Daniel Palacio
Basketball Report V St Aloysius’ – 17 February 2o23
1sts
On Friday night, the 1sts Basketball played against St Aloysius’ in front of an electrifying crowd. Unfortunately, the boys were not able to bring the win home to Waverley, with the end score 89 to 95. Even before the game tipped off, the atmosphere was amazing. Waverley knew it was going to be a tough matchup, after only beating St Aloysius’ in a memorable game that was forced into a double overtime, with Waverley securing the two-point win.
As the game started, Waverley had the momentum for the first 10 points, but were not able to hold onto it for very long. With a few dunks and the St Aloysius’ crowd roaring, the boys lost the lead. By the end of the 1st quarter, Waverley had fallen short, as they were down by 10. With the lead and the crowd, St Aloysius’ 1sts kept the momentum to bring their lead up to 23. A timeout was then called, and Waverley knew they had to bring this back, and by the end of the first half they brought the deficit back to 12 behind Marley Henare’s spectacular shooting.
During the second half, it was a very tight matchup with multiple lead changes. As both teams played through the hot temperatures and blaring crowd, they both knew the game was going to be tight. During the fourth quarter, Daniel Palacio really shined with his defence, but unfortunately it was not enough to contain St Aloysius’, resulting in a 6-point loss. The amazing rebounding from Zion Poitaha and Marko Rangan’s scoring ability helped the 1sts stay competitive throughout the game.
2nds
On Friday, the 2nds Basketball tipped off to start the night in front of the monstrous St Aloysius’ crowd. The 2nds were able to play through the crowd, beating Aloys with the end score 68-59. Heading into the game, the 2nds were undefeated and sitting on top of the leader board. The game started with St Aloysius’ coming out firing, which was a big surprise for Waverley, after beating them by 23 in Term 4.
By the end of the first quarter, Waverley was able to grasp the lead following behind Jack Anasson’s hot start. During the second quarter, Waverley was able to gain the 10-point lead heading in to half time with more confidence.
During the second half, the Aloys crowd got louder and louder, making the floorboards shake. Jock Edwards’ scoring kept the lead for the 2nds, as the St Aloysius’ defence could not contain him.
Through the fourth quarter, St Aloysius’ was able to chase Waverley’s lead to only three. The 2nds were put off by this, and they were able to increase the lead to 9 points, led behind Dom Smith’s defence.
10As
The 10As had a spectacular game, beating St Aloysius’ by 22 with the end score 48-26. The 10As were led behind Tamen Peralta’s hustle, Matiasi Falaniko’s rebounding and Rory Donnellan’s finishing around the basket. It was a tremendous effort from the 10As, losing to St Aloysius’ by two in Term 4.
9As
The 9As had the toughest match of their season, losing their first game against St Aloysius’ by just a mere two points, with the final score 41-43. Waverley commenced with a fiery start, with a 15 point lead, but unfortunately they could not keep it, with St Aloysius’ chasing them in the second half. The team was led by the stars Petros Kalpouzanis’ shooting, Angus Peshos’ playmaking and Solomone Penitani’s defence.
8As
The 8As had a close game against St Aloysius’, resulting in a 13-point loss that was fought hard until the end by the players. The end result was 41-54 to St Aloysius’. The star players of the game were Dominic Dametto (speed), Philip Falaniko (defence) and Hayden McAusland (spectacular scoring).
7As
Coming into their second game in high school, the 7As played an exceptional game of Basketball, losing by just 8-points, with the end result 24-32. Right from the tip off the players played with all their hearts, diving for every loose ball.
Good luck to all teams as they face off against our local rival Cranbrook, this weekend.
Analysis
1st and 2nd V
Having narrowly lost by 6 points against Knox a week earlier, the 1st V desperately needed to win this Round 7 fixture to remain within touch of league leaders, Knox and St Aloysius’, who were both two wins in front of Waverley. Unfortunately, while the final score was close, the 1st V allowed St Aloysius’ to get out to too great a lead at one stage. Waverley did well to reel their opponents back in, and even take a small lead in the 3rd quarter, however, the home crowd urged their players on to victory in the final quarter.
An unbeaten 2nd V would have been confident of beating fifth place St Aloysius’, however, the men from Milson’s Point put up a great fight to give Waverley a scare, and it was not until the final siren that Waverley was assured of the win.
The 1st V now drop to 4th place with 3 wins and 4 losses, with Barker having moved ahead by one win. The 2nd V remain at the top of the table with 7 wins, however a couple of very tricky fixtures are looming against 3rd place Cranbrook and 2nd place Trinity, and therefore there is still plenty of Basketball left to play if they are to take out the premiership.
Around the Courts
Waverley enjoyed a great round against St Aloysius’, winning the majority of our fixtures: 3rd (40-28), 4th (46-34), 10A (48-26), 10B (32-23), 10C (45-32), 10D (45-25), 10E (20-0), 10F (54-24), 10G (51-16), 10H (20-0), 9B (30-26), 9C (46-24), 9D (42-33), 9E (28-23), 9F (20-0), 9G (29-18), 9H (34-12), 8C (25-17), 8D (36-20), 7B (57-15), 7C (40-29), 7D (39-25), 7E (29-19), 7F (46-10), and 7G (22-21) with the 5ths drawing 38-all.
Come and Support the Games this Week
This week, Waverley faces off against local rivals, Cranbrook in a highly-anticipated game.
The 1sts and 2nds play Friday night fixtures in the Waverley Gym, which are expected to be very well-supported affairs. These games are always fierce contests and very close.
- 2nds tip-off at 5:30pm
- 1sts at 7pm
Come along and show your support for the players and coaching staff.
The Supporters’ Club BBQ Needs YOU!
If you can help on our Supporters’ Club BBQ for one hour this Saturday, before or after your son’s game, please contact Rachael Smith on 0412 693 243 or at rachael_gray@hotmail.com
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. We really need to upgrade and purchase more backboards and hoops for the campus, and the Saturday BBQ is our primary means of raising money to help with this.
Save the Date – Basketball Presentation Evening – Saturday, 18 March 2023, 6pm-8:30pm
Saturday, 18 March is the Basketball Presentation Evening. The awards ceremony will be hosted in the Gym, after dinner in Braidwood (weather permitting).
There will shooting games and prizes to win. Details are being finalised this week, and a flyer will be released in next week’s Nurrunga and through the Waverley College app.
Good luck to all teams this week against Cranbrook!
