By RUSSELL BENNETT
A GOOD old-fashioned bake was in order for Jeff Reid’s Big V basketball Division 2 Pakenham Warriors men’s side on Sunday afternoon at Bialik Stadium in Hawthorn East after a horribly sluggish first half.
And boy did he deliver.
Reid delivered a well-pointed and much-needed spray to spark his men into life after they trailed 45-29 at the main break off the back of two sub-30 per cent shooting quarters.
Pakenham ultimately came away with an 11-point win, 82-71, but Reid is at a loss to explain his team’s slow starts to Sunday fixtures. The weekend’s clash with Maccabi was another prime example.
“I generally hate to single guys out, but I had to at half-time,” he told the Gazette.
“I just said their effort wasn’t of a standard that we expect.
“We were just lethargic and lazy.
“We were lucky to be only down 16 and not 25 or 30, which would have been nearly impossible to come back from.
“A number of times we had three or four guys outside the three-point line and were still getting beaten down the floor (in transition).
“It’s like we just expected a win to happen.”
But a 25-9 quarter Pakenham’s way in the third had the scores all tied up at 54 apiece with just a quarter left to play.
Reid’s side came out with a renewed, and clearly inspired intensity in the third – hitting the offensive glass with a real purpose and mixing it up in the occasionally chippy encounter.
Pakenham’s bigs were right into the contest on both ends of the court, while Ben Gaze ratcheted his own game up a few gears.
One of the highlights of the quarter was a coast-to-coast lay-up from Gaze, through contact, that could well have drawn three fouls. He finished the play, and nailed the proceeding free-throw – inducing a roar from the small but vocal visiting crowd.
Maccabi drew level at 54-all courtesy of their second buzzer-beater of the game, and pulled ahead 58-56 with just eight minutes remaining.
But Pakenham scrambled brilliantly – refusing to take a backward step physically and clasping their opportunities at the charity stripe with both hands.
Gaze’s lift in the second half was inspired by his intensity in defensive transition. He ultimately led the way with 27 points, while Hayden Davey was brilliant – putting his body on the line in a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double. Big men Kenneth Hall, Paul Phillips, and guard Trent Lee, meanwhile, finished with 31 rebounds between them.
Lee and backcourt team mate Mike Godfrey refused to give Maccabi an inch on defense in the second half – frustrating them into turnovers and needless fouls.
With the weekend’s result, Pakenham now sits second on the Division 2 standings – behind Western Port.
“If you’d said before the season at the halfway mark we’d be 7-2 and second on the ladder, I’d have taken that any day,” Reid said.
“We’re in an excellent spot.
“I think the team has gelled together quicker than we thought it would, but we still haven’t put together a full four-quarter performance.”
In the other Pakenham games of the round, Darren Thomas’s women’s side was trounced by the North East 92-45 and but the Youth League 2 Men travelled to Melton and got the job done 73-61 off the back off 23 points and 10 rebounds in stellar shooting night from Lee Belton.
This week, Pakenham Big V basketball hosts a historic triple-header – the first of its kind in the association’s history.
Simo Pajdic’s side will start proceedings against Western Port from 3pm at Cardinia Life this Saturday, before the Division 2 women take to the floor from 5pm against Sherbrooke in what promises to be their best chance to break through for their first ever victory. Jeff Reid’s men will then round out the trifecta – hosting in improved Coburg from 7pm.
