Hulkamaniacs Match Review - Wolverines

Line-up: Phil C, Ross, Beau, Murray, Luke, Simon (visit player stats)

Round 3, 2005 Winter Season

Wednesday, 11th May 2005

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Hulkamaniacs force draw versus Wolverines despite slow start.

BENDIGO (AP).

An undermanned Hulkamaniacs squad has recovered from a slow start, before eventually salvaging a draw against long time traditional rivals the Wolverines.

Entering the game without key players Phil S and Adam, coupled with the ongoing absence of Jayson, the Hulkamaniacs were not able to put their best team on the floor.  To add further to the teams woes, Beau went into the game under an injury cloud, having severely sprained a finger during the week.

A positive for the Hulkamaniacs was the mid-week signing of former 'Camels' player Simon, a player the Hulkamaniacs identified as a solid tall prospect for season 2005, if the absences of players such as Adam and Jayson continue, which is expected.

The Wolverines, fielding possibly their strongest team in several seasons, started strongly - with several tall inside scoring options making life difficult for the Hulkamaniacs interior defenders.

With the Wolverines enjoying a solid start, it was left to Phil C to carry the load once again for the Hulkamaniacs - a burden that the 3-time MVP is more than capable of carrying, having already enjoyed an impressive opening to the 2005 Winter Season, averaging 14.5 points per game in his opening two games.

Led by Phil C, the Hulkamaniacs did fight back - not allowing the Wolverines to get ahead by more than 10 points at any time, despite the Wolverines looking the more fluent and structured outfit from the opening.

Whilst their shots weren't dropping, the Hulkamaniacs seemed to get a lift from newcomer Simon when he entered the fray - especially considering a lack of height and strength has in the past has cost the Hulkamaniacs dearly.  Whilst the Hulkamaniacs were not able to draw scores level towards the end of the first half, they had certainly bridged the gap and had started to play better basketball and lift their intensity.

At the half, it was 20-14 not surprisingly in favour of the Wolverines.

With Simon forced out of the game just before the half due to sickness, the Hulkamaniacs were suddenly again left short-handed.  Instead of closing the game up, the Hulkamaniacs decided to do what usually comes natural to them in an attempt to get back into the game - and that was to run the floor.

Led by the likes of Phil C, Murray and Beau, the Hulkamaniacs were able to draw back the deficit slowly but surely throughout the second half, with Phil C the main catalyst, especially from beyond the arc, hitting on a total of four 3-point field goals in the game.

Murray was also enjoying a solid game, providing much needed contributions offensively, with Beau's injury preventing him from being more involved on the offensive end.

As the Hulkamaniacs continued to run and press their opposition, a brilliant pass by Phil C set up a fast break conversion to Luke to draw his team within just 2 points, as a Wolverines time-out quickly followed in an attempt to stem the tide.

With the Wolverines still holding onto a slender lead in the final minutes, Ross stepped up to drain a clutch 3-point shot from the baseline to give the Hulkamaniacs their first lead in the game - by 1 point.  The Wolverines found a way through the swarming Hulk defence to score again, no more than a minute later, to even up the scores.

On the next possession, Murray drew all kinds of attention from the Wolverines defence, before finally being awarded a foul - sending him to the line, where he calmly hit both free throws to give the Hulks a 2-point lead with under a minute left.

As would be expected, finding themselves suddenly trailing, the Wolverines looked down low to force a score on the board to tie the game.  And despite some solid defence from the Hulkamaniacs, the Wolverines managed to successfully convert to even the scores with only a matter of seconds remaining.

With one more chance to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat, the Hulkamaniacs could not seize their opportunity, as the ball was deflected out of bounds as time expired.

In a somewhat deflating result for both teams, with both having their chances to steal a win, the final scores were locked at 32 apiece.

Leading scorers for the Hulkamaniacs were Phil C with 17, Murray 8, Ross 3, Beau and Luke 2 each.

Next week the Hulkamaniacs come up against the Dwarfz, a team they have yet to lose to in 3 games all-time (2 wins and a draw).  The Dwarfz could be a serious challenger for this seasons championship, so be there at 7:40pm next week to witness a high quality game between two top sides.

MVP Standings: Phil C (23.5), Beau (15.0), Murray (13.0), Adam (6.5), Ross (5.0), Luke (4.0), Phil S (2), Jayson (0).

- Luke

Game notes.

Tonight was the Hulkamaniacs first ever draw against the Wolverines, the Hulkamaniacs 4th draw all-time, and 2nd in their past 10 games… Despite tonight's draw, the Hulkamaniacs have an all-time 8-6 win/loss against the Wolves and now 1 draw from the 15 matches… The Hulkamaniacs have dominated the more recent encounters with the Wolverines, winning 8 of the teams past 10 games against each other… Phil C is in career best form, averaging 15.3 ppg (points per game) this season from 3 matches so far… If Phil C can keep it up, he is on the way to recording an all-time high PPG average in a season… The best PPG average in a season is 13.5 ppg from 2004, recorded by Phil C… Phil C now averages 13.0 ppg against the Wolves all-time… See the Records and Player Stats sections for more.

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