By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Pakenham Warriors’ men were comprehensively outplayed on Saturday night in their first game of the Big V Division 2 basketball season, going down by 16 points to Craigieburn, 71-55.
The Eagles, relegated from Division 1 at the end of last season, gave the new-look Warriors a lesson in intensity on both ends of the floor; while the Pakenham side struggled to convert open looks.
Craigieburn shot just 35 per cent from the floor, while Pakenham shot a meagre 23 per cent.
But it’s hardly all doom and gloom for a Warriors side full of a host of new faces.
“This is pretty much a new squad and it’ll take time for things to gel,” said Pakenham coach Jeff Reid.
“We got plenty of looks, we just struggled to convert – right from the start.”
The Warriors got out to an early 5-2 lead but from there the Eagles went on an 11-0 run and were never headed for the rest of the contest.
Pakenham pulled the margin back to six at half-time (34-28) but Craigieburn reignited after the break and took a 54-37 lead into the final quarter.
In addition to the poor shooting from both sides, there was a whopping 40 combined turnovers for the game – a sure sign that both teams were still dusting off the pre-season cobwebs.
The strong-bodied Mark Welch was outstanding for the home-town Eagles with 11 points and eight rebounds, recording a near double-double in just 19 minutes on-court.
Jonathan Maybank, meanwhile finished with 12 points and nine rebounds – six of those on the offensive glass.
Hayden Davey once again led Pakenham with 17 points and eight boards, while guard Savin Lopez finished with 11 and six.
But Pakenham’s numbers on the offensive end were well down across the board, showing just how much improvement is left in the side.
Reid said he was “really happy” with Davey’s intent on both ends of the floor, adding: “I was pleased with the way the guys who didn’t play a lot of minutes ran the game out”.
But the Pakenham coach said there would again be an emphasis on lifting the Warriors’ talk and intensity for their next game – against Mornington this Saturday night from 7pm at ‘The Colosseum’ at Cardinia Life in Pakenham.
Finally, on the injury front, the Warriors received a boost during the week with the damage to Simo Pajdic’s knee not as bad as first feared. Reid admitted the initial worry was an ACL injury – which would have ruled Pajdic out for up to 12 months – but instead he will be sidelined for between six to eight weeks.
