By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Pakenham Warriors basketballers were fresh off locking up a play-off berth for the first time in their Big V history, but they followed up last week’s stirring triumph over local rivals Casey with a disappointing result against the lowly Shepparton Gators on Saturday night.
So much so, that coach Ryan Rogers labelled it “the most disappointing of our season”.
The Warriors and Gators are at opposing ends of the Division 2 ladder, but the weekend’s clash shows just how important home-court advantage can be – with the ninth-placed Shepparton coming away with a surprise 68-59 win.
“We just weren’t prepared to play,” Rogers said.
“They were hungry – they retired some past players’ numbers prior to the game – but we weren’t.”
Rogers said his side’s intensity may have dropped from its win over the Cavs, when there was the lure of a finals spot up for grabs.
Both the Warriors and Gators started tentatively on Saturday, combining for just 27 first-quarter points. But it was the home side that was able to recover quickest, bouncing back to shooting 46 per cent from the field in the second quarter. While the Warriors were careful in dishing the ball – with only six turnovers for the first half – their poor shooting let them down badly. The visitors were unable to effectively utilise their long-range game, draining just 2-12 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of play.
Trailing 31-28 at half time, the Warriors faded even further in the third quarter – scoring just eight points on 14 per cent shooting. By contrast, the Gators found their rhythm – draining 22 points on a red-hot 8-16 from the floor. They also won the rebounding battle 18-13 in a quarter that set up their somewhat unlikely win.
The Warriors showed their true class to finish the game with a 23-15 final quarter – lifting their output across the board, particularly from downtown. But it wasn’t enough to bridge the gap, going down by nine points.
Gators star Rob Sartori was outstanding in the home side’s win, filling up the box score with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists. One of the league’s premier scorers, Matt Waight was reduced to a back-up role but he did it well – finishing with 20 points and 8 boards.
The ever-consistent James Topp toiled hard in a tough night for Pakenham. He finished with 18 points, 7 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals in a strong all-around game but struggled at times with his shot, making just five of his 16 field goal attempts.
The strong-as-an-ox Jay Richardson was again everywhere on defence, making life as hard as possible for the Gators’ front line. He finished with an efficient 7 points and 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes of action, despite also struggling with his shot at times.
Pakenham will next face the Keysborough Cougars at Springers Leisure Centre from 2pm on Sunday 28 July.
In exciting news for local basketball, the Warriors will hold tryouts for their new MMBL women’s program both this Sunday and 28 July from 10.30am to 12.30pm at Cardinia Life. The aim is for Pakenham to field a Big V women’s side for 2015.
