By RUSSELL BENNETT
IT was a play dreams are made of – the sort of thing only possible in some sort of glitch in an NBA 2K video game.
And since Saturday night, Pakenham guard James Magrath’s remarkable buzzer-beating game winner has sent shockwaves throughout the basketball-loving public locally, across the state, across the country, and even internationally.
The play, in which Magrath caught a rocketed inbounds pass from team-mate Lee Belton with a little over two seconds remaining on the shot clock against Mornington in Saturday night’s Big V Youth League Division 2 men’s game, has fast become a viral sensation. The footage has been replayed across both social, and mainstream media – including the Seven Network’s nightly news and Fox Sports Australia’s website and bulletins, as well as international Facebook pages such as ‘The SPORT Bible’.
As Magrath – his team’s co-captain – fell out of bounds with time expiring he threw up a prayer, one that came over the top of the backboard and miraculously dropped down through the net to clinch a one-point win, 56-55.
Mornington had a 14-0 record over the season to that point and looked unbeatable, but Pakenham never believed that for a second.
The incredible shot:
In fact, on Tuesday night Adrian Zemunik – the president of the Pakenham and District Basketball Association, which oversees the Warriors Big V program – astonishingly predicted a buzzer-beating game winner for his young charges.
Tristan Blacka assumed the coach’s chair for the Warriors on Saturday with head coach Simo Pajdic unavailable due to work commitments. What a first game to be a part of.
“Simo was working and I had my first opportunity to coach, but nothing had changed from what Simo had put in place for the team. I was the one jumping up and down on the sidelines, but we ran the same plays,” Blacka said, also crediting the Warriors’ other assistant coach Brent Russell who drew up a series of big plays and was a crucial part of the game-winning sequence.
“We did all the homework and watched all the game tape, and I thought we could beat these guys,” he said.
“We’d watched the way they played and we were pretty confident we could give them a fair shake, but it just clicked. The boys, to their credit, got the job done on both ends of the floor. It was amazing to watch them play the way they did.”
Magrath’s first thought about the win, looking back, is what it could mean for his team – which sits second on the ladder behind Mornington.
“From the result, I’d expect the boys to be up for a few days yet celebrating what we achieved as a group,” he said.
“As Lee, my co-captain says, there are no more excuses for us anymore after Saturday night. If we can beat them, why can’t we win the grand final?”
But the shot is something he still can’t quite believe.
“I started from the bottom, under the ring, and went through the gate, around a screen and back to the hoop again,” Magrath said of the final play.
“When I did that I looked up and thought the guy I switched on to was all over me and I wouldn’t get the pass.
“Lee just piffed the ball – I had my hands there but I thought the other guy was going to catch it. It somehow snuck through his hands and I freaked out. I was up against the baseline, and I grabbed the ball but I was falling out of bounds – I couldn’t stop.
“I jumped and turned around and shot it. I thought it hit the wiring behind the backboard, but it went through and dropped! Everyone was silent, and I went to the ground and just started banging my hands on the floor.”
Pakenham trailed 19-10 at quarter-time, was down 19 points and the third quarter, and was still 13 points in arrears with 10 minutes remaining.
But the Warriors never lost their confidence.
Two quick threes and some stellar late defence from Aaron Miles proved crucial, as did the play by Lewis Newman (10 points, 13 boards) to put Pakenham up one with eight seconds to go.
In all, there were eight lead changes in the final minute and two clutch jumpers from Mornington’s Jordan Gaylor that would normally have iced the game.
But that’s not the way fate would have it.
Another view of that shot:
As was the incredible spirit Saturday night’s game was played in, a Mornington under-18 player was the one who actually recorded – on a phone – the original clip.
The crowd knew something special was about to unfold, but surely none of them expected that.
Days after the fact, Magrath and his team-mates are still trying to wrap their heads around what happened.
They probably never will.
James thanked his sponsor, Ash Mason from Stockdale & Leggo in Pakenham, for all the support he’s received throughout the season to date.
