WABL Wrap Week 7 – 5/6/22

Round 7 – Another great round for Suns this week, continuing to bank those Wins! We had a bunch of close games for those who were playing at home which was exciting to see. 

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:

Neve Spry (U12 Girls) – Neve took control again this week and lead from the front, top scoring & recording a season high in steals. Neve’s decision making is fantastic and I am convinced she will be a superstar for our club in years to come.

Leyton Rooke (U12 Boys) – Contributing in all areas and shooting an AMAZING 6/6 from the field. His basketball IQ is improving every week due to his coachability and hard work. Always plays unselfishly to get his teammates involved and getting more aggressive on the ball.

U12 GIRLS (LAWRENCE WEST) 

Loss against Mandurah Magic (29 – 32) 

COACHES NOTES 

This week was an battle with no team giving an inch of space and both hungry for the win. Suns and Magic teams both being held to a season low in scoring, speaks to the quality defense played on both sides, every point absolutely earned and the game in the balance until the final minute. We learnt that to achieve our goals this season we need to stay in control as a team and make good decisions under pressure. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Neve Spry – Neve took control again this week and lead from the front, top scoring & recoding a season high in steals. Neve’s decision making is fantastic and I am convinced she will be a superstar for our club in years to come. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Amber was a difference maker for us again this week, controlling rebounds on both ends and getting us valuable extra possessions. It was pleasing to see our younger/newer players keep their heads up and continue to fight under some very tough circumstances, executing our plan under pressure that they haven’t experienced before. Together we a confident team that know what we are capable of. 

U12 BOYS (LIZZIE FALCONBRIDGE) 

Won against Perth Redbacks (61 – 18) 

COACHES NOTES 

Fantastic high defensive intensity from the start of the game with Nate and AJ setting the tone. The whole team lifted to maintain the pressure throughout the game with Dave and Leyton controlling the key way. Great to see our bench take advantage with more court time and contribute at both ends of the game. The whole team is improving week by week individually and as one cohesive unit – we just have to remember basketball is a team sport. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Leyton Rooke – Contributing in all areas and shooting an AMAZING 6/6 from the field. His basketball IQ is improving every week due to his coachability and hard work. Always plays unselfishly to get his teammates involved and getting more aggressive on the ball. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Dave Brar – Lead the team with 18 points going 8/12 from the field. Another kid who is improving every week and using his athleticism on the defensive end grabbing 5 steals this week. Nate Miles and AJ Mok – From the tip off they lead the charge to lock down the ball handlers to create plenty of turnovers and easy lay ups for their teammates. Finished with a combined 9 steals and 6 assists and helping out with 6 rebounds. 

U12 BOYS (JOEL WARNER) 

Won against Perth Redbacks (56 – 51) 

COACHES NOTES 

The group is very unified, and all players are demonstrating that they are prepared to make personal sacrifices for team goals. This is shown in the scoring spread, with players sharing the points. The offensive system in place allows for lots of ball sharing, enabling all players to be dangerous when we have the ball. Players who may not appear to be dangerous scorers are putting points on the board and we stretch defences every week. Defensively we continue to improve, and every player is playing their part. From a culture and spirit perspective, I love that our players will run the length of the court to pick each-other up after a tumble. That positivity is a weapon we have that other teams may not have. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

A very hard choice this week as we had three exceptional performances in Zac, Sam and Tala. Tala piled on the points and rebounds, Sam held defensive structures and controlled tempo and Zac opened the court up in offence, distributed the ball and played controlled, aggressive defence. This week the player of the week is Zac Cranswick. Zac is an important player to this group and played big minutes, looked after the basketball in offence, made good game reads and showed his potential to become a high-level basketballer. Well done Zac. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

The Team continues to build their basketball IQ and make correct in-game reads. It is very pleasing that our chemistry continues to build, I watch with interest to see where the ceiling is for the chemistry in this group. Our energy players (Ethan, Chad, Jeremy) bring so much to the team and they should be credited with us scoring well in the third and fourth quarter. Sam, Reed, Adam and Chad showed they are reliable in holding correct trapping structures while Asten and Tala are improving in leaps-and-bounds game after game. The toughness of Zac and Sam also warrants a mention. Thanks to Rylan who provided positivity from the bench as he watches on with a broken arm. This week was again a whole team performance. 

U12 BOYS (TIM HART) 

Loss against Southwest Slammers (49 – 57) 

COACHES NOTES 

The boys came out ready to play, with the highest Q1 points this season (25), we also kept the opposition to 11. Good to see we can be switched on at the start of the game. Last time we played Southwest slammers we were down by 1 point in Q1. The first three quarters we showed good pressure on the ball, and for the few players who left players open, they started applying better pressure later in the game. In Q4 we saw tired players and mistakes made under a full court press, which we have observed the last two games and will continue to improve on in training. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Dante Hart, for both strong defensive and offensive presence in the game. In D Dante put pressure on cutters, drew a charge, forced turnovers, made steals, and slowed down the ball carriers. Dante also made 17 points with limited minutes (from looking for a taking driving opportunities). Dante needs to learn to settle his nerves so he can continue to contribute to the game when the game is not going our way. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Sebastian kept up the intensity and stayed focused, scoring 20 points and showing he had the fitness to run out the game and play the most minutes. Sebastian was more patient scanning for driving lanes this game, which allowed him to get stopped less, and gave higher percentage scoring opportunities. Spencer played his first WABL game, and was trying to watch the ball and his player in defence, and get to the ball carrier they were left open, he also hit a contested shot from the elbow in his first game. Ram was effective in his offensive and defensive rebounding meeting the ball in the air, pivoting and looking for an outlet pass. Austin “Aussie” Francis continued to apply pressure on ball to force turnovers, ran the floor to keep the defence busy, and looked for dribble drives when possible. Preston picked up some offensive and defensive boards, through the season we will work on taking a balanced shot off the rebound. Mathew helped to move the ball up the court under pressure, with his head up looking for the next pass, our offense and defence suffered after Mathew picked up his 5th foul in the 4th quarter. Good ball movement up the court with quick passes in Q1-3 . 

U14 GIRLS (ANDREW HERBERT) 

Won against Cockburn Cougars (43 – 37) 

COACHES NOTES 

We went into this game with 7 only players. Each player had roles to play, some playing out of their usual positions but it didn’t take long to make the adjustments required. All girls contributed in various ways at both ends of the floor, which was pleasing to see. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Jessica Prior – Another strong game – backing up last week. Jess showing dominance on the boards and in the paint. 18 strong points! 

U14 BOYS (ROB REES) 

Won against Cockburn Cougars (71 – 44) 

COACHES NOTES 

Everyone made significant contributions 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Julian Richardson consistent at both defence and offence 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

All players contributed especially on defence 

U14 BOYS (THOR AMUNDSEN) 

Won against East Perth Eagles (52 – 48) 

COACHES NOTES 

Such a great demonstration of teamwork and effort on display in this game. With forced line up and gameplan changes, we adapted nicely to bring home the win. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Taj Jeffery – leading from the front, pulling 17 points having a huge impact on the game. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

It was a big team effort today, seeing through a range of well executed options.
Jaxon – great timing and movement, coupled with tough defence.
Anthony – forcing defensive stops and finishing some nice moves.
Odin – consistent defensive hustle and bringing in some nice assists and buckets. 

U14 BOYS (LUKE POYNER) 

Won against Mandurah Magic (75 – 35) 

COACHES NOTES 

A solid game by the boys today. The team listened well and followed coaching instructions and demonstrated some solid teamwork. Good solid defensive pressure saw some fantastic stops and forced turnovers from the other team. We dominated the rebounds on both ends of the court and capitalised on the second chance baskets. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Logan Haines – Played a great all round game today with some strong drives to basket and pulling down some solid offensive rebounds. Scored a respectable 11 points for the day 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Alfie Peacock and Jensen Poyner completely dominated the rebounding today some fantastic put-backs and feeding the ball back out gave us plenty of scoring opportunities and control of the game. Ryan Eva showed another strong offensive performance today with some great mid range shooting. 

U14 BOYS (SHANNON TREW) 

Won against Cockburn Cougars (64 – 36) 

COACHES NOTES 

We started our press from the start and kept it up for the half time giving us 20 points just from interceptions giving us a lead of 35 – 11 at half time and that set us up for the game. Boys really worked hard on their deny defence in the 2nd half to keep the pressure up. Our ball movement was superb and made it very hard to defend us. We hit our Offence and defence targets which the boys love aiming for, keeps them motivated in games where scores are not close. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Jarvis Warden – Jarvis hurt his ankle in the first minute and came off and it looked like we lost him early. Some magic spray and some tape and he came back on to the cheer of the crowd and turned it on with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 3 interceptions. We couldn’t be more prouder of him. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Tanzeke hit 3 huge x 3pt in a row to lift the team and spread out the defence which got his teammates into the game. Team scores always before individual scores. 

U16 GIRLS (CHARLIE SMART) 

Loss against Hills Raiders (51 – 62) 

COACHES NOTES 

No win this week unfortunately as they faced a well-seasoned Raiders Team. The girls fought extremely hard every minute of the game, their sheer determination remains unmatched by any team in the division, with only inexperience at WABL level not being on their side. Their fast breaks are undefendable as these girls are lightning fast. Their defence is improving every week seeing them improve both ends of the court. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Alex – After a difficult and emotionally challenging few games seeing silly fouls causing her to miss the end of games Alex came out determined not to get in foul trouble. Alex not only dominated offensively especially during the first half of the game but played an extremely mature game with good positions defensively. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Full team effort once again. 

U16 BOYS (LACHIE RILEY) 

Loss against Lakeside Lightning (61 – 88) 

COACHES NOTES 

The focus for this game was defensive stops and rebounds. I tried something new in our defence which we haven’t spent heaps of time on and the team did very well to adapt and play to our goals. Each week the team achieves small improvements. If we can keep up or increase the rate of improvements, this team will be a force to be reckoned with. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Zaydn Thomas, every time Zay has the ball in his hands it is exciting. He consistently gives his team everything he’s got no matter the score, no matter the situation. 33 points, great job Zay. 

U16 BOYS (RAE D’SYLVA) 

Loss against Warwick Senators (68 – 96) 

COACHES NOTES 

The boys are communicating with each other during the game a lot better. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Alex. He was a lot more aggressive and rebounded well this week 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

We as a team are getting better on switching on defence 

U16 BOYS (TYRON NEIL) 

Won against Mandurah Magic (76 – 73) 

COACHES NOTES 

Worked well as a team in offense but even better in defense where we got our isolations right playing man on man to grind out a hard fought win 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

River Neill was asked to do a job on Mandurah Magics most prolific points scorer who averaged 20+. River kept him to 12 points whilst piling on pressure causing multiple turnovers, steals and several blocks – 3 of which were defensive blocks while they were finishing on the fast break. He also helped out at the offensive end setting up plays and getting some points on the board himself, solid all round performance by River  

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Whilst opposition teams have been concentrating on shutting down our big man Noah in the paint over the last 2 weeks (though not completely successful) they’ve left another beast loose all around the arc in Laker Nelson, who’s averaged 22 points in the last 3 games including an under the radar 25 today. Tyler Egan was back to his best working hard with River in defense to isolate key players and offensively scored 18 with a hot hand in the third. All in all great job by the whole team who were all given specific tasks throughout the game and executed them well to come away with the win. 

U18 GIRLS (DYSON LOWE) 

Won against Willeton Tigers (77 – 31) 

COACHES NOTES 

Awesome win today from the girls, started off a bit slow but they started to communicate and play team basketball and blew the game out. Was really impressed with there effort today as they continued to play hard for the full 40 minutes. Chemistry is starting to build, positive signs moving forward. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Oceana had an awesome game today for us, scoring 10 points, being a menace on the boards, running the lanes hard and playing lockdown defence. She did everything that was asked of her. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Jasmine was amazing again for us scoring 14 points and playing amazing defence. 

U18 BOYS (COOPER LOWE) 

Loss against Willeton Tigers (72 – 131) 

COACHES NOTES 

Playing against the other undefeated team in the space of three weeks is tough, especially after a win the week prior. But despite the score, the boys were in much better spirits and were able to focus on their body language and trying to have fun, given the score line. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Levi Hawksworth stood out with a season high 18 points and doing his best to stop a tough Willetton outfit down the other end. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Having more positive energy and body language amongst the group, given the score line in the end. 

U18 BOYS (ANGUS HYWOOD) 

Won against Cockburn Cougars (79 – 49) 

COACHES NOTES 

After a slow start to our seasons it’s now Back to back weeks the boys showed up & were prepared to play a game of good, honest, hard, competitive basketball. I have said from the start as a coach this is an incredible team we have together and the potential is the highest of any team in the division. Back to back wins have shown the character of this side with all the right pieces the puzzle is taking shape. 

We have some of the most dangerous scorers in the league, the strongest rebounders, the quickest guards and now the chemistry is there the season is ours for the taking! We must now be prepared to elevate another level and challenge not only the other teams each week but also ourselves to be the TEAM we can be by seasons end!!! 

FIRE UP SUNS! 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Nathan Bird- After some big discussions with Nathan & myself on his game, I set him a challenge to change his game from last season and become a strong defensive minded guard. Nathan took on this challenge and seized his opportunities today and really put the pressure on everybody to rise with him. A strong 15Pts, big rebounds and his defense on the ball handler was second to none. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Harrison Hart – 23pts with 5 made 3’s and the best defensive guarding I have seen.
Lachlan & Joseph – Always pushing the pace, putting scoring pressure on and defensive cutting off transitions all whilst being vocal leaders on the court.
Jayce Heal – Running the court, looking dangerous in transition, guarding strongly on ball and scoring off some of the smoothest motions you can get.
Progress,Sam & Alex – The Bermuda Triangle of defenders, players go in the paint to try score with the ball to only come out with nothing but a block or a turnover for their efforts. Great work fellas! 

U18 BOYS (HAYDEN BIRD) 

Loss against Rockingham Flames (66 – 70) 

COACHES NOTES 

Picked up on the 3rd and 4th quarter and really put on a show with positive attitudes and high intensity game play, defense was fantastic, while being patient on choosing the right shot and trusting each other. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Declan Molart, reason why is because he was doing everything he needs to do to help his teammates out, getting in the right spots on defense while also hitting clutch and high percentage shots when needing him to 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Seeing he boys continue to grow and get better every week we play has been a massive highlight for this game. 

U18 BOYS (RICK BATISTA) 

Won against Cockburn Cougars (95 – 54) 

COACHES NOTES 

Great team game this week. Our press and zone defences were immaculate, earning praise from the opposition coach. The boys were switched on from the very start and kept cockburn to just 17 first half points. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Jet Olsen – makes the most of his minutes and always finds a way to contribute, his 15 points, were valuable in spacing the floor for us this week. 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

Saxon played a great leaders game again with 24 points. Kalvyns defence was fantastic, and Michael Luce continues to shine with all his 17 pts coming in the second half. Rhiley Gardners rebounding was spectacular and he really set the tone for physicality. 

U20 BOYS (DAN VLAHOV) 

Loss against Warwick Senators (73 – 85) 

COACHES NOTES 

It is always a tough ask to take on any team that sits undefeated after 6 rounds of competition however the boys gave it a red hot crack this week against the top of the table Senators Blue. We led at the 1st & 2nd quarter breaks and were just 2 points down at the 3rd but unfortunately even though we played solid team defence, and held the Senators to their lowest score of the season, we just could not capitalise in offense and went down by 12 at the end of the day. Will Comerford, Haydn Williams & Jason Moore had solid score lines but a lack of team discipline in our offence saw us squander opportunities, particularly in the 4th quarter, that the team play we have seen the last few weeks may have maximised. As indicated, at the defensive end all players did well this game, and although there is still much room for improvement, we are closing the holes little by little each week with Jack Burrowes, Ethan Nash & Kiarn Linaker again anchoring us at this end of the floor. 

Overall a strong showing of what this team is capable of and any time you hold the top team to their lowest score and lowest winning margin of the season there is lots of positives to take away. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME 

Haydn Williams for his solid contribution across both ends of the floor