Date: 29/05/03
Result: Win
Score: 36-30
#4 CHEVERTON, Paul: 2 points
#5 WILLIAMS, Ross*: 8 points, 3/5 FT (0.600), 2 fouls
#9 TONKIN, Chadd*: 2 points, 1 foul
#12 NELSON, Craig*: 18 points, 2/2 FT (1.000), 1 foul
#13 HENDERSON, Darren*: 4 points, 2/2 FT (1.000)
#21 WINDER, Aaron: 1 foul
#34 WOOD, Damien*: 2 points, 0/4 FT (0.000), 2 fouls
TOTAL: 36 points, 3 three pointers, 5/11 FT (0.455), 8 fouls,
Starting Five
C: Damien Wood
PF: Chadd Tonkin
SF: Darren Henderson
SG: Craig Nelson
PG: Ross Williams
It's a rare occurence at any level of sport for a team to string together 9 consecutive victories, especially when the team are a bunch of individuals who only 9 months ago were complete strangers who had never layed eyes on each other, but that is EXACTLY what happened last night in Foxy's Stadium's A Grade Men's Basketball Comp.
In the 12 team league, there a 3 standout teams, The reigning champion Gunners, who entering last night's showdown were a perfect 8-0, with an INCREDIBLE percentage of 187.5%, they led the team they eliminated in last years qualifying semi final The Hooters who had an identical 8-0 record but trailed on percentage with 165%, and in third place were The ???? who were an impressive 7-1 with a percentage of 127.5%.
Outside the 'Big Three' it was a bit of a dogfight with most teams grouped on a 5-3, 4-4 type record so it was clear who the teams to beat were, and thus far this season, The Hooters hadn't been tested by an encounter with a fellow member of the Big Three.......until last night!
It was 1st vs 2nd, perfection vs perfection, something had to give, someone had to walk away undefeated and the other completely deflated, only ONE would lay claim to being the best team in the competition!
The Hooters started with:
PG: Ross Williams, SG: Craig Nelson, SF: Darren Henderson, PF: Chadd Tonkin, C: Damien Wood with Captain Aaron Winder and swingman Paul Cheverton waiting in the wings.
The Gunners were missing their preffered 3 man, but were otherwise at full strength, and they assumed the early ascendancy as they jumped The Hooters with a 7-0 burst to open the game, but as good teams do, The Hooters steadied by upping the defensive intensity and looking for good shots on offense, and for the remainder of the half, defense was the order of the day.
The Gunners led 18-16 at the half as the Hooters struggled to pt a score on the board, as Hawkeye Nelson and Thunder Williams led The Hooters with 5 a piece.
The Hooters made the most of the half time interval to mix up the defense to a man on man, they decided to make a concerted effort to go away from their 3 point dependant offense which just wasn't clicking and work on their dribble penetration which The Gunners had struggled to defend all night and the results were their on display for all to see.
Winder led by example as he took the ball to the rack hard with a beautiful athletic up and under move and got smacked upside the head, knocking his non-Ho Grant digs off his face, no basket, no call but the tone was set, The Hooters were comin' HARD!
As the game wore on, Williams, Henderson, Nelson, and Wood found themselves at the Free throw line as The Gunners were bewildered as to how to stop them, and before you knew it, The Hooters were holding a comfortable 7 point buffer!
With 4 mins to go, All Star PG ark Barnes tried to put his stamp on the game as he had in last years final, but he wasn't on the same page as his team and he made some critical turnovers and missed some crucial shots to deny his team a chance to steal back the lead, The Hooters were able to withstand a Gunners full court trap as Fresh henderson and Thunder Williams iced the result from the foul line to take a hard earned and much deserved 36-30 victory on the back of an AWESOME defensive display in the second half, holding the reiging champs to a paultry 12 point effort.
Top Scorers:
Craig Nelson - 18
Michael Phillips - 11
Ross Williams - 8
Standout Performances:
Nelsons 2nd half 13 points
Williams holding Nemesis Mark Barnes SCORELESS til a last minute switch saw him drain an IMPRESSIVE triple from DEEP on Nelson.
The ENTIRE Winder led Hooters defensive effort in the second half - simply phenomenal!!!