WABL Wrap Week 9 – 18/06/23
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:
Jackson Bailey (U14 Boys) – Jackson Bailey has been bringing hustle and effort in training for a couple of weeks now and carried it through into the game today. He was aggressive on defence, both on and off-ball, and was confident on offence — running our sets and shooting his shot when open. Well done, Jackson!
Suzan Rammal (U18 Girls) – A lot of the players put in solid effort this week but one stood out for her attention to to trying to take on board the things we discussed at training and for ALWAYS pushing herself both in offense & defense. Congratulations Suzie Rammal
U12 Girls Black (Lawrence West)
Won against Mandurah Magic (55 – 35)
Coaches notes
This week we played for each other and it was a joy to watch. We moved the ball, played with pace and gave up good shots to get great shots. Everyone contributed and we consistently made the extra pass, which led to our season high in assists.
Defensively we stuck to the plan and forced Mandurah into taking tough shots. Most importantly for me is that we kept our intensity high for all 4 quarters which is a goal we have been striving for.
This weeks player of the game was really hard to call so I also want to give a shoutout to our resident “nice guy” Bob. This week she stepped up and was agressive in looking to score as well as fighting for rebounds on both ends. She capped off a great game by shooting 100% (2/2) from the free throw line – Nice work Bob!!
Player of the game
Emily Sunderland – Emily’s confidence has been growing each week, and it was pleasing to see her put it together in this game. Not only did she top score for us, she did it shooting a solid 50% from the field and earned us valuable extra possessions with her hard work on rebounds (12). We are just scratching the surface of Emily’s ability and once she realises how awesome she is there will be no stopping her – keep at it superstar!
U12 Girls Orange (Lizzie Falconbridge)
Loss against Perth Redbacks (36 – 45)
Coaches notes
Coached by Ryan Breadsell.
We hit the road and travelled to Vic Park Leisurelife Centre for a top of the table clash. The girls were a bit nervous but warmed up well and hit the courts with instructions from Lizzie to be loud and defend hard. I was so proud of our girls defensive pressure with all players stepping up and getting turnovers. Great effort by Harper, Eloise and Mariska forcing the passes high for multiple intercepts.
All players coming off the bench contributed well, with Amina getting some rebounds and Oceana continuing to fight for ground balls. We definitely noticed when Rejoice wasn’t in the keyway to get rebounds but we had our chances.
The score was tied or close most of the game with the Redbacks hitting the front during the last quarter when we missed our last few shots. But over all the girls fought hard and should be proud of their efforts.
Great to see one of our new development players getting a chance to taste WABL basketball. Mary jumped on when the scores were tied and hit the court running. She played excellent minutes and even ripped a ball in for a ball up. Also thought I should acknowledge the umpiring today, very good and unbiased, the best we’ve had this season.
Player of the game
Eloise Sprogowski – Eloise stepped up on her defensive game today and put a lot of pressure on the ball. She also made her presence felt offensively by running fast breaks and hitting her pull-up shots.
U12 Girls White (Bruno Kongawoin)
Won against Perth Redbacks (33 – 15)
Coaches notes
This week was very similar to last week with another slow start which saw us fall behind for most of the first half. Our ball use was uncharacteristically careless, shots we usually make weren’t going in and we just weren’t playing to the level we know we can.
To the girls’ credit, they came out strong in the second half and turned the game around. Our team defence in particular was outstanding as we forced a lot of turnovers, holding our opponent to only 2 points in the second half. This kick-started our offense with a number of fast break opportunities, and we were able to run away with the game.
Our team is growing in confidence and ability each week and they should be very proud of their season to date. Well done girls.
Player of the game
Player of the week is Abby Duggan. Our newest member of the team, Abby played in her first WABL game this week and did really well, having a positive impact on the game at both ends. Abby also scored her first basket in her first game. Great work Abby, keep it up.
U12 Boys Black (Lizzie Falconbridge)
Loss against Cockburn Cougars (53 – 58)
Coaches notes
The boys had rough first few quarters and couldn’t quite seem to set up their usual solid defence and team cohesiveness. However, despite being 20 points down at three quarter time, the boys showed some exceptional determination, picked up the defence and managed to claw back to as close as three points. It was great to see the determination in the boys and they didn’t give up right to the end.
Player of the game
Lewis showed some amazing defence and managed some fantastic intercepts throughout the game. He had great energy and really helped to keep the team focused and determined.
U12 Boys Orange (Tim Hart)
Won against East Perth Eagles (46 – 34)
Coaches notes
Eagles came out hungry for a win in the 1st qtr but we were able to match them and apply enough pressure to hold a small lead through the game. Rebounding, foul-shooting and closer on-ball defensive pressure are areas we are focusing on at training – so it was pleasing to see an uptick in related stats this week. We achieved season-high rebounds (54), a season-high 60% from the foul line (6 of 10 shots), and 21 deflections. The whole team contributed in each qtr with points and rebounds for each player. We are at the halfway point of the regular season games, looking forward to a rematch with each team.
Player of the game
Cohen – your defensive hussle this week was outstanding. Cohen pulled down 12 rebounds, chased after loose balls (6 deflections), lunged into passing lanes for (8) steals and generally fought hard for the ball in defence (two defensive jump balls). Your effort inspired your team mates to push harder on defence, and defence from the whole team contributed to the win. Cohen also picked up 2 assists and 8 points.
U12 Boys White (Patrick Massam)
Loss against Cockburn Cougars (26 – 62)
Coaches notes
It was a frosty morning to head down to the flats to take on the Cockburn Cougars, who are sitting in second place on the ladder. With the PAGS fueled with hot coffee, and the boys brimming with their usual energy we were ready to go.
It was the Cockburn UFC round, as the boys had to contest with a more physical game, against some bigger boys. Leaving a number of players, a little bruised and battered and a few tears shed.
Offensively we did not always respect our opposition, allowing them to force us into poor passing or difficult shot selection.
There was a couple of glimmers of good play with both Austin “not in my house” Berkhout driving into battle and drawing fouls and making shots. Also, some great drives and shots from Thomas Morrice & Ayman Chiekelard.
Defensively we too often resembled airport ground crew, guiding the opposition players safely towards the basket, rather than putting in effective stops and forcing them into tougher shots or to retreat. Given the physicality of the game, the boys were understandbly intimidated.
Lots for the coaching staff to work on.
Chase Williamson was our player of the game. Chase was working hard both ends of the court ripping down some rebounds and moving and passing the ball well. Nice work Chase.
Again, with a couple of sausage sizzles post-game the boys, had sauce and smiles all over the face. A resilience builder this one.
The Morrice family have had enough of the cold weather and will be sipping cocktails (Not Tom) in Bali for the next week. Bintang shirts all round when they return. Enjoy the warmth, were not jealous at all!
Player of the game
Chase Williamson. Chase was working hard both ends of the court ripping down some rebounds and moving and passing the ball well. Nice work Chase.
U12 Boys Blue (Dave Yan)
Won against Perth Redbacks (59 – 45)
U14 Girls Black (Andrew Herbert)
Won against Willeton Tigers (59 – 35)
Coaches notes
All the ladies played very well with week and are continuing to step up in various ways. We were able to take control early and not take our foot off the pedal until the final buzzer against a fast paced Tigers team. The ladies are continuing to get better week by week both individually and as a team!“TOGETHER”
Some notable performances on the stat sheet including 2 double doubles were:
Izabelle Biggs – 6Reb 2St 6Pts
Lucinta Akerman – 7St 2Reb 6Pts
Charli Hill – 7Reb 2St 4Pts
Carmen Woods – 10Reb 2St 12Pts
Charlotte Herbert- 19Reb 2St 9Blk 25pts
Player of the game
Player of the week this round goes to Charlotte Herbert for dominating at both ends of the court. A solid effort in defence by protecting the paint with 9 blocks, crashing the board at both end of the floor with 19 rebounds and contributing to the scoreboard with 25pts. A solid effort all round!
U14 Girls Orange (Adam Brickwood)
Won against Mandurah Magic (31 – 28)
Coaches notes
After a tough start to the season with injuries it was great to finally field a full side and the girls did a great job.
Our backcourt defence was able to create a lot of turnovers which led to some solid fastbreak opportunities and in return we were able to limit their fastbreak opportunities very effectively this game which was great.
In offence – Creating the extra pass was a focus in our half court offence and we were able to generate some great looks at the basket finding some cutters on the move in the paint.
Player of the game
Amber Brickwood – To her credit she has had to play out of position all season but today had a chance to play her normal role and was great. Driving to the basket and creating plays for teammates. Defensively she was shutting down fast breaks and even attempting to take multiple charges was a great effort.
U14 Girls White(Daniel Heyman)
Loss against Perth Redbacks (47 – 52)
Coaches notes
After a slow start to the game, we let the opposition get an early lead that ballooned out to 16 at the last break. In the last quarter, we rallied back but fell short by 5 points. Yet again, our full-court defence was the catalyst for the late surge.
We were buoyed by strong performances from Ella Michalczuk (13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block & 1 steal on 55%FG), Vattalanie D’Sylva (9 points, 5 rebounds & 2 steals on 50%FG) and Malia Williams (7 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals on 50%FG).
Player of the game
Gabriella McCullaugh: Gabbi was the main reason for our late surge, leading the team with a monstrous 11 steals, converting turnovers to points. Gabbi has been a constant contributor for us at both ends of the floor this season and instrumental in our team’s success.
U14 Girls Blue (Tamara Reeves)
Won against Cockburn Cougars (46 – 40)
Coaches notes
The girls had a great team game resulting in a much deserved win. They all did their part and worked together to secure the win.
Abigail got in the right positions and rebounded well while stopping the Cougars top scorer.
Bonnie played amazing defense the whole game while playing through the roughness on the offensive end.
Eloise top scored for the team with 14 points from a lot of nice layups and also played more aggressive this game.
Grace had a positive attitude all game and showed some more aggression on the court.
Leah played good defense by reading and intercepting the ball.
Bianca had great on ball defense and contained the ball up the court.
Daphne kept the other team out of the keyway and stopped them from scoring.
Lily went on the court and played aggressive resulting in jump balls.
Player of the game
It would not be fair to pick one single player as it was a genuine whole team effort and I was very proud of them all!
U14 Boys Black (Shannon Trew)
Won against Warwick Senators (74 – 36)
Coaches notes
The boys extended their win streak to 8 games with a fantastic all-round performance against a good Warwick Blue team. The more the game went on, the more team stepped up their Energy, Effort and Attitude at both ends of the court, with a solid half-time lead turning into an dominant margin after an excellent third quarter. This saw the boys played disciplined, high-effort half-court defence and then run hard off opposition misses and turnovers, selflessly hitting teammates further upcourt in transition. Tanzeke Edgar was outstanding and led the team in scoring with 21, while Bailey Ryan was strong all game on the glass. By game’s end, all players had hit the scoresheet in a real team effort. After a couple of weeks off-the-boil, it was great to see the team bounce back with one of their best performances of the season.
Player of the game
Jackson Bailey has been bringing hustle and effort in training for a couple of weeks now and carried it through into the game today. He was aggressive on defence, both on and off-ball, and was confident on offence — running our sets and shooting his shot when open. Well done, Jackson!
U14 Boys Orange (Adrian Mok)
Won against Cockburn Cougars (54 – 42)
Coaches notes
The team chemistry and high intensity defence is all finally coming together but will still have plenty of work to do. Even though our offence is still very clunky, its a good sign to see the boys can still string a win together knowing we have plenty of room to improve.
Taye Gopolang – Starting to a very pivotal part of defensive structure and is getting better and better every week, which is no surprise due to his work ethic and desire to get better. Always makes the coaches job easier when both sides are wanting the same thing.
Dave Brar – Another solid performance not only on the offensive end but putting more emphasis on defence which make our back court deadly. At times still over dribbling the ball when team mates are open but we are working on that every week.
Leyton Rooke – Very controlled for 95% of the game with only couple of small instances on court in regards to keeping his emotions in check. Great to see him progressing week by week, like most players if you let your emotions take over it normally means you won’t be playing you best ball.
Player of the game
AJ Mok – Showing great leadership over the past month realising his voice is important to the team, especially the new players joining us this season. A player who is never worried about his stats, he would rather get 10 assists then 10 points, next thing he needs to work on is to identify when to pass and when to attack the basket at times during the game. Since coming back to 100% health, he has lead our defensive charge along with Taye to set a standard for the whole team.
U14 Boys White (Joel Warner)
Won against Hills Raiders (60 – 34)
Coaches notes
On Sunday we were a long way from our best, so in those situations it’s important to be positive and get the maximum benefit we can out of the experience. I think a couple of the boys (Peter, Asten, Elisha) were very effective and made good scoring and rebounding contributions and those efforts went a long way to winning the game. Our performance on Sunday was a little odd because we practiced well during the week, we just didn’t implement our game style as well as we would have liked. Although we weren’t at our best, I applaud the boys for sticking together, and I particularly enjoyed the positivity from the bench. When Coach James and I reviewed the game, we did some reflection on what’s important at this point of the year (we’ve broken the season into a few parts). It’s our strong view that we need to develop juniors in a way that helps them understand their contributions are noticed and are important.
Individual scoring isn’t as important (in my view) as some people think it is. Coach James and I always celebrate what led to the score, how we created an advantage and who was selfless, rather than who ultimately put the ball in the basket. So with that in mind, even though we were pretty scrappy, we ended up with a good result and there were honest contributions from multiple positions for decent stretches in the game. Reuben brought massive defensive energy, his best all year. Chad and Ethan made some great decisions with the ball, also bringing strong leadership. If there was ever a week to celebrate playing the right way, with the right spirit it was this week, because we weren’t reliable or tidy when putting the ball in the basket or at implementing our systems. So this week, we needed to rely on other intangible efforts. The majority of our scores came from second efforts, hunting the ball (Phoenix, Tala, Kade) along with a little bit of offensive transition and court stretching (Sam). Therefore, the takeaways this week are very much value and intangible based. This week our highlights were that we showed a Positive Attitude, demonstrated Toughness, and had a Strong Work Ethic.
Player of the game
This week’s player of the round goes to Sam. This week Sam was a gritty defender and created several jump balls, along with steals, finishing with zero turnovers. He showed effort on both ends of the court, stretched defenders in offense and continued to get to the right spots despite often being unrewarded with the ball. For him to continuously drag defenders away from the ball, means he allows us to play four on four at times. It’s great to see him not getting down when he isn’t rewarded with the ball, rather he’s finding different ways to be optimistic. It’s more likely that he’s celebrating the success of his Team-mates than his own. Well done Sam, your player of the week award is well deserved, Coach James and I notice your hard work. Congratulations for sticking to the Team Values and impacting on the result by playing unselfish basketball.
U14 Boys Blue (Hayden Bird)
Won against Perth Redbacks (54 – 52)
Coaches notes
The takeaways for this game would be how the boys where able to perform when the pressure was on!
Redbacks were going to be the toughest team to face this season. It was a true battle all game but when we went down the boys fought tooth and nail to build it back up and get the lead back!
Great team work and positive energy kept us in the game and won us the game!
Player of the game
Kurt De Jesus, Game in and game out Kurt is the silent energy man that constantly helps push the floor on the offense. Defensively Kurt is an absolute menace and makes any opponents time on the court a rough one, staying in front snd forcing turnovers is a specialty. Truly a great player on the court, awesome work Kurt keep it up!
U16 Girls Black (Charlie Smart)
Loss against Mandurah Magic (47 – 77)
Coaches notes
When the whole team was engaged, their ball movement and unselfish play was fantastic to see. A great improvement in effort in the second half saw them level out the scoring and execute some great moments of Suns basketball, however Mandurahs confidence was up and that coupled with their 3 point excellence saw them maintain their initial lead.
Player of the game
Isla – Isla is a natural athlete and you couldn’t fault her continued effort and fight, on court, during the game. She is lightening fast and has a high sporting IQ which gives her the ability to read and anticipate what another team is about to execute, disrupting or breaking down their offence with ease. Congratulations Isla.
U16 Girls Orange (Shannon Trew)
Won against Mandurah Magic (102 – 32)
Coaches notes
This week was our reward week where hard work at training was rewarded with some players getting their first starting 5 role and our DP Ellie getting her first game of the year.
We got out to an awesome start and first qtr ended 17-4 where we tried out our new Zone.
2nd qtr we went to a FC man and our Energy and Effort went to another level and we won that qtr 34 – 6 which was an awesome achievement. Great defence turns into amazing offence.
3rd qtr was our quarter to push back the defence and work on moving the ball more and looking to run our offences and get valuable minutes into all players.
4th qtr started 73 – 19 and the girls decided they wanted to get to 100 points for the first time so they went back into their self organised press and got the 27 points needed which ended up at 102.
Harper 24 pts
Charlie 19 pts
Heidi 18 pts
Chelsea 16 pts
Brooklyn 10 pts
Shelby 8 pts
Ellie 6 points
Mia 4 rebounds, 3 interceptions, 5 assists.
Holly 10 blocks and wall ups
Katie 6 steals, 3 assists and 4 interceptions
Player of the game
Brooklyn West was outstanding and played her best game this year. Her Energy, Effort and Positive Attitude showed and she finished with 10 important points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. We all think you’re amazing Brooklyn, let’s do it again next week and let’s keep building on this awesome game!
U16 Boys Black (Brad Dowd)
Loss against Perth Redbacks (73 – 84)
Coaches notes
Another case of should have, could have, but didn’t get the win. We had our chances multiple times, briefly getting the jump on Redbacks when we started and were only down by 3 points at half time. The boys kept fighting and the game could of gone our way at any moment really, but our on-going problem of not sticking to the game plan got us again.
Player of the game
Jarron Atterton wins player of the round with a hard fought double double (13 points and 20 rebounds). Jarron consistently works hard, game after game and does whatever is asked of him, playing anywhere from the 3 to the 5 role. Well done Jarron, keep it up.
U16 Boys Orange (Rob Rees)
Loss against Perth Redbacks (99 – 101)
Coaches notes
Very tough game we lost by only 2 points, boys played very well
Player of the game
Joshua Mahama
U16 Boys White (Jordon Macpherson)
Loss against Cockburn Cougars (37 – 87)
Coaches notes
This was an off day for the boys. All I can say is how proud I am of the teams effort and most importantly how well they handled the adversity.
We didn’t play our game and we paid the price.
We win as a team and lose as a team. This loss will add fuel to our fire moving forward with our focus on getting better at the details.
Shout out to the whole squad for winning the 4th quarter, as the coaches asked, proving we can beat this team when we play to the level we are capable.
Player of the game
This weeks nomination for player of the week is a difficult one because everyone fought hard against all odds. It makes me proud to see our boys embodying our teams mantra “together”. That being said this weeks award goes to Jaxon Macpherson. Jaxon was given the defensive assignment on a player who regularly puts up 20+ points a game, and contained him to only 7pts. He also top scored for our team. Jaxon really shone in the last quarter getting to the bucket and finishing under heavily contested defence. The opposition looked surprised once Jax came out of his shell. Continue to play with that creativity and determination mate!
U16 Boys Blue (Luke Poyner)
Loss against Hills Raiders (78 – 82)
Coaches notes
It was a tough game for the boys with our roster bing decimated with illness and injury leaving us with 7 players from a squad of 11. The boys came out hungry for a win early on and played some great basketball with some fantastic moments on the court. With the lead changing multiple times throughout the game, it was a close competition.
With a mostly empty bench, fatigue was a concern for us towards the end of the game but the boys pushed hard and didn’t give up. Scores were tied at the end of regular time and we started off overtime with some great plays and pushed out and early lead of 5 in OT. Unfortunately we were unable to maintain the lead and intensity towards the final minutes and ended up down by 2 baskets.
A big shoutout to Samuel Davey who stepped up from our DP role to be our 7th on the day and played an absolute fantastic game and showed good hustle on both ends of the court and scored 7 points. Well done Sam!
Player of the game
Everybody played with great intensity today. Player of the game today was Mitch Mandusic who pushed hard the entire time and left nothing on the court. Mitch stepped up inside with 11 rebounds and 12 points with some fantastic hard earnt putbacks inside.
U18 Girls Black (Travis Linaker)
Loss against East Perth Eagles (52 -92)
Coaches notes
Again we have had a significant loss that just did not feel this big – we drew Qtr3 and lost Qtr2 by just 1 point but the other two were just not up to the same level and it is frustrating to watch the girls work so hard but not be able to reward themselves.
Not being able to finish close to the hoop, turnovers and not keeping our hands out in defense are all contributing however the biggest factor is still lack of consistent teamwork. We are finding ourselves playing against the opposition and ourselves and it is tough to play a three pronged game.
I hope that we can get this together and go into the second part of the season as a fully functioning team as it will be amazing to watch if this group of talented individuals can put together four full quarters.
FireUp!!
Player of the game
A lot of the players put in solid effort this week but one stood out for her attention to to trying to take on board the things we discussed at training and for ALWAYS pushing herself both in offense & defense. Congratulations Suzie Rammal
U18 Girls Orange (Ric Batista)
Loss against Perry Lakes Hawks (29 – 58)
Coaches notes
We implemented a simpler offence this week and in a short time, we were able to score easy buckets within the offensive structure and that’s very pleasing. Amber toiled away with her hard hat on again on the boards with 15 rebounds this week. Without our leading scorer, we shared the load well this week with most contributing well. This week we worked on beating your opponent, ball fakes and a few other team rules and it was great to see these things put into practice. We’ll go to training buoyed in our performance and will continue to work on all aspects going forward.
Player of the game
Lo’Ana Avia gets the nod this week, both Blair and I looked at each other and said it instantaneously. Lo’Ana rebounded well, got her hands on multiple strips and set good screens for her team: her best performance this season, stepping into the starting lineup for the first time and making a good fist of the role she was given. Great job Lo proud of you.
U18 Boys Black (Lachie Riley / Angus Hywood)
Loss against East Perth Eagles (74 – 107)
U18 Boys Orange (Brad Coutts)
Loss against Joondalup Wolves (89 – 92)
Coaches notes
Highlights were the continued offence that we got through better than previous weeks.
U18 Boys White (Rae D’Sylva)
Won against Eastern Suns (69 – 65)
U18 Boys Blue (Tyron Neill)
Loss against Eastern Suns (65 – 69)
U20 Boys Black (Lochy Brown)
Won against Joondalup Wolves (87 – 76)
Coaches notes
In a game where the refs were letting the boys play it was good to see the players step up to the physicality. We keep finding new ways to dominate and all players again are impacting the game every time they step on the floor. It’s a credit to the entire team and to the injured players who trekked to Joondalup to support the boys.
Player of the game
Jason Moore – Jason is a great three point shooter but this year he his showing new ways to impact the game. He was able to adapt and be a strong ball handler for the entire game, and in the fourth quarter put his body on the line on both ends of the floor to seal the game. Very impressed with his resilience.
U20 Boys Orange (Cooper Lowe)
Loss against Joondalup Wolves (69 – 55)