WABL Wrap – Week 8 -12/6/22

WABL Wrap Week 8 – 12/6/22

Round 8 – Great to see a lot of our teams back to full strength this week, hopefully this continues for the rest of the season!

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:

Sam Warner (U12 Boys)

Sam Warner. This week the coaches were (again) challenged with selecting one player where there were strong contributions from several players. Sam was close to player of the week last week and this week he made another strong contribution. He was influential in offence, spacing the floor well, keeping the wings free in transition, ultimately allowing for team scoring. On the defensive end he stopped outlet passes, read and trapped effectively and held our trapping structures together, at times using his voice to ensure other players were in the correct positions. Sam continues to protect the ball and manage game tempo, which are important factors in successful team basketball. Well done Sam.

Skye Thomas (U16 Girls)

Skye Thomas, this young lady has been working extremely hard not just on her game but on her leadership towards her team mates.

U12 GIRLS (LAWRENCE WEST)

Won against Mandurah Magic (39 – 14)

COACHES NOTES

This week was about learning to play outside of our comfort zone. We changed line-ups, rotations and challenged some of our girls to play outside of their normal roles. As usual this competitive group met the challenge head on, and kept our intensity up for the whole game. We will continue to work on our shot selection, but I was very pleased to see our ball movement was still great with everyone willing to make the extra pass.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Eliza Eaton – Quite possibly our happiest player found something extra this week. Eliza not only positioned herself well under the basket to secure us some important rebounds, she also managed several steals and was able to kick start our transition offense with some great passes – Well done Bob!

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

It’s great to see the confidence growing within our team, it feels like each week someone is stepping up their game. In a week where routines were gone, and roles were mixed the girls showed they can find their rhythm and get the job done!

U12 BOYS (LIZZIE FALCONBRIDGE)

Won against Cockburn Cougars (54 – 51)

COACHES NOTES

The whole game was close going down to the last second, great to see the boys composure to finish it off. It was our team defense and unselfish basketball on the offensive end that kept us in and eventually help us win this one.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Dave Brar – Top scoring with 18 points and being more active on the defensive end. Always puts 110% in at training to work on his game and it’s showing on the court. Great teammate and very coachable kid who is eager to learn and improve.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Alijah Acabado – Although he is the smallest player on the team he has one of the biggest hearts, never shies away from a challenge. Fantastic shooting day, with him moving to the right spots and his teammates finding him on the fast breaks. Improving week by week on the defensive end which is pleasing to see from a coaching point of view. Leyton Rooke – Fought hard the whole game pulling in 22 rebounds to keep us in the game and holding off both the Cockburn centers as best he could, Great teammate and always listening in time outs and huddles so he is aware of what we are running.

U12 BOYS (JOEL WARNER)

Won against Cockburn Cougars (38 – 28)

COACHES NOTES

From a Team perspective the highlights came from our bench positivity. The energy on the bench was outstanding and that positivity flows into the boys playing performance on court. Again, the points spread was even, showing that our systems don’t rely on any individual players. Again, Asten warrants a mention as he continues to improve, his natural basketball instincts are showing through. It was great to get Phoenix back, he brings effort and defensive pressure and he’s integral to our team. Zac played his role to a high standard as did Adam, who rebounded excellently. The final team highlight comes from feedback from the opposition. It is unusual that an opposition Team Manager would comment on the opposing Team’s behaviour, at least not in a positive way. Following this week’s game, our coaching team (myself, Jordon and Trish as Team Manager) received the very positive feedback that Rylan made a great contribution to the game from the bench. Rylan is out for an extended period with a broken arm, however he provided positive feedback to both Suns and Cockburn players and stood out enough that he caught the attention of the Cockburn Team Manager. Well done Rylan for impacting the Cockburn coaching staff and leaving a positive impression on the game.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Again our team found themselves in an ‘arm wrestle’ with an equally skilled opposition. The more we become comfortable under pressure in tight games, the better we will perform in the long-run. It is very pleasing that our identity is built on gritty basketball and we are seldom losing 50/50 balls, and most of the second chance rebounds are being won with determination and effort. The boys should be credited with understanding our counters in offence and executing the game plan.

U12 BOYS (TIM HART)

Won against Lakeside Lightning (50 – 35)

COACHES NOTES

The boys pulled away in Q4, it was great to see the defensive pressure, head-up dribbling, and cutting to bucket with leading hands. We have improved from the last time we matched up against Lightning, where we only had a 1 point win.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Mathew, for 15 rebounds, 8 steals, and 14 points (shooting 46.7%). Mathew took the lead on defence and helped the team contain a skilled opponent in H2.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Seeing improvement in team work, we were watching for cutters more, and had some good moments where the keyway opened up and we got some easy buckets. The boys suggested double teaming a particularly skilled opponent in H2, we ran a shadow style defence on that player and it worked. There was good buy-in from the players on the court who stepped up and made sure we had bodies in the way of the oppositions top scorer.

Sebastian with 12 points (42.9%), 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 10 steals. Sebastian showed his ability to run the floor, moving quickly to intercept, pull down a rebound and go for a second chance shot. Angus with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals. Angus showed he could make mistakes and stay in the game. Dante showed aggression on the court, delivering 6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Aussie ( 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal) continued to show improvement in his defence, watching ball and player and trying to stay in front of his player as much as possible. Preston helped with offensive and defensive rebounds (5), and provided 4 points (1 steal). Callum had 2 points and 3 rebounds, and help us to wall up and make the keyway look smaller.

Ram continued to pull down boards on both ends, made 7 steals and did his best to stay in front of his player in defence. Declan and Christian didn’t play many minutes, but matched the intensity of the rest of the team in defence when they were on the court.

U14 GIRLS (ANDREW HERBERT)

Won against Perth Redbacks (54 – 42)

COACHES NOTES

The girls played really well this round, continuing to show improvement at both ends of the floor. We competed for the full 32 minutes.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Holly Marsh – A solid effort from Holly this round. Dropping 18 points, shooting 87.5% for the field and 80% from the free throw line plus contributing with 5 rebounds and 6 steals.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Jessica Prior – 17pts 14reb 3st, Isla-Rose Gray – 8pst 2reb 6st, Kaia Rukuata – 7pts 5 reb 3st 2bl

U14 GIRLS (JEMMA & JAYMEE)

Loss against Mandurah Magic (28 – 32)

COACHES NOTES

Didn’t give up at all, fought for every rebound and loose ball

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Heidi as she dominated both ends of the court with her speed and poise. Heidi was a great team player on the weekend as she set them up in all the plays we run and always brought energy to the group. She hustled for every rebound and loose ball. Heidi also had great version of the court and knew how to find other players while driving.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

We ran the lanes well and spaced out the floor very well

U14 BOYS (ROB REES)

Won against Rockingham Flames (55 – 44)

COACHES NOTES

Very good Defense

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Fraser Martin a very big defensive effort really helped his team mates to gain the ball and score

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Bailey Ryan returned from a long term injury and was able to take the court again.

U14 BOYS (THOR AMUNDSEN)

Loss against Cockburn Cougars (38 – 65)

COACHES NOTES

Whilst we put up a fight this week, we were decimated by injury, illness and availability against a relentless opposition. After a tough first half, the team rallied to a competitive second, but the damage was done.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Jaxon Macpherson – 23 points and continuing to grow to a dependable team mate.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Taj Jeffery persisted and kept the pressure up throughout, growing as a leader and Odin Amundsen, who was battling through unwell, making some key assists and bringing his defensive pressure game to force turnovers and jump balls.

U14 BOYS (LUKE POYNER)

Loss against Willeton Tigers (38 – 53)

COACHES NOTES

The team had a tough game today, we were making some good plays and choices but unfortunately were unable to convert these opportunities into baskets. Defensively the team put in a great effort, with plenty of forced turnovers from defensive pressure and some fantastic man-on-man tagging by keeping their top scorer to only a handful of baskets.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Devlin Colyer-Long – Putting in an absolutely stellar effort with his defensive tagging, taking their top scorer out of the game and keeping him to a fraction of his normal score.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

The team handled themselves well today – they kept pushing until the very end and never gave up. We were let down by some uncharacteristically low shooting percentages but the team kept pushing and creating opportunities the whole game. Scoring contribution for the day was spread fairly evenly across the whole team.

U14 BOYS (SHANNON TREW)

Won against Mandurah Magic (71 – 42)

COACHES NOTES

Great team win with our starting 5 jumping Mandurah early (3 x 1st time starters through their hard work at training). A huge 58 – 30 rebound tally helped us control the game and we mopped up any misses from either teams. Good lead up to an away top of the table clash with Willeton next week.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Jack Murphy – Jack is in our top 2-3 every week through his hard work in offence and defence. He had 8pts, 7 assists and 3 steals and a huge amount of energy and effort that lifted his mates.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Ollie James with 18 rebounds and 18 points worked hard all day.

Captain Jack with 19 points and lead his team and kept them focused on our targets when on or off the court.

5+ rebounds for Toby, Aiden, Jack, Jarvis, Sandrae and Tanz- “Everyone needs to rebound”.

U16 GIRLS (MATT HARDING)

Won against Warwick Senators (82 – 48)

COACHES NOTES

It was a great bounce back from our first loss for the season last week

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Skye Thomas, this young lady has been working extremely hard not just on her game but on her leadership towards her team mates.

U16 GIRLS (CHARLIE SMART)

Loss against Mandurah Magic (57 – 65)

COACHES NOTES

After a tentative start the girls pulled together as a team and fought strongly in the final quarter to pull back Mandurahs lead. Improving every week in different aspects of the game this Sunday’s strength was absolutely their team defence both mid court and strong protection of drives through the key. Unfortunately Mandurah popped too many 3s from seemingly every angle seeing them able to walk away with the win.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Elissa – Elissa’s never give up attitude saw her fight extremely hard in defence. Securing fantastic steals, forcing turnovers and her speed to chase down her opponent easily made her stand out during the game. She was equally as confident driving to the basket seeing her get good points on the board this week too.

U16 BOYS (BAILEY FERGUSON)

Won against Warwick Senators (69 – 67)

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Oscar Jenkins – Oscar put in the work under a lot of pressure from the defence making the correct decisions and scoring some crucial points to get us the close win. His defensive efforts paid off on our transition style of play

U16 BOYS (LACHIE RILEY)

Loss against Mandurah Magic (72 – 90)

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Zaydn Thomas. Zay played another brilliant game, starting with effort in defence and resulting in transition fast break offence. (Good defence creates offence) Mandurah had a really hard time stopping him allowing Zay to score 10 free throws. Great job Zay (26 points)

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Congratulations to Ivan Retel for hitting his first mid game 3s in domestic last week, then continuing to hit 2 3s this wabl game. Deacon Mathew’s had a good effect in the post on offence supplying the team with a helpful amount of points.

U16 BOYS (RAE D’SYLVA)

Won against Cockburn Cougars (75 – 45)

COACHES NOTES

Our defence was the best it’s been all season. Everyone played good defence and the ball movement and willingness to give up a shot for a better one got the whole team involved

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Sylvester Awino

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

The players are working out each other’s strengths and playing according

U16 BOYS (TYRON NEIL)

Loss against Mandurah Magic (50 – 54)

COACHES NOTES

The realisation that when we work as a team we are right up there with the best of them and have some great chemistry and flow which has helped us win games, but when we’re not we’re as vulnerable as the bottom team. Sunday’s game was a polar opposite of how we have been playing and at times played as individual’s when under pressure which in turn affected our scoring ability. This gives us an insight on what we need to do to build a stronger bond and become a tighter knit group.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Marko Dimitrijevic put in a solid effort all game getting bulk rebounds, steals, blocks and even managed to get a few points to his name when our bigs were incapacitated early in the game. He was often found throwing himself on the ground in pursuit of possession which is the dedication I love to see in a player. Thanks for your do or die efforts throughout the tough loss Marko.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Isaiah Gray worked hard all game and was our highest scorer with 22. Kobe Varias busted his gut to provide good scoring opportunities and got a couple of points himself. Also Jesse Smith was asked on numerous occasions to go in and be a rebounding big man throughout the 2nd half pulling down some big contested boards and picking up a few points along the way. Well done boys!

U18 GIRLS (DYSON LOWE)

Won against Warwick Senators (82 -71)

COACHES NOTES

Staying locked in on defence for the whole game resulting in us forcing 10 turnovers in one quarter.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Tamara. Defensively shutting down their leading scorer and causing turnovers along with diving on the floor hustling for the ball. Offensively pushing the ball up the floor as the point guard, executing the plays properly and being ready to knock down the shot in receivers spots

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

5 fast break layups due to intercepts and 8 offensive rebounds all in the 3rd quarter

U18 BOYS (COOPER LOWE)

Loss against Warwick Senators (61 – 86)

COACHES NOTES

We showed patches of us being a really good team, it’s just finding the ability to do it for longer to keep us in games

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Player of the game is Hudson Lowe, he lead the way with 17 points and was consistent on both ends of the floor all game.

U18 BOYS (ANGUS HYWOOD)

Loss against Rockingham Flames (60 – 79)

COACHES NOTES

Tough one going down today to a well rounded Rockingham Flames squad. As always we get off to a really strong start however it is a four quarter game that requires the full presence of competitive spirit & focus for all of those quarters. Our guard group of Joe, Harrison, Lachlan & Nathan are always more than capable scorers & show this every week, these boys brought a great pace early on but it is in defence where we must now execute our roles to slow the opposition attack. As guards you set the tone for the rest of the team as to how the game will be played. If we have a strong guard defence high on the court = less pressure on our bigs to guard quick transition and can box out to rebound on contested shots. If we let them blow by with drives & get to dangerous spots our bigs are outnumbered down low for the easy scores..

Our trio of talls Alex, Progress & Sam are forever working hard around the boards to protect the paint holding our last line of defence. Alex individually collecting 18 Defensive rebounds today with Progress & Sam closing out shooters proves to be a powerhouse moving forward. Remember after we secure the ball to not over complicate/over-use the ball getting it lit out & across half court, get across and it relieves the pressure on the ball handlers! We didn’t get the W this week but we celebrated milestone games for two great Club home grown talents in Joseph Lo Biundo & Jayce Heal reaching 50 games for the Eastern Suns. Well done lads, great achievement at the WABL level.

Back on court this week at training, we need a full effort of energy, attitude & focus so we can bounce back on the winners list to play our style of basketball! Plenty to work on, plenty to improve it is exciting times ahead. Heads up Suns, it’s a big season with plenty of opportunity.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Nathan Bird – Today was the game that I know Nathan has worked so hard towards achieving. A massive 23pts from 11-13 shooting, Defensively guarding the corner 3’s and shooting guards and rebounding for many of his second chance points! The work you have put into the past month of basketball is starting to shine through Nathan. Great work mate, rest up that ankle and back at it bigger, stronger and faster!

U20 BOYS (DAN VLAHOV)

Won against Hills Raiders (82 – 65)

COACHES NOTES

Another solid defensive performance by the boys holding the Raiders to their equal lowest score for the season, each week the gaps are closing and we are taking on board more of the little things that make a big difference to our ability to win consistently. Offensively we didn’t get to our target numbers, mainly due to some sloppy finishing around the basket which has plagued us all season, but it is extremely positive to see all players contributing each week on the scoreboard and a 17 point win is certainly a pleasing result. Kiarn Linaker & Noah Jacques top scored this week whilst contributing solidly in defence and Aaron Weldelassie looked a lot more comfortable in only his second game back after injury which was great to see. Austin Cole, Alex Jenkins, Rory McCarthy and Jason Moore

Our bench players all again worked hard to perform their assigned roles and as always mention to our reserves who turn up week in , week out and provide positive energy from the bench.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Ethan Nash takes home the award this week for his solid leadership, work at both ends of the floor and commitment to the team.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

This was Will Comerford’s final game for the season, before heading off to the USA next week to work on securing himself a college career, and the U20 Men’s players and staff would like to thank Will for his contribution to the team and wish him all the best in following his dreams………Fire Up!!