By Hayley Wildes
As the regular season of Big V 2018 comes to close, Pakenham’s Youth League 2 teams have both qualified for finals, while the Division 2 men fell short.
Over the weekend, the Division 2 men played two games and came away with one win.
Taking on the lowly Wallan Panthers at home on Saturday night, the Warriors fell behind early and trailed by 13 points at the main break.
Pakenham didn’t lie down though and staged a thrilling second half comeback. Having cut the margin to seven points with one quarter to play, the Warriors held the panthers scoreless in the final 4:30 of play to give themselves a chance.
Trent Lee and Lewis Newman connected for an alley-oop with 15 second to go to give Pakenham the lead and ultimately, the win. Ashley Szalek (14 rebounds, 13 points) and Josh Bjelan (13 rebounds, 9 points) were impressive in the thrilling 77-76 win.
On Sunday, in their final game of the season, Pakenham celebrated Craig Drew’s 150th Big V game for the Warriors. Drew is the first player in club history to play 150 Big V games and he got the start against the Altona Gators.
Pakenham was rolling and led 45-30 with six minutes to play in the third quarter. It went south quickly from there as the Warriors’ offence stalled and they were unable to contain the Gators’ who quickly found their offensive rhythm.
In the final 16 minutes of play, the Warriors were outscored 43-18 and finished their season in disappointment with a 73-63 loss. Lewis Newman (15 points, 12 rebounds) led the way for Pakenham.
The Warriors (11-11) finished the season in eighth place.
The Youth League 2 women completed their impressive regular season with a win over Southern Peninsula on Sunday afternoon at Cardinia Life.
The Warriors claimed a 57-50 win as Ellie Coutts (17 points, 10 steals, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) wreaked havoc.
Pakenham (13-5) finished the regular season in second position.
The Youth League 2 men will enter the post-season as the form team of the competition as they ride a nine-game winning streak.
In their final regular season game, the Warriors dominated Wallan at home on Sunday afternoon to claim a massive 48-point win, 102-54.
Ned Weideman (22 points) and Nathan Dodgson (13 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals) were superb, while Brayden Davies scored 13 points in nine minutes of action.
The Warriors (18-6) locked up third position.
It will be a massive double-header on Saturday night at Cardinia Life as the Youth League 2 women and men tip off their respective finals campaigns. The women face Frankston from 5pm, while the men take on Mornington from 7pm.
