By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Pakenham Warriors’ men’s Big V basketball side suffered a 24-point mauling at the hands of a rampant Keysborough Cougars outfit at Springers Leisure Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Pakenham was well in the contest on the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter, down just five points 31-26. But even in its early stages, the game appeared to be played on the Cougars’ terms. Their transition from defense into offense was a real standout as they pushed the ball down the floor in waves at every given opportunity, clinching a 97-73 win.
The Warriors have had a real focus over recent weeks of improving their own transition game but the Cougars’ full-court pressure forced them into plenty of early turnovers – negating the visitors’ advantage on the boards.
Keysborough danger man Adam Sliwinski was ignited early by a big four-point play and had 14 first quarter points on the way to finishing with 21 in just 20 on-court minutes.
Facing a double-digit deficit early in the second, Pakenham started to peg the margin back after a Paul Phillips triple – but the Cougars put their feet on the Warriors’ throats and led 56-39 at the half.
After what was a scrappy up-and-down track meet for much of the first half, the pace of the game decreased as fatigue kicked in during the second.
The Warriors faced an imposing size disadvantage from the outset, mainly in sheer strength and brute force, but forward Hayden Davey again stood tall – finishing with 14 points and 8 boards, while making four of his eight shots from downtown. Sean Armstrong (10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists) was also persistent throughout on both ends of the floor, while import guard Darren Galloway led the way with 16 points – struggling from the field but sinking 10 of 12 from the charity stripe. Youngster Harry Van Dort also showed plenty of positive signs but the Warriors shot just 35 per cent in a rough all-around shooting display.
Earlier in the day on Sunday, the young Warriors’ Big V Division-2 women’s side went down to Keysborough 83-57 in the curtain-raiser. But they’ve shown plenty of improvement since a horror 96-24 first-up loss to Casey, particularly when it comes to looking after the ball – having reduced their turnover count massively in each of their three games so far. Natalie Bjelan led the way for Pakenham on Sunday with 14 points.
The Warriors’ women’s team next faces Blackburn at the State Basketball Centre on Saturday, 11 April from 7.45pm while the men’s side will take on Maccabi in Pakenham the next day from 2pm.
