By Russell Bennett
The Pakenham Warriors’ rocky form continued on the weekend with the Big V basketball Division 2 men’s side dropping both of its latest games – to the fourth-placed Southern Peninsula Sharks on Saturday night, and the ladder-leading Collingwood All-Stars on Sunday afternoon.
Brent Russell’s men were careless with the ball early on Saturday night against the Sharks at Hillview Stadium in Rosebud, leading to a series of quick outlet passes in transition from the home side and some favourable looks on the offensive end.
The Warriors were again below full strength in the absence of key big man Brad Bridgewater and shooter Rob Maartens but bounced back later in the quarter thanks in no small part to forward James Topp making the right plays at both ends of the floor, and kick-starting fast-breaks after securing the defensive rebound – leading to strong looks deep in the paint at the other end.
The Warriors then took a 43-40 lead into the half with guard Nick Ross and skipper Ben Gaze adding 11 points apiece, Topp 8, and big man Josh Bjelan 9 – while perfect from the field – but a sluggish third proved costly for the visitors as the Sharks awoke from their slumber.
Though the Sharks were held to just 38 per cent shooting in the first half, that number rose to 47 per cent by the end of the contest as they won 99-76 off the back of 23 points and seven boards from Corey Bond, 19 points from Ben James, and 16 apiece from Justin Taylor and Riley Emerton. Gaze and Ross finished with 18 apiece for Pakenham.
On Sunday, the Warriors found themselves down 16-7 early before bouncing back to trail by five at the end of the first against Collingwood.
Bjelan posed all sorts of headaches for the Collingwood big men in the final three quarters – finishing with 23 points, 14 boards and 3 steals – but the home side faded badly in the last, scoring just nine points for the quarter to lose to the All-Stars by 11, 75-64, after shooting just 31 per cent from the field.
The Warriors’ Youth League Division 2 men’s finals series gets underway this Sunday when the top-of-the-table Pakenham hosts Collingwood from noon at ‘The Colosseum’ at Cardinia Life.
Russell’s senior men’s side will play their last two games of the regular season – on Saturday night at Balwyn High School from 6pm against the Camberwell Dragons, and on Sunday from 2pm at Cardinia Life against the Sherbrooke Suns.
Darren Thomas’ Youth League 2 women’s side will battle the Sunbury Jets at Boardman Stadium in Sunbury from 8pm this Saturday night. They currently occupy fourth spot on the ladder with 11 wins from their 19 games so far this season.
