By RUSSELL BENNETT
PAKENHAM Warriors’ Big V men’s basketball captain Paul Phillips’ effort on Saturday night perfectly sums up what makes him such a quality leader of men.
His side started strongly at home against Collingwood at Cardinia Life – leading 22-12 at quarter-time – but early in the second quarter he was forced from the court with a broken nose after copping an inadvertent elbow to the face.
It would have been perfectly reasonable for him to stay on the bench for the remainder of the game, but with three minutes left in the quarter he returned to the court with his front court partner Kenneth ‘Buddy’ Hall in early foul trouble.
The box score doesn’t do Phillips’ effort justice – anyone who didn’t see the game will only read his four points and two rebounds in 11 minutes. It sounds modest, but it was particularly powerful and his team-mates would be well advised to continue following his example for the rest of the season.
Pakenham won by 22 points on Saturday, 75-53, in a display described by coach Jeff Reid as arguably its most complete of the season to date.
Ben Gaze led the way for the home side with 26 points, 7 boards and 3 steals while Hall (who ultimately fouled out) and Hayden Davey each recorded double-doubles.
“That’s what we talked about,” Reid told the Gazette in the minutes immediately following the final buzzer.
“We really emphasised the start and making sure that we took advantage of our size advantage.
“They’re a big squad but they don’t play that way. I think we took them away from what they wanted to do.
“From the start our defensive intensity was amazing and for us to keep them to 53 points was excellent.
“I’m just so pleased with that effort.”
Reid said he could always rely on Phillips to get the job done, and that on Saturday he set the tone early with his physicality. He also reserved special praise for Gaze, who he said put in his most complete game so far on both ends of the floor in Pakenham colours.
“That was his best game for us by a mile,” Reid said.
“The stats might not show all the one-percenters he put in, but he just made really smart plays.
“Everybody was locked in tonight. We had a few focal points and the guys really stuck to it tonight and didn’t move away from it.
“We’ve started games well in the past and just gone away from that, but tonight we stayed focused and it was an excellent effort for the full 40 minutes.”
That is their new template to try and reproduce in future games.
In the other clash of the night at Cardinia Life, the Warriors’ Big V women’s side lost to Coburg 69-54 despite 18 points from guard Megan Tolley and a big 11-point, 15-rebound double-double from Jill Appleton.
