2021 - Week 12

 E’s Recap by Caldy

This week the 'E's came up against fellow cellar dwellers "Savage Army", who were one of our two wins for the year. However, we expected a much improved team this time around. Starting short again, we had Stu fill in giving us 5 players - Simon, Hendo, Daniele, Troy and Stu. Being young we were a little worried that the other team might run us off our feet, and to their credit they started the game well, keeping with us for most of the first half with some good 3 point shooting. Unfortunately their defense was lacking allowing us to get easy cuts and multiple scoring opportunities. Stu kept our scoring ticking over and top scored with 24 points, Simon had a season high 14 points, Daniele had 9, Hendo had 8 and Troy had 3. Eventual winners 60-43, it could have been more however the opposition decided to play a full court press for the last 5 minutes, resulting in a number of turnovers (99% mine) and easy buckets.

We are actually in 7th spot now, just above PAOCBC Red D, not that I am pointing that out...just something I thought was interesting!!

Thanks to Ainoa for scoring, G man for coming to post game beers and importantly to Hendo for supplying the beers and snacks this week!! In Hendo's own words as he announced his intentions, "I hope you're sitting down...i'll bring beers this week", we were equal parts shocked and excited!* 

*This is because Hendo doesn't normally stay for beers, however this week he did and also brought beers! 

D’s Recap by Reggie 

The Reds hit the court full of energy with a team of 8 keen to amend for a small loss the last time we faced the Adelaide All Stars.  It was a fast paced opening, Jimmy got us on the scoreboard with a trey before the AAS went on a 9-0 run.  Jimmy said “I’ll have none of that thanks” and hit another triple, Reggie drove and kissed one off the window, before Jimmy closed out the quarter with a deuce to take the lead 10-9.  Lachie and Ethan started to get busy, LC getting to the line, cutting and going backdoor during the quarter, with Ethan icing one from outside and Connor hitting one under the rim, reward for several tough battles under the hoop.  We were going basket for basket with AAS and were down a point at the half. 

 

In the 2nd half, Reggie hit a long J and a couple of free throws, the Bish added a couple from the stripe and Lincoln scrapped and threw himself into the contest to help give us what would be our largest lead of the game of just 3 points.  It was as tight as Warwick Capper’s shorts in his heyday.  The Lunn father-son combination came to the fore for the end of the 3rd, Lunny hitting a couple of FGs including a nice cut to take the dish, Ethan just as good to close out the 3rd (perhaps jumping a little higher for his), only broken by Jimmy hitting his 3rd from downtown.  But we were down 4 points at the last break. 

 

Lachie kept running all game and was unlucky not to have more to his name, he opened our 4th quarter scoring before Ethan hit his second 3 pointer to get us just one point down.  From there it was an arm wrestle, not much scoring, lots of fouls and we were down by 6 with 3 minutes to go.  We slowed it down and sent AAS to the line a few times to try and claw back but despite a couple of buckets inside the last minute by Ethan & Reggie we couldn’t do it and went down by 8.

 

Final score 52-44, Jimmy 11, Ethan 10, Reggie 8.

C's by Kara

A depleted C’s outfit – in terms of both numbers and mental strength – fronted up to play against the old rival. Given our blistering form (0-11), we were deservedly hot favourites to take this game. Unfortunately we only had 6 players including a few carrying some minor niggles. Saints on the other hand had a team the size of a football squad.

Saints shot out to an early lead thanks to some sloppy turnovers and poor defence. We regrouped a bit, knocked down a few shots but fell behind 12-23 at the half. Sammy Higham ghosted his way into the key a number of times for easy offensive boards and putbacks. Matt managed to nail a couple of threes and fill-in Nick played big.

With a few seconds left on the clock, Sam K got the ball inside and dropped in a clutch and-1 to bring us back within 13 points.

In the end, we ran out of gas and also weren’t very good.

Final score 38-51

Points: Nick 11, Sammy Higham 9, Matt Salis 9

Ladder position: 0- …. let’s not talk about it.

Other Results 

A’s 56 defeat Hubtitans 49

Points: Reds Fill in 2 15, Cotton 13, Warnock 12

Ladder position: Currently 5th, a game back but with a good % - a chance to make finals.

B’s 53 lose to Moonshiners 75 

Points: Gus Crawford 13, Mike 10, Riley 10

Ladder position: 5th by % only, play 4th place Forestville this week then the undefeated The Schvitz to finish the year. Fate in their own hands!

2021 - Week 9

E’s Recap by Caldy

This week the E team came up against fellow bottom of the ladder team "Adelaide All Stars". Having not seen them play this year we were unsure of what they would bring to the table. The All stars had a good mix of youth and seniority all with varying levels of basketball ability with number 9 and number 4 being the stand outs.

The Reds had 5 people available with Road train and Flair both out with injuries and Troy out with more important duties, luckily we had Dangerous Stu fill in once again. The game started out well with Brad getting several and-1 opportunities and making life hard for the all-stars forwards as well as Hendo and Stu working hard on the boards for second chance points. Simon, Nele and G man controlled the perimeter and the game was evenly poised at half time with the Reds feeling like the better team but knowing we needed to keep our foot on the gas. 

Second half we managed to pull away with some nice shooting outside complimenting our inside work, coupled with an increased focus on defense and a number of steals and forced turnovers we were able to pull away and finish the game off.

Final scores were 56-35 with Stu scoring 22, Brad scoring 15, Hendo with 9, Simon with 4, G with 3 and Daniele scoring 3 (all from free throws!). We are now 8th on the ladder and come up against rivals SPOC next week.

D’s Recap by Mark Powell

The Red’s D’s finally unleashed for a fun win this week against Savage Army in a relatively high scoring game. The first quarter started off quite evenly matched with their Louis Qian taking our defence by surprise and connecting on a trio of 3 pointers. Jimmy kept us in touch with some accurate shooting of his own. 

Once our defence readjusted to their scoring threat the D’s took control of the game by pushing the ball up the court quickly at every opportunity and also showing patience to find the open player in the half-court game. Lachlan Crawford was being rewarded for some crafty cuts to the basket and we kept feeding Jimmy some open looks from outside. By half time the game was all but over for Savage Army.

Final score was 59 – 41. Lachlan Crawford had 23 points and Jimmy had 16 including four 3 pointers. Thanks to Ethan Lunn for scoring for us this week.

C’s Recap by Baker

Tough game vs. the top of the ladder and undefeated The Schiz. They are fucking big and move the ball well really challenging our still yet to find its feet defense. O boards killed us. We had some good looks in the first half but we couldn’t connect.

Second half was largely junktime, the 60-45 final score was flattering but we worked hard to keep it respectable. Matt was good with 18 tough points on offence, Damien also had 8. Look forward to trying to crack a W against the mid table Ravens.

B’s Recap by Gus

Round 8 saw the B’s face the Ravens in a critical 5th vs 6th matchup which would see the winner jump into the Top 4 and end the round well poised to make a run at finals.

The team was undersized after losing Krantzy in Round 7 to a untimely elbow to the chin which required multiple stitches. By way of consolation, we no longer need to worry about him resigning from his presidency to pursue a late-blooming modelling career. We were also missing Mike (other basketball commitments) and Jake (isolating due to VIC spicy-cough restrictions). Riley played, but with a heavily strapped and “hopefully not” fractured finger.

They say basketball is a game of “runs”. So is cricket. If you were playing the latter, you could make our total first quarter score with a well-timed straight drive back over the bowler’s head – that’s right, 6 runs/points. We got jumped early and struggled to find a rhythm for the rest of the game.

Characteristically, Phil battled his heart out on defence against 2-3 legitimate big opponents and got us plenty of stops. We looked best when we got a quick high-post touch and kicked it to open shooters. However, for a team with plenty of legs, we rarely got out on the break and struggled to find a way to score consistently otherwise.

Next week presents a good opportunity to rebound and get a desperately needed W against a streaky team in the 7th placed Titans BC.

Final score: Ravens 59 def PAC 31

Scorers: Gus 12, Noah 8

A’s Recap by No-one

Can’t Touch This 75 defeat Reds 64

Points: S Warren 17, J. Wolstenholm 12,

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.

2021 - Week 4

Another down week for the Reds going 1-4 with the only win in a ‘dance with your sister’...cya all at training!

A’s vs. Can’t Touch This

Can’t Touch This 90 defeat Reds 50.

No report … I wouldn’t write one either if I got done by 40 ...

B’s vs. C’s by Morgan

B’s turned up all on time with a plan and all seven players. C’s well we turned up randomly wondering if we were on the wrong court because the B’s were already there. With Matt and Damien of whom are our best ball handlers and shooters out planning becomes simple, get it in the paint any way we can and put it in the hole. There was talk of a man defence but with only five players for the start a fatty like Morgan would have died. Zone prevailed. 

C’s played a high risk high gain way not text book at all but to our strengths. Our most productive scoring was having Lachlan sprint to our offensive end the second the B’s had put up a shot. When we took the rebound we heaved it to a cherry picking Lachlan. Six unanswered points were scored this way. The only spectacular turned coach James was furious hanging over the handrail telling Brendan not to let him do that. Over all the B’s stayed in control of the game and scored a few more points each quarter to comfortably win with great shooting spacing and ball handling. C’s were happy to with great defence and passing keeping us competitive.

B’s: R.Kirkpatrick 20, Gus 16, B 12.

C’s: Lachlan 17, Morgan 11, Sam Higham 8.

B’s 64 defeat C’s 46.

D’s vs. Pick ‘n’ Pop

We really were the ‘Dads and Lads’ team this week with Lunny Jnr joining with Lunny Snr for the first time to help fill a depleted roster. Also Sean Heylen briefly came out of retirement to join in on this special occasion.

The D’s got off to a good start with Bish hitting a 3 and then Lunn going for 2 points. Ethan came on and immediately knocked down a 3 to get the lead out to 8-3. In the second quarter Pick ‘n’ Pop found their shooting touch to end the half up 21-11.  The 3rd quarter was more of the same with the Reds just unable to get their shots to fall. 

The 4th quarter got started with consecutive baskets from Lunny Snr, and then a strong hook shot from Connor to get within 11 points. From their Pick ‘n’ Pop took off again, in the end coming out winners 45-27. The Lunns top scored with Tom having 8 points and Ethan 7 points.

E’s vs. SSB

Starting the game with 5 we were fortunate to have Morgan hanging around after his game who was who was more than happy to fill in. It was lucky he did, after going scoreless for almost the entire first quarter and being down 0-16 it wasn't until Morgan subbed on and scored a couple of quick baskets that we settled things down.

Unfortunately though, the margin never really got much better than 15-20 points with SSB hitting 9 3's and was a game we'd soon rather forget. Final scores 35-66, Daniele and Morgan with 10 a piece, Hendo with 9 and Simon with 6. There were patches of some nice passing and cutting but it was too few and far between.

Thanks to Road Train for the good selection of post game beers and snacks and thanks for Morgan for filling in at the last minute.

2021 - Round 3

Only one game this week. Recap below:

A’s vs. Hubtitans

With the A’s playing a timely early game and a bye week for all other teams, the opportunity for the club to show its colours was primed, and the pub was booked for beers afterward.

1pm Reds faced off against currently undefeated Hub Titans, a young and tall lineup. Reds a little short this week, so Mike and Lachy filled in to give them 6 with Scott, Josh, Sam and Cotton filling out the roster. 

The game started off well for the Reds, jumping out the gate with some strong shooting by the actual A’s and doing their best to disrupt the Hub Titans good ball movement. With their superior size, Hubtitans found it easy to get the ball inside, but thanks to the length of Josh and Cotton, made it more difficult to finish once there. Scott and Sam made some open looks through a quick passing offence and A’s were looking strong going into the break. 

The game continued to tussle back and forth, but after spending a little too long in a man-to-man and some potential bailouts on the drive, Reds had to change back to a zone. Sadly it was a little too late for Reds to clamber back into the game. 

The cheering from the Reds on the sideline was silencing... oh I meant silent. No one came out to support... just Lachy and Mike made it to the pub and it was a disappointment to say the least. 

Reds down 74-70.

2021 - Round 2

 Down week for the Red’s going 1-4. Try and get out to watch the A’s at 1pm at PAC this Saturday (and to the pub afterwards)!

A’s vs. The Franchise

No report. Catford (The Franchise) led all scorers with 21. Kenny had 16 for the Reds.

The Franchise 62 defeat Reds 50.

B’s vs. Titans BC

Offering the A’s Brendon and accepting a cobwebbed Palk as replacement, B’s took on last year's B grade MVP in Titans with a little less firepower. 

Reds started off fairly slow allowing Titans to score inside, and Mike throwing a few poorly judged passes. Reds rallied like they did the week before, which is to say that Noah rallied, and hit some shots. 

Reds played 5 good minutes each quarter, able to stabilise outside of arms reach, even if the lead looked close at times. 

Another 3 votes for Noah, with anyone’s guess on the 2 and 1.

With 2 close early wins, the opposite of last year's season plus Every player got to the pub afterward, two truly positive signs for the season ahead.

Reds 55 defeat Titans 58.

C’s vs. RAVSTASS Ravens

No report. Sammy Higham top scored with 14.

Ravens 60 defeat Reds 46.

D’s vs. Top Heavy

The D’s started slowly again this week against Top Heavy, only scoring 11 pts in the first half. Top Heavy were forcing turnovers and creating fast break opportunities, led by the 2020 league MVP. Near the end of the 3rd quarter Top Heavy had pushed their lead out to 19 points and it looked like it was going to be a blow out. However the D’s started making their shots and finished the game with an exciting 19-5 point run. 

As the margin narrowed the D’s defensive intensity also ratcheted up, led by Manners who was getting amongst everything. The D’s had a shot to get within 2 points with 30 seconds remaining but missed. In the end Top Heavy won 39-34. Bish top scored for the D’s with 18 points including a pair of 3 pointers. Lunny, Jimmy and Max all added 4 points each.

E’s vs. SPOC C

After a good week 1, we were ready to keep the winning streak alive coming up against rivals SPOC. Without giving too much credit, 1 player scored 64% of their points and hit 7 threes. We should have stopped him and we probably would have won. 

We had our chances and stayed close throughout the game but just couldn't convert enough attempts, eventually going down 34-39. Troy was firing in his first game back for the year hitting 2 3 pointers, Road Train with 2 points, Simon with 4, Daniele with 5, Brad with 7 and Hendo with 8. Flair was 0 on the scoreboard however ranked highest in the trash talk stakes with a solid effort of getting under the Saints players skin. Onwards and upwards however and we will look to make amends in 2 weeks against Somerton Smash Bros.

2021 - Round 1

Welcome to the 2021 season! The Red’s went 4-1 with some big wins across the grades - a great foundation to build on. Recaps below:

A’s (by Liam)

Over the years, the Reds have had some epic recruiting classes, but even before taking the court those that had been around a while already knew this one is a special one.  As a unit we’ve had minimal time together, though the wonders of the Adelaide basketball scene mean we all have a solid idea of each other’s game. 

And so we took to the court, confident but a little uncertain about how it would all go. 

It’s fair to say it went ok. 

From the tip we had great offensive chemistry. Very unselfish. Always making the extra pass. And because of that we shot very well. Defensively we were solid, but to their credit SHOC shot well and were in touching distance at quarter time. 

So we went to man... and the game ended as a contest. We had far too much against a team missing some of its bigger players. We forced misses and we ran. 

With the game over we tested out some other D sets and chased dunks. So it ended 99-45.  I’m genuinely excited for the year, not only is there incredible talent and balance, it truly is a great bunch of dudes too. 

Sam dropped 31, Josh 26, Blake got a dunk and everyone hit a 3 according to the scorecard. 

Votes could go to anyone aged under 35.

*** Sadly that’s only the second highest match total for the Old Reds A’s. Still got work to do.

B’s (by Mike)

With a grandfinal rematch to begin the season, The B’s saw little change to their roster, losing Sibly and Fox, and replacing them with Francesca, Huezy, Stewart and Self. Sadly the last three were away this week, and Reds were running their first game with 6. A fairly ordinary game for all. The bigs were big, the small were fast and the reds won by 2. Mike got injured so the rest of the boys carried his ass.

C’s (by Kara)

C-Grade Red men fronted up for another season, up in division but with some big bodies and bigger hearts, we were ready to put the hurt on our opposition. We came up against former A-Grade mob The Schvitz who looked to be correctly placed in Division 2. 

We started out reasonably well scoring a few early baskets inside and getting to the line. The big men of The Schvitz also managed to get free for a few layups and dirty cherry-picking fast break points to give them an early lead. 

They held onto this lead for most of the game until a couple of quick threes in succession from Matt drew us back to within striking distance. In the end, we fell short and went down by 14 in a respectable loss but hungry to make amends next week. Given a few guys hadn’t played together before, this was a reasonable first outing for the team.

D’s (by Mark)

The PAOCBC D's came up against the Somerton Smash Bros in their first game of the season. With a full squad of 8 players available we had the numbers to overcome an apparent lack of preseason training. Early on neither team troubled the scorers much, though Lunny got going in the last minutes of the first quarter with a couple of inside buckets to keep ahead 6-5 at the end of the first quarter. A pair of free throws from newcomer Riley Kirpatrick pushed the Reds out to 8-5 at the start of the second quarter however from there the scoring dried up again and the Smash Bros worked away inside to take a 10-15 lead at half time.

In the second half Jimmy Townsend started to get going with a burst of layups and jump shots including a pair of 3 pointers. Meanwhile, Riley and Jarrod Bishop  worked away consistently to start to push the Reds lead out. In the end the Smash Bros couldn't keep up and the Reds won 39-26. Jimmy and Bish led the scoring with 12 points each.

E’s (by Caldy)

Coming in mostly unchanged from last year, with the exception of losing Lachlan Campbell due to work commitments and adding sharpshooter Nathan Graham the E’s were feeling as they do most years, happy to be back but overall unfussed at facing another season of action-packed basketball.

Coming up against newcomers “Savage Army”, whom all appeared much younger and fitter than us, we figured we would have a running game on our hands. Luckily for us, that didn’t quite eventuate. What did eventuate however was our big guys were able to feast on the inexperienced defensive structures that Savage Army bought. Savage Army were able to stay in the game for the first half with some nice shooting and driving from their youngest player (whom appeared to be about 14 years old) coupled with a “number” of missed shots from fast break expert Daniele Tosato. It is worth noting that Daniele did redeem himself with a nice 3 to put any comeback beyond doubt. 

The second half was a much more one sided affair with Hendo and Brad dominating down low, scoring 17 and 18 points respectively. Although not troubling the scorers, Flair had 3 fouls and G-man with an uncharacteristically 0 points had 1 foul with a number of excellent assists. Jon and Simon both had 8 points rounding out the roster in an overall great team effort.

My personal highlight was managing to find a carton of beers for $33.00 (Hollandia) for post game beers that for the price, tasted bloody great and I feel they may become a staple for the season. We were eventual winners 57 – 24 and now sit very uncomfortably at the top of the ladder.