Basketball Report V Trinity
On Friday night, the 1st V faced off against Trinity Grammar in their last home game for the season. With the crowd behind Waverley, they were able to pull away within the final minute with a 4-point victory, the final score 93-89. Heading into the game, it was the Year 12’s final home game, knowing that they had to put in all their effort when they stepped onto the court.
Throughout the first half, Trinity’s rebounding could not be stopped, allowing them to keep the small lead. After half time, Waverley was able to fix this coming out, and creating a 12-point lead, led behind Sergej Jakovljevic’s inside finishing. By the end of the third quarter, Trinity was able to close the gap, leaving Waverley’s lead to just 1 point.
The fourth quarter was extremely close, as usual, with Trinity once again holding the lead. It wasn’t until the last three minutes of the game, that Waverley made their final run lead behind Oscar Walters-Green’s defence, and Marko Rangan’s scoring ability. The game was capped off with a rendition of ‘Carrington Road’ to seal the win at the final home game of the season.
2nd V
The 2nd V tipped off the night, in the championship game against Trinity. After a tough loss against Cranbrook, the 2nd V were tied with Trinity at the top of the leader board, knowing that they had to beat them to secure the CAS Championship. The game was close right to the end, with the end score 45-47. As the jump ball was thrown up into the air, the crowd was roaring in support of the 2nd V.
During the first half, Trinity had a lead of 5 which Waverley continued to chase down, but were getting outrebounded. During half time, a fired-up coach Joff Garvey was able to bring out the spirit in the team to start the third quarter firing, led by Eden Byrd’s ability to shoot the ball.
By the start of the fourth quarter, the 2nd V had brought Trinity’s lead to just 1 point. During the fourth quarter, the lead went back and forth between the two teams. Jack Anasson’s finishing ability and Dom Smith’s defence were unstoppable, as they were able to steal the lead in the final minutes. Unfortunately, the 2nd V was not able to close out the game, losing it by 2 points, after a well-fought game.
10A
For the 10As, Trinity was going to be a hard matchup, as it was an away fixture with Trinity hungry for the win, after losing to Waverley by 13 last year. The game for the 10As was another close one, with the final score 39-40 to Trinity. Waverley was led by Ben Pignatelli’s leadership, Giles Strachan’s shooting and Renato Rovacchi’s height inside the key on defence.
9A
The top of the leaderboard 9As had a tough matchup against Trinity, in which they previously beat them by 8 points. The game against Trinity went down to the final shot, with the end score 37-35, allowing Waverley to stay on top of the leaderboard, with their 8 wins and 1 loss record. The star players for the game were Petros Kalpouzanis with his shooting, Angus Peshos and his playmaking ability, and finally, Nico Palacio’s full-court defence.
8A
The 8As were coming off of a draw against Trinity last year, and were hungry for the win. Playing at Waverley, the 8As fought to the last minute, but unfortunately could not secure the lead, with the end score 38-38. They were led behind Dominic Dametto’s speed and Philip Falaniko’s strength to drive to the ring.
7A
The 7As were facing off against Trinity for the first time at Waverley, and were determined to get the win. Waverley did not get the results that they had hoped, with the final score 33-56.
Good Luck and Thank You
Good luck to all teams as they face off against Barker in the last game of the season. Congratulations and special good luck to all Year 12s playing their last game of Basketball for Waverley College.
A special thanks go to the parents/carers of the 1st V and 2nd V, for helping and organising the after-match functions for the home games. You could not have done a better job.
Looking Ahead
With the 1st V’s fourth win of the season against Trinity, they remain in 4th place, and now turn their attention to 3rd place Barker this weekend. A win against Barker will see them move to equal 3rd with Barker for the season.
The 2nd V’s heartbreaking loss means they slip to second place behind Trinity, and must now defeat Barker this weekend, while hoping that Trinity loses their fixture against Knox to share a premiership with Trinity.
The 10As sit 5th, and should feel confident in matching up with cellar-dwellers Barker, this weekend.
With three wins clear of second place Trinity and a very healthy points differential, the 9As have secured the premiership for their division. This is a fantastic achievement for the players and their coach Mr Kennedy, and to have done it in such emphatic fashion, has been very impressive.
The 8As second draw of the season sees them sit in third place, while the 7As are still searching for their first win of the season.
Other Results
Other teams to notch wins against Trinity included: the 7th V (46-36), 10F (44-38), 10G (34-21), 9A (37-35), 9B (55-22), 9C (38-34), 9G (34-21), 8C (59-43), 8D (48-34), 8E (18-17), 8F (27-19), 8G (24-22), 7B (33-18), 7E (35-26), 7F (49-15), 7G (27-25), and 7H (17-14), while the 10Es (37-all), 8As (38-all) and 8Bs (32-all) drew. A further 9 teams lost their games by 6 points or fewer.
BBQ – Can You Lend a Hand This Weekend?
Once again, many thanks to Rachael Smith and Glenn Smith of our Basketball Supporters’ Club, who have tirelessly staffed the Saturday BBQ all season, to raise money to support the program. If you can help for one hour this weekend, please contact Rachael at rachael_gray@hotmail.com or 0412 693 243. It would be greatly appreciated.
A huge thank you to Anne Gleeson for her wonderful work in organising the 1sts and 2nds post-game luncheons and dinners this season. As always, this season Waverley has continued to host the best after-functions in the CAS.
Annual Basketball Presentation Night – Saturday, 18 March 2023, 6pm-8:30pm
Book tickets now for our annual Basketball Presentation Night.
Click here to view more information and to book tickets
The final round against Barker is all that remains of what has so far been a very successful 2022/23 Basketball season. Good luck to all teams this weekend.
