 3

    ROOKIE REDS
ROUND 14 by Lachie  
     Reds v Holdfast 58-20

    Back at it again the G’s had the full roster turn up on what was a drowsy Saturday afternoon. Many of us were awoken by a message from Noah, proclaiming he wanted to score 44 such that his PPG for the season would be exactly 20. 

    With 9 players and a bit of pre-game wisdom from Steve suggested that we go back to playing the same brand of basketball we played all of last year, a full court press in an attempt to frustrate our opponent and give Noah as many opportunities as it was going to take (I for one, thought this would be a lot), in a Kobe Bryant esque farewell game.  In a less than ideal fashion our opponents got out of the gate early by asserting a dominant presence inside with their big men. In what was to be their sole point for the next ten minutes. Noah then kicked into another gear unseen ever before. 

     The boys played hard defence getting steals all over the shop (special note to our import Harry for this one) and rarely letting the opponents get into an offence whilst we all stood around on offence admiring Noahs tough finishes at the rim, mid-range pull ups and 3 pointers, seemingly all managing to go in. It was pure poetry. Each attach followed my a majestic finish leaving the entirety of our team and the opponents in disbelief. At half time the moral of the opposition was pretty well non-existent, single handedly demolished by the cruel hand and athleticism of Noah Miles. Onlookers much akin to our team concerned by the natural scoring ability possessed within the lowest grade of Basketball offered on a Saturday Afternoon. As well as some questionable decisions on prime scoring opportunities from players other than the man of the moment himself. 

     In what has been compared to Steven Bradbury winning gold (unlikely but pleasant to say the least) a dominant display Noahs allowed him to achieve his goal of 44 points (of 46 at this point in time) with about 5 minutes left in the game. From this point onwards the rest of the squad rounded out the game with some crafty passing, intellectual defense and all round beautiful basketball that was a joy to watch. A positive note heading into the finals without our key scorer.  

    Reds v Holdfast 58-20

    Points: Noah Miles 44

     On a side note I’d like to thank Noah for playing with us this year. Even though the quality of game was probably well below what he is used to, the entire team has taken so much from being able to share the court with him and it was a pleasure to say the least. Looking forward we hope to go deep in the finals as a tribute to Noah. 


SAABL DIVISION 1
     PAOCBC REDS
ROUND 14 by Mike
     PAOCBC Reds vs Moonshiners 

     Reds against moonshiners Reds played the first half, it went well. They didn’t play the second half, it went poorly. Reds down by 6. Need to win by a handful next week to make finals.

     Points: Brendan 14, Mike 9


SAABL DIVISION 2


      PAOCBC REDS 2
ROUND 14 by Brandon
     
     PAOCBC Reds 2 vs Coyotes   58-51
     
     The B’s were looking for a 3rd straight win for the first time this season. It was however the same old story for the B’s this year, struggling to find enough bodies to get on the court. Rory - Krantz’s mate, has become a semi-regular for us and has provided some much needed inside presence and size. Ollie was the other fill-in and provided some outside shooting for us. We started off the game fast going out to 10-point lead, but we were unable to keep them off the offensive glass as they clawed their way back. In the 2nd half the Reds talk some questionable 1 pass shots on offensive which led to some quick rebounds and scores against us. We were also down to 4 and a half men, as Krantz’s ankle started to play up as he tried his best to crash the boards against some much taller players. We kept in touch with the Coyotes as the final minutes dwindled with some quick scoring from Gus but unfortunately it wasn’t to be for us this week. We’ll look to finish off the season strong and find some positives going into next season.
     
     Points: B 21, Gus 19


     PAOCBC WHITE 2
ROUND 14 by Jon
     
     PAOCBC White 2 vs Taperoo  47-52

     The Cs and Taperoo sat 5th and 4th on the ladder respectively and this game would decide if we were still in with a chance to make finals. We started the game shooting well from 3 with Dan, Dylan and Jon all hitter 3s early and jumping out to an early lead. Taperoo bounced back to reclaim the lead with transition points. By the end of the half both teams were tied. Taperoo attacked the paint in the second half, using their size and physicality. Morgan and cam did a good job inside but faced difficult match ups against the taller Taperoo frontcourt. Dillon kept the Cs in the game with numerous baseline jumpers. With 5 minutes to go we were down 8. Some more makes from Dillon cut the lead to 4 with 30 seconds remaining. At this point Jon was sent to the line for 3 free throws due to a Taperoo tech foul. He made the first, missed the next 2 but got the offensive rebound and hit a 3 to tie the game up with an unconventional 4-point play. Taperoo missed a decent inside look and Dillon had a last effort at a running floater at the buzzer which was just short. In overtime Taperoo got the jump early and raced out to a 6-point lead which we never recovered from.
     Points: Dill 14, Jon 13


SAABL DIVISION 3

     SAABL All STARS

ROUND 14 by Manners

     All Stars v Pace and Space  40-82

     Stars came out against top ranked Pace & Space to secure a finals berth.  Stars started in a zone but quickly Pace were able to pick it apart, making open jumpers (it seemed as though they just didn’t miss) , including 3 three’s from a gifted shooter and jump to a 20-8 lead.  Stars time out and switch to a man D which slowed Pace slightly, but it just wasn’t the Stars day for shots dropping, all of us missing many easy ones and having shots which would normally fall rim-out.  Stars only adding 2 more points and go into half 35-10.

     BB goes down and badly sprains ankle and the Stars are a man down, unfortunately the shots continue to rim-out and Pace break-out on transition.  Second half, much like the first and Pace continue to pile it on, looking every bit like the outfit that would probably be favoured in the second grade.  Three of their players end-up with 29,24 and 17 respectively. Stars need a win against Lions and hope that the poor Saints team upsets the good Saints team to make finals. 

    Points: Maas 13, Stu 11, Lunny 6.



     PAOCBC REDS 3
ROUND 14 by Ollie
      
     PAOCBC Reds 3 v Adelaide University Blacks 33-36

      On Saturday the Es played the Adelaide University Blacks. The blacks started out on a good run hitting some inside shots and finishing through traffic but the reds came back with some quick threes from Tim Sibly and some defensive stops by Greg Fletcher Harriss. From here on though the reds could not seem to buy a bucket with everything bouncing off of the rim. The game was hard fought until the end with the Es going down by only three. Big thanks to Greg (one of Tyler’s two dads) for filling in a playing big when we needed it. On to the next one for the Es boys.
     
     Points: Greg 13


     PAOCBC WHITE 3
ROUND 14 by RT
     PAOCBC White 3 vs Punjab Lions   47-33

     Finally one that went our way. With our team struggling for numbers again we called upon a new fill in, Frank McLachlan. A recent import to the country (from South Africa) with a fine basketball pedigree (last played nearly 2 decades ago) we thought he would fit in nicely.

     Wearing the famous number 44 of Troy Tirrell (our resident 3 point shooter), he didn’t disappoint, with 2 or 3 air balls from beyond the arc. However his excellent ball handling and general upbeat tempo more than made up for the wayward shots.
     We had a slight size advantage over the opposition and we used it to good effect, finishing strongly inside and dominating boards at both ends of the court. Our D was especially good, holding them to 6 points for the first half, and a good few minutes of the second half as well. Their shooters finally got on track with about 15 minutes left in the game, but it was a case of too little, too late. We had too many options for scoring, particularly inside the key, with three of our players getting into double digits.
     After the game we retired outside while their coach had them lined up inside giving them a spray.

      B-Rad with a tidy 15-point haul, on a strapped knee. Hendo with 13 and only a few arguments with the ref. RT with 12, 2 from the line. Luckily missed attempt stats aren’t kept. Frank with 4, Nele with 3 and Flair turned up and played… not troubling the scorers with points or fouls.

     Flair did, however, win after the game providing welcome beers.



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