WABL Wrap Week 13 – 24/7/22
Round 13 – All of our “Player of the Game” superstars will receive a FREE PIZZA from our friends at Domino’s Kalamunda – Thanks Guys!
Players of the round:
Izzy Biggs (U14 Girls) – She handled the ball well under pressure, her defensive pressure was outstanding which led her to get lots of intercepts and steals. She also read the game really well and found open lanes to drive.
River Neill (U16 Boys) – Another hard one to pick because of the performance put in by all but River turned it on in the 2nd half against Lakeside Lightning scoring 15 points, 11 of which was in the 3rd quarter when the boys turned the game on its head. On top of that River had heaps of steals, assists, rebounds, blocks and also took a charge which ramped up the team to run amok for the remainder of the game. Well done Riv
U12 GIRLS (LAWRENCE WEST)
Won against Perth Redbacks (45 – 24)
COACHES NOTES
This week we played great team basketball. We kept our eyes up and always made the extra pass. We mixed up our rotations and did a great job of playing outside our normal roles. It’s great to see our FG% trending in the right direction as the season continues, this shows our basketball IQ is increasing and we are making better decisions.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Eliza Eaton – Bob unlocked something this week and played with an energy we haven’t seen before. Not only did she lead the team in steals but she also found her team mates with some awesome passes. It’s great to see her confidence and understanding of the game grow each week – well done mate!
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Next week we head to Mandurah for a top of the table clash against the best defensive team in our division. I’m really excited to see how we go and put all of our hard work to the test. This group is special, and when we are playing to our potential we have what it takes to get the win!
U12 BOYS (LIZZIE FALCONBRIDGE)
Won against Perry Lakes Hawks (52 – 42)
U12 BOYS (JOEL WARNER)
Loss against Lakeside Lightning (34 – 37)
COACHES NOTES
There were some wonderful take-aways from this week’s game and I was particularly impressed with the bounce-back from last week. Our scoring spread continues to be encouraging with most players scoring most weeks. Defensively, we are one of the better teams in the league and we are often able to hold teams to lower scores. With that comes close, pressure filled games and the main highlight from this week is how well we coped with the pressure. I emphasised following our game plan from start to finish this week and the Team deserves all the credit for following my instructions, committing to our structures, and executing well, under pressure. The boys should be proud of themselves after that game.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
This week’s player of the round goes to Tala. Tala is showing great versatility and continues to grow in confidence. He made a big impact rebounding the ball this week and, as always provided a solid presence on the offensive end of the court. As our Team runs a ‘flexing’ offence, there are options built into our system that take advantage of Tala’s skill set. As our guards build on their basketball skills and their court vision, they will get better at distributing the ball to Tala in dangerous spots. When our Team takes advantage of that, Tala will be a consistent 10 point per week (or more) player. This week, I was pleased with how much of the ball Tala got in the low post and short corner, and he made the most of his opportunities. Well done big fella!
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
The boys were resilient this week and played well structured basketball until the end of the game. We didn’t close out the game last week very well, however this week we were far better. Last week provided a valuable experience and we made sure we learned from that at practice on Thursday, which translated well to the game this week. Some of the feedback from parents, including opposition parents, was that we deserved to win the game this week. Overall, I think the boys this week were amazing. They played with everything they had and they left it all on the court. So I can’t ask for more than that. We were very unified when it mattered and the leadership shown by Chad, Sam, Ethan, Phoenix and Tala is to be credited. Win, lose or draw I was so proud of the boys this week.
U12 BOYS (TIM HART)
Won against Lakeside Lightning (50 – 40)
COACHES NOTES
The teams shooting accuracy was a stand out this week. With a combined accuracy of 50%. The boys have been tasked with extra shooting homework, and it was good to see effort put in at home pay off in the game. The team are all showing good patience in offence, and spreading the defence out for 1 v 1 drives to basket.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Preston Massam for this player of the round, Preston provided his strongest performance so far this season. Top scoring (alongside Mathew) for 12pts @ 66%, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. Preston is showing a consistent effort in defence and a reliable player off the bench.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
It was a well rounded effort with some standouts from
Mathew – 12pts @ 50%, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.
Callum – 10pts @ 83%, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Ram – 8pts @ 66%, 3 rebounds and 1 steal.
Sebastian, Mathew and Ram did well bringing the ball down against a tough full court press from the Lightning. Sebastian again showing his ability to move the ball well in offence.
Declan pulled down 4 rebounds and worked hard to keep pressure on the ball. Austin stepped up again to play due to limited numbers on the bench, and showed a good improvement in his defence. It was great to see Dante play some minutes, putting a massive effort in for Q4. Providing 4pts, 3 rebounds and 1 block.
U14 GIRLS (ANDREW HERBERT)
Loss against Hills Raiders (36 – 41)
COACHES NOTES
The girls battled for the full 32 minutes coming up short this round. A variety players contributed in multiple ways and the ladies did not give up. Let go get it this Sunday!
PLAYER OF THE GAME
This could have been split multiple ways as we have plenty of girls contributing in a variety of ways at both ends of the floor. But this round it goes to Macee Rothnie for wanting to push the tempo, attacking the basket stronger plus with more confidence and especially with crafty finish.
U14 GIRLS (JEMMA & JAYMEE)
Won against Mandurah Magic (36 – 24)
COACHES NOTES
Defensive pressure, Rebounding, Handled the ball well.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Izzy Briggs- She handled the ball well under pressure, her defensive pressure was outstanding which led her to get lots of intercepts and steals. She also read the game really well and found open lanes to drive.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Jade- she stepped up with getting us over the line with her excellent rebounding and finishing under the basket and she shot outstanding on the free throw line.
U14 BOYS (ROB REES)
Loss against Perry Lakes Hawks (44 – 47)
COACHES NOTES
We played very well despite having to deal with more than a good opposition
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Joshua Mahama, Josh was great in offense and defense, he really led the way and set a great example for his team mates
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Once again Julian Richardson did a great job on shutting down the oppositions best players with his great defensive effort
U14 BOYS (THOR AMUNDSEN)
Loss against Hills Raiders (65 – 52)
COACHES NOTES
This was one that got away. Our pressure game again proving it can match anyone, unfortunately some foul trouble against two bigs required our combinations to adapt. Some very good work, just not enough.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Odin Amundsen – 26 points (2 triples) and 7 rebounds.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Some great work around the court from a number of players. Notable mentions to Kimzy Matondo who played his role nicely, Taj Jeffery and Roman Down also applying great pressure on both ends.
U14 BOYS (LUKE POYNER)
Won against Cockburn Cougars (61 – 47)
COACHES NOTES
A strong performance from the team today against a tough defensive opponent. We came out with the goal of quickly beating the press defense that was used effectively against us last time. Our boys executed the plan well and we easily moved the ball up the court against their press. We went into the first break with a good lead of 11 points. Cockburn rallied in the second quarter, reducing our lead to 8 by half time. The second half of the game saw momentum change a few times, but we were able to extend our lead in each period, with the final lead out to 14 points.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ryan Eva – Ryan had a solid offensive performance today, with some great passing and strong drives inside the keyway. A respectable 26 points for the game.
U14 BOYS (SHANNON TREW)
Won against Perth Redbacks (50 – 47)
COACHES NOTES
The boys were pressured all game by the Redbacks but they stuck together and kept grinding away and kept responding to whatever Redbacks threw at them. An ongoing issue we are having is getting everyone motivated on the tasks and having everyone firing at the same time. We rode the waves and the pressure and held our nerves at the end and got the win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Tanzeke Edgar was again our shining light in offence and defence, he kept getting knocked down and got straight back up and continued his hard work. Coaches had to drag him off the court cause he never wanted to give up.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Ollie James continued his scoring spree with another 24 points effort to go with 10 plus rebounds. Both Jack Craven and Jack Murphy kept us in the game with their defence and ball control.
U16 GIRLS (MATT HARDING)
Loss against East Perth Eagles (47 – 69)
U16 GIRLS (CHARLIE SMART)
Won against Lakeside Lightning (57 – 37)
COACHES NOTES
Fantastic team effort once again from these girls who are showing huge improvement week after week. Their read of the game and speed in transitional offence is proving to be unmatched by their opponents over the last few weeks. Strong start from Caitlin gave us an early lead, lifting their confidence tremendously which saw them not look back.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Alex – Alex overcame an emotionally challenging start to the game, showing great maturity and self-control. Alex displayed great mental toughness and let her basketball skills and drive prove dominance in every aspect of the game. She secured some brilliant rebounds and due to her sheer determination and drive she was rewarded by going to the free line on multiple occasions.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
I can’t speak highly enough of all these girls who are continually supporting each other on the court and improving their basketball IQ every week.
U16 BOYS (BAILEY FERGUSON)
Won against Willeton Tigers (62 – 52)
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Max Bucknell – Max played a great game. Defensively crashing the boards and rejecting most shot attempts from the other team and being a menace on offence and offensive transition with a few fast-paced dunks.
U16 BOYS (LACHIE RILEY)
Loss against Perry Lakes Hawks (43 – 103)
U16 BOYS (RAE D’SYLVA)
Loss against East Perth Eagles (76 – 90)
U16 BOYS (TYRON NEILL)
Won against Lakeside Lightning (100 – 75)
COACHES NOTES
The way the boys played on Sunday was just exhilarating to watch. They all played brilliantly as a team and were relentless right from start to finish. Although we still have a lot of work to do to get where we want to be, the boys showed they are well and truly on the right track and we look forward to our next challenge.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
River Neill – Another hard one to pick because of the performance put in by all but River turned it on in the 2nd half against Lakeside Lightning scoring 15 points, 11 of which was in the 3rd quarter when the boys turned the game in its head. On top of that River had heaps of steals, assists, rebounds, blocks and also took a charge which ramped up the team to run amok for the remainder of the game. Well done Riv
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Isaiah Gray led the way with 25 points and put on a brilliant defensive job on Lakeside’s #1 scorer, Tyler Egan worked hard for 22 points including 4 three pointers, Noah Cross was a force to be reckoned with in the paint with some huge blocks & rebounds and contributed 18 points to the tally. The whole team played a really good team brand of basketball which was the real highlight because without everyone’s contribution with what we’re working to achieve none of it would be possible, we’ll done boys!!!
U18 GIRLS (DYSON LOWE)
Won against East Perth Eagles (98 – 60)
COACHES NOTES
We had a bit of a slow start to the game being level for majority of the first half. After halftime we just kept the game plan simple, lock in on defence and push the ball and that’s exactly what the girls did. We played as a team moving the ball, scoring in transition. Great win girls.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Abby Rothnie was awesome today for us, she played amazing on ball defence making the guards lives hard, as well as being a top scorer of the team with 23 points. Hopefully she can keep this momentum for the rest of the year.
U18 BOYS (COOPER LOWE)
Loss against East Perth Eagles (58 – 83)
U18 BOYS (ANGUS HYWOOD)
Loss against Perry Lakes Hawks (68 – 119)
COACHES NOTES
Tough game this week, not getting the result we wanted there is still positives to take out of the game.
We started strong as always outscoring in the first, however the sustained 4 full quarters of focus to detail let the game progressively slip out of our reach. Perry Lakes to their credit worked from a good system that found open shots closer to the rim. Identifying the use of the dunkers spot hand-offs and low post finds the boys pushed a zone to restrict penetration, unfortunately Perry lakes let them fly and landed some big 3Pts to stretch out the game.
Although the scoreboard is not reflecting the outcome of how our game was played. I saw so many moments of brilliance and positive sides to our game. Alex found strong rebounds early to keep our possession however foul trouble early took its toll and restricted his game. Bounce back stronger this week big fella and be better for it.
Progress and Sam hold it down every week rotating from bigs to shooters with brilliant closing out and defensive energy. Rebounding is a winning team priority and these two work incredibly hard for the team. Heath & Josh utilise their time on the court better than anyone, always pushing on ball pressure to lock up guards- aggressively scoring and bringing the ball up through presses for the open looks and transition.
Joseph played tough all game scoring and pushing the ball up the court opening up the floor for teammates, His leadership is one the club will always appreciate being on court in our uniform. Nathan was incredible on the scoring end, making the most of the minutes in the last half Nathan kept the pressure on the Hawks until the very end.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Lachlan Watson- Lachie is arguably the best on ball defending guard in all of 18’s divisions. When locked in on stopping the movement of opposition up the court he is a nightmare. Picking up full court, popping back into their path to kill space. Offensively two words – To Fast! In our intro club sprint across the 16’s-20’s Lachie showed his elite speed and power in getting up and down the court.
U18 BOYS (HAYDEN BIRD)
Loss against Eastern Suns (63 – 94)
COACHES NOTES
Press break was brilliant this game being able to get through the press nicely during the game and using more of a passing aspect to do so. The boys did a great job keeping up offensively majority of the game being able to match the other Suns team in our derby match. We started and finished the game really well and just have a couple things to push on with at training.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Michael Corsini, michael did a terrific job on defense being able to shut off players and force turnovers in tough areas of the game to spark up his team. His defence completed his offence very nicely with him being more of a offensive facilitator on the court to help push the boys and motivate them. Michael has come a long way so far this season and I’m looking forward to see how the last couple of games play out for him.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Dominic Puno, led our team in points, helped lift our boys in the last quarter and started us off very well. Jhae Ong, it has shown he’s been putting practice outside of training after this last game sinking nearly every shot that was given to him.
U18 BOYS (RICK BATISTA)
Won against Eastern Suns (94 – 63)
COACHES NOTES
Defensively good again teams are working out our structure and we’re having to adapt on the fly and slowly figuring it out
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Lemekani Phiri – absolute focus this week on the defensive end hounded the ball carrier as well as he has all season and offensively attacked the rim very well and opened up the floor for his team
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Hamish Stewart was great with his communication on defence, Jet Olsen was great with his scoring punch off the bench and Saxon racked up another 32 points
U20 BOYS (DAN VLAHOV)
Won against Lakeside Lightning (96 – 81)
COACHES NOTES
Although Lakeside were sitting below us on the ladder their results showed that, like us, they could compete with any of the top teams on any given day, it was not going to be an easy game and the team needed to turn up.
It seems that the message is starting to get through as the boys came out solidly to put an early 6 points on the scoreboard with Kiarn Linaker setting the early tone with a strong dunk off a classic Noah Jacques pass.
But as we expected Lakeside did not go away, and whilst the team did a good job at the defensive end and we followed the game plan of playing fast and pushing he ball up the court, too many lapses looking after the ball and some sloppy closeouts allowed two of the Lakeside players to drop 59 points between them, meaning we had to work all game to stay just in front.
The win was in finally clinched as everyone did a solid job this week and are all starting to fully understand the process. Particular mention must go to the starters who all had double digit numbers – Ethan Nash (14), Jason Moore (22), Kiarn Linaker (12), Haydn Williams (19), Noah Jacques (16) BUT this by no means undersells the job that our bench does each and every week bringing solid work ethic and good energy both on and off the court – it is these things that make a team great, lead to court time and wins on the board
Pleasingly we are improving at them every week!!
PLAYER OF THE GAME
The Player of the Game week goes to Haydn Williams who put in an impressive effort under the basket and also dropped 9 points from outside the arc after a few weeks off due to a family holiday