30 Jun NWBL Round 1 Wrap
The Wollongong Roller Hawks sit atop the ladder after Round 1 of the National Wheelchair Basketball League, with three comprehensive wins over the Manly Wheel Eagles.
Manly faced a difficult challenge from the outset missing star high pointer Bill Latham along with Matt McShane, against a Roller Hawks side brimming with fresh faces.
New Head Coach Brett Stibners wasted little time getting those new faces on court with Jontee Brown, Jordi Ruiz and Tomas Klein named in the starting side alongside Tristan Knowles and Hannah Dodd for Game 1.
Brown opened the scoring for Wollongong, before Ruiz got their second basket and Klein their third. The trio combined for the visitor’s first ten points before Tristan Knowles hit a three, setting the tone for the game and the weekend.
In Game 1 the Roller Hawks had six players in double figures with everyone ready to share the ball on the way to a 81-36 victory.
Game 2 saw an almost identical score line as the Roller Hawks won 81-38 but it was Brown and Knowles who dominated the score sheet; Brown with 29 points and 15 rebounds, Knowles with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists while in Game 3 at Shellharbour City Stadium they combined for 38 points on the way to a 75-26 win and a clean sweep for the weekend.
Manly battled hard all weekend with Emmanuel Fuentes Cervantes playing every minute across all three games. Coach Rohan Foy used the games to give valuable minutes to his emerging players including debutants Dylan Gawthorne and Evander Conroy.
It was a big weekend in Brisbane with both the Spartans and Titans at home to the Red Dust Heelers and Perth Wheelcats respectively.
The return of Agustin Alejos Alonso gave the Spartans an instant boost, the Spaniard provided an inside presence and veteran leadership as he averaged 18 points and a league high 12.5 rebounds for the weekend.
The Spartans had the Heelers’ measure in the first two games winning 62-42 and 54-43 but in Game 3 it was a different story.
Sunday’s game looked to be heading in a similar direction as the Spartans led 14-10 after one quarter but it was all Heelers in the second, the Spartans unable to score in the first five and a half minutes of the second period as the Heelers outscored the hosts 20-5 to lead by 11 at halftime and holding on to win 56-41.
”We focused on protecting the paint and not allowing them to get easy points under the ring. Forcing the Spartans to take outside shots was ideal for us,” said Red Dust’s Jeremy Tyndall after the game.
“We also needed to focus on taking more care of the ball, turnovers killed us in the first two games. We did a far better job in the third game,”
Fresh off his quarter final heroics at the U23 World Championship, Mitch Bond showed why he is so highly regarded as he scored 21 points and 7 rebounds while Sabri Bedzeti had 21 rebounds to go with his 11 points.
“Mitch played very well. He is becoming a confident shooter, by being composed and taking his time. He is becoming a key player in the Red Dust line up.”
But the Spartans still won the weekend and now sit in third place with a bye in Round 2 before they travel to Wollongong in Round 3.
“The Spartans are a solid team with plenty of depth! They will cause some trouble all season against most teams. They are well coached and follow a tight game plan,” added Tyndall.
Their counterparts the Titans made a solid debut against the Perth Wheelcats but the men from the west had too much experience.
The Wheelcats kept good defensive pressure on the league newcomers in each of the three games while at the offensive end, Tom McHugh and Ben Moncrieff shared the offensive load equally, both averaging 15.7ppg while Phil Evans was chief facilitator, averaging a league high 9.3 assists per game.
Southern Districts fans got their first look at import Peter Berry who needed Game 1 to settle in before he scored 21 points in Game 2 and 26 points including 4 from 9 from three point range in Game 3.
“Peter has been a great addition to the Southern Districts program as a whole, both off and on the court. His first weekend was a good chance for him to see the level of the league,” said Titans coach Thomas Kyle.
“It was good to take on the experience of Perth as a chance to feel out some options for the season.”
The Titans next travel to Melbourne this weekend to take on Red Dust.
“Our key takeaways, staying together as a team and learning as we go. The first five weekends will go quickly and we just want to ensure the core group stays mentally fit as we start off three road trips in five weekends.”