Opening Round Highlights: Comebacks, Debuts, and Dominance
The first round of the new Basketball season saw a tight match-up between veteran teams Hoops and Cavaliers. A strong start from Cavaliers saw them dominate the scoring in the opening quarter with Andy Cregeen on the break and David Boyle hitting the mid-range. Hoops trailed 12-points going into the second quarter but managed to adjust on defence to slow the Cavaliers pace. The tide started to turn as the game progressed, Zoe Kirkham and Mairi Harrison finding their mark, the latter hitting a nice up and under to cut the Cavaliers lead to single digits. Momentum was with Hoops until a late surge from Mike Lewis extended the Cavaliers lead to 9-points, 27-18.
Shots from Kirkham and Becky Dunne brought the Hoops within two baskets of Cavaliers at the start of a to-and-fro third quarter. Strong defence from Hoops contained the Cavs inside threat, while good offensive movement saw them open up opportunities for Daniela Kravela and Oksana Fedorovych. James Capelan and Dave Minay kept the Cavaliers in contention, but at the end of the third their lead had been slashed to a single point, scores standing 35-34 going into the fourth.
Hoops snatched the lead at in the first minute of the final quarter, Kravela swishing a nice mid-range while Danielle Murphy hit a free throw to extend Hoops lead to 2-points, 35-37. Neither team found an advantage as time wore on, and it wasn’t until the final 3-minutes that a breakthrough came. Inside play from Minay coupled with breaks from Cregeen saw them go on a 15-point unanswered run that sealed the game. Hoops managed to find routes to the basket in the final minute, but the result was settled, Cavaliers taking the win 57-43 in a scoreline that doesn’t reflect how close the game was.
The second game of the evening was a hard-fought victory for newcomers Southern Phoenix over Cheldan Property Pirates, returning for their second season. Pirates dominated the first quarter as Neil Domingo and Jordan Brew swished shot after shot from outside the arc and the mid-range. Fast breaks from Phoenix got them into the game in the final minutes of the first, Michael Pardoe and Jacob Kennedy delivering the goods. This led to a more balanced second and third quarters, both teams trading the lead multiple times. Pirates relied on mid-range pull ups and swift movement while Phoenix preferred transition shots and solid drives. The game stayed close until the opening minutes of the fourth where Matt Jones and Zak Hand delivered a blistering series of fast breaks that sank Pirates chances. With the final buzzer Phoenix had delivered a win in their league debut, 55-44.
Jets got payback after last week’s pre-season loss to Cannons Elite in the final fixture of the evening. Tom Dalton-Brown opened for Jets with a swish 3-pointer, but they soon trialled with quick replies outside the arc from Cannons Evan O’Dea and Rowan Coulter. The games stayed close throughout a testy first quarter, tight defence and high intensity rattling both sides as neither managed to build a consistent flow. The second saw Jets settle into a more drilled offence, with baseline drives collapsing the Cannons defence and opening up lanes for secondary cutters to pickup easy baskets. Cannons struggled for a reply and provided more openings with outside shots against the set defence that allowed Jets to scoop up boards and hit the afterburners in transition, leading 35-22 at halftime.
A punishing third quarter saw a 5-minute dry spell for Cannons while Jets cruised to the hoop with inside moves from Pete Boussougou and solid shooting from newcomer Tom Crisbie. Cannons show some flashes of greatness, a solid drive by Jack Wilkinson leading to a kick out and swing which gave O’Dea a great outside look while maintaining rebound options for Cannons and defence balance against Jets transition. It wasn’t enough to change the face of the game though and Jets took the first game of their Championship Title defence 77-38.
