By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Pakenham Warriors quickly brushed off the drubbing they received at the hands of local rivals Casey two weeks ago with a double-digit win over Maccabi at the Cardinia Life ‘Colosseum’ on Saturday night, 73-63.
Pakenham started sluggishly against its Maccabi namesake, down 25-17 at the end of the first quarter and at one stage trailing by 13.
But the visitors’ go-to-man, Benji Tamir, was the only player in any sort of rhythm on the offensive end for his side. He ultimately finished with a stellar stat-line of 24 points, 18 rebounds and 5 steals but his influence was quelled in the third when the game was there to be won.
It was ultimately a case of defence by committee from Pakenham, with Hayden Davey, Sean Armstrong and, at stages, Jim Viray keeping him to 42 per cent from the floor.
Viray was brilliant for Pakenham, which doubled up Maccabi in a telling third quarter 24 points-to-12 after leading by just two points at half-time.
At times, it felt like a game of ‘anything you can do, I can do better’ as Tamir and Viray went shot for shot. The difference, though, was Pakenham’s ability to be so much more effective in their offensive sets. Of course, it helped having a six-foot-nine scoring centre on the low block. Andrew Savige was back to his usual self after a niggling injury affected his performance against the Cavs. He finished with 18 points and 10 boards and shot the ball well from the charity stripe when the Maccabi bigs were left with no option than to foul him in the paint.
His counterpart Nick Alexandrou was in early foul trouble and was restricted to just 15 minutes in the contest, but the home side had foul difficulties of their own – captain Bill Winder picked up three quick ones in the first quarter. He recovered late in the second to make a series of telling mid-range jumpers, while he was smart with his remaining two fouls – picking up his last with just 40 seconds left in the game.
The heat was well and truly out of the contest by the start of the fourth, producing an ugly quarter in which the two Warriors sides could only manage a combined 20 points.
Pakenham coach Ryan Rogers was disappointed with his side’s inability to finish strong and increase its all-important percentage, which could prove vital come the end of the regular season. But overall he was pleased with the result in what was a must-win game.
“We tried to establish an inside presence from the start,” he said of Savige’s influence.
“We’ve made a concerted effort of being a team that gets more interior touches, but we’re still adapting to playing with a guy of his size.”
Despite Pakenham’s slow start to the game, Rogers remained relaxed. He’s come to expect it.
“We were really active, defensively, in the second and third quarters – getting consecutive stops,” he said.
“We showed really good composure against their zone (defence) too – we got whatever we wanted against it.”
Pakenham went into Saturday’s game without big men Daniel Stow and Jay Richardson. Stow should be back for the side’s next game, but fellow vice-captain Richardson is battling glandular fever and will be given all the time he needs.
Pakenham, now in the Big V Division 2 top four, next faces Maccabi again – this time on 13 July from 2pm at Bialik Stadium in Hawthorn East.
