Breakers annihilate Tigers, 94 – 64
The Breakers absolutely had their way with the Tigers, Cedric Jackson pulling off a rare triple double, the first of the season. From the get-go the Tigers looked like they were never going to really be part of the game, the energy exhibited by New Zealand was simply too much for the Tigers to handle.
Johnny Flynn has produced the type of game avid fans were hoping for since entering the league, on this occasion leading the way with a team high 15 points, though his six turnovers are alarming. Whilst Flynn has been performing just as hoped, adding him to the mix has seriously detracted from Seth Scott’s and Adam Ballinger’s games. Should the Tigers want to start winning again, Anstey is going to need to find a balance between that talented front court and Flynn.
Jackson who has stamped his claim on the NBL MVP trophy, finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, when you throw in four steals it sure looks like one stacked stat line. Thomas Abercrombie is finding his feet again (from his dodgy ankle), scored 11 points whilst Alex Pledger finished with 10 points and 9 boards.
Finally the Crocs win.
Who cares what the score was? In Luke Nevill’s first game for the club, the Crocs finally popped their victory virginity for 2012/13. With Adelaide playing catch up late in the game they resorted to fouling. Fortunately for the Crocs, and their fans, Gary Ervin and Peter Crawford were money from the line down the stretch. An Adam Gibson buzzer beater cut the Crocs winning margin to two points, the Crocs finally with a winning smile on their face and the crowd ecstatic with the free cheeseburger.
The Crocs caught Adelaide napping and came out with a 9 point first quarter lead which the 36ers managed to peg by half time, A dry spell early in the fourth quarter was enough to put them behind the mark. For the 36ers, Adam Gibson scored 17 points, Jason Cadee 13 and Steve Weigh 10. Their Sunday game against the Kings will reflect how they took this loss, was it more a case of ‘meh, the Crocs can’t lose them all’ or will they be looking to make amends?
Gary Ervin put up a blistering 22 points, five assists and 6 boards, Jacob Holmes grabbed a mommoth 16 rebounds and Michael Cedar scored 11 points. The good news for the Crocs is that they have tasted victory and it tastes like meat, cheese and bun. Will they be hungry for more?
Perth dominate Sydney, 75 – 56
For the Kings, this was a game ripe for the taking. A depleted Wildcats without Matty Knight and Brad Robbins as well as managing a few in-house illnesses managed to come out and destroy a Kings unit that has been playing relatively well to date.
After a mediocre first quarter for both teams the landscape of the game was defined in the second, the Wildcats running away 26 – for the quarter. From there the Kings just went through the motions which allowed the Wildcats to ease off and run away with a huge margined victory.
Shawn Redhage finished with 24 points and 9 boards, Kevin Lisch with 13 points, 7 assists and 7 boards and Jesse Wagstaff scored 11 points and also collected 7 rebounds. For the Kings, Corin Henry led the Kings with 13 points, Tom Garlepp had 11 and Ben Madgen and Aaron Bruce who were frustrated with the Wildcats pressure both needed a lot of shots to get to ten points each.
Kings edge 36ers, 88 – 85
For us the game of the round was the one with Friday night’s losers. Keen to redeem themselves from the embarrassments of a few nights ago. When Ben Madgen went down with a dislocated shoulder the Kings, through Aaron Bruce went on a tear and played some inspiring basketball.
Adelaide centre, Daniel Johnson kept the score ticking over but the highlight of the night was a huge block by Darnell Lazare on a Luke Schenscher layup only to then see Luke Schenscher get one back on Lazare moments later when Schensh swotted away Lazare’s layup. A series ofAdam Gibson long range bombs helped the 36ers finish fast, making a contest out of it but it was too little too late.
Madgen could spend some time on the sideline with the effects of dislocating his shoulder, that would leave the King’s offense a little short, someone like Lazare will need to step up in that case, we know Lazare is capable of having big games as we have seen early in the season. Madgen returned to the court and finished with 14 points whilst it was Aaron Bruce who commandeered the team in Madgen’s smaller role, Bruce finished with 22 points and added 5 assists whilst Kevin White played well for 13 points.
Adam Gibson almost bought it home for Adelaide but finished with 22 points and 10 assists, Daniel Johnson added 24 points and 8 boards whilst Schenscher helped out with 18 points.
Snakes stun Hawks, 76 – 66
The Taipans have not had a lot to talk about so far this season, that is until they beat the league leaders by ten points. And to top it off, the Taipans did it exactly the same way they Hawks usually get it done; though consistent play and teamwork.
Winning the rebound count 42 – 24 the Taipans set themselves up for victory and cemented it through shooting 46% from the field. The Hawks though, they have seen better days this season but no need to dwell on it. 7 and 2 is pretty impressive. The best thing they can do is watch the game where they annihilated the Wildcats by what felt like 2100 points earlier in the season to remind themselves just how dominant they can be.
The Hawks had a time of it, Glen Saville and Rhys Martin both had 15 points, Lance Hurdle had 12 and Oscar Forman 11, though none of them shot the ball really well. The Taipans had nine players score, Jamar Wilson had 11 points and 8 assists whilst Aaron Grabau, Cameron Tragardh and Brad Hill all scored 10 points each
Can’t Buy a Damn Thing Award
Following on the from Wollongong Hawks game a couple of Wollonogong’s finest share this week’s award. Larry Davidson let his beard get in the way of his game grabbing only 2 rebounds whilst going 0/5 from the field, turning the ball over 3 times and committing four fouls in 20 minutes of action. His partner in crime is Adris Deleon who will be looking to quickly forget this game after going 2/13 from the field and turning the ball over 5 times on his way to 6 points and an assist in 22 mintues of court time.
Gimme My Change Award
Graeme Dann was perfect against the 36ers, the foul machine, role playing forward perfect form the floor (5/5) on the way to 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists all at the same time committing only 2 fouls.
