Basketball Report: Waverley vs Knox

From the Captains of Basketball, Angus Mattick & Matteo De Vecchi

Captains’ Report

The 2^nd V came off their biggest loss last week to Barker and hadn’t won a game since Round 1. They were hoping to get a win in the last game of the year vs. Knox. From the start, Waverley looked to be the better team, but were unable to finish transition lay ups and were losing the rebounding battle both on offense and defense.

At half time Waverley went into the break leading by 4 points, but knew they were lucky to be in the lead as Knox dominated in all aspects of the game.

At the start of the second half, Waverley finally started to click as they came out with a hard press. Knox couldn’t handle the pressure and this led to steals turning into easy buckets, especially through Josh Weinstein as his quality defense got Waverley to a 15-point lead. A coaching change by Tom Chamberlain putting Brendan Morrissey at the point guard position won the game for the 2^nd V as they got out to an uncatchable lead. Credit to Knox for fighting back even when the game was over as the 2^nd V won 51-41 and now go 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses.

Last week the 1^st V moved into outright second on the CAS ladder and knew how important this game was for them if they wanted to win CAS, while Knox didn’t want to go into the break with a losing record.

The 1^st V came out strong with an 11-point lead midway into the 1^st quarter with some great offensive play by Alex Higgins-Titsha. Both teams traded buckets right till half time with Waverley only losing by one point at the break.

It was the same story for both teams as it became a defensive game with both teams struggling to breakdown each other which set up a scenario where Knox were leading by 2 with 30 seconds to go. Knox inbounded the ball and scored straight away giving them a 4 point lead, then an un characteristic play by Waverley with a confused offensive play unfortunately meant a loss 69-64 for them as they now go 3 wins and 2 losses tied with Knox.

 

From the Convenor of Basketball, Mr A Gibbs

Convenor’s Report

The last round of the year saw Waverley take on Knox with both the 1^st V and 2^nd V eager to finish off with a brace of wins. The 1^st V were coming off the back of a thrilling 1-point win over Barker the previous week, and were confident of putting in another great performance against a strong CAS team. Knox went into this game with 2 wins from 4 games, while Waverley had notched up 3 wins to date. The 1^st V suffered serious disruption throughout the week with several players absent as a result of the Year 10 Camp. The consequence of this setback was a 1^st V team that started the game out of synchronisation. Despite this, Nick Blakey did a great job of marking Knox’s big man and did some solid work in the offense and defense department. 1^st V captain, Dean Stojanovski, showed great determination and leadership to steer and continually motivate the team. Alexander Higgins-Titsha played a remarkable game offensively, despite the interruption during the week, but fell just short defensively.

Coach Mr Johnny Jovine was happy with the team’s third-quarter performance where historically Waverley has not performed well. Compared with previous games, the third quarter saw the 1^st V play well to actually take an 11-point lead. Waverley was able to get Knox’s starting big man in foul trouble, but was unable to take advantage of his absence and he was able to wreak considerable damage in the fourth quarter, making big plays on the offensive boards and keeping Knox’s hopes alive. Coach Jovine was not happy with the 1^st V’s free-throw conversion rate of 50% – 11 from 22 free throws and rues what could have been if the players were able to make 73% of total free throws. Ultimately, the 1^st V went down in what was a winnable game 68-64.

With the first three rounds of the season showing what the 2^nd V were capable of, the team was due for a good performance after a poor showing against Barker the previous week. Coach Mr Tom Chamberlain emphasised defense during the week’s preparation in an effort to eliminate the team’s excessive fouls in the Barker game. Coach Chamberlain thought the Waverley bigs were able to out-rebound Knox and dominate the paint throughout the game, while the guards did a great job offensively, pushing the pull and capitalising of fast-break opportunities. After half-time, the 2^nd V used a full-court press to break down Knox and resulted in multiple 2 on 1 and 3 on 2 opportunities. Coach Chamberlain was disappointed with the 2^nd V’s failure to execute open lay ups and defend well in the last 3 minutes of the game, seeing a 20-pint lead diminish to a 10-point, 51-41 win. Nevertheless, the 2^nd V finished the first part of the season with a solid 2-1-2 record and will no doubt continue to improve.

In other games, Waverley won a small number of games, including: 10A’s (40-11), 10C’s (29-18), 10D’s (27-21), 10E’s (32-23), 10G’s (26-20), 8E’s (25-17) with the 10F’s drawing 17-all. The 1^st V have a 3-1 win-loss record; 2^nd V, 2-1-2, 10A’s; 4-1 and 8A’s 1-1-3, while the 9A’s are still searching for that elusive first win. Other Waverley teams with solid records include: 3^rd V (2-1-2), 10C’s (3-2), 10G’s (3-2), 8C’s (4-1), 8D’s (3-2), 8E’s (4-1) with the 10D’s, 10E’s, 9D’s, 8B’s and 8H’s posting two wins so far.

Thanks to all coaches, players, officials, staff and the Basketball Supporters Club for their efforts throughout Term 4. It has been a great start to the season for Waverley Basketball with everyone enjoying the fantastic new facilities.

Enjoy a well-earned break over the coming holiday period.