Hulkamaniacs Match Review - Phoenix

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

Round 7, 2005 Winter Season

Wednesday, 8th June 2005

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Hulkamaniacs outplayed by Phoenix for first loss of season.

BENDIGO (AP).

The Hulkamaniacs 2005 Winter season campaign has been set back considerably following a sizeable defeat at the hands of Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Phoenix, having been re-graded to division 2 following the 2004/05 Summer season, have taken all before them so far this season, with 4 wins from 4 matches - with an average winning margin of 25 points per outing.

However in the early part of their first half against the Hulkamaniacs, it wasn't going all their own way.  Phil C, looking to continue a string of 6 consecutive games of 10+ point games, was prominent early - hitting on consecutive three point fielld goals and a standard field goal shortly after, putting the Hulkamaniacs out in front, and looking deadly.

It didn't take long for the bigger and stronger Phoenix line-up to muscle their way to the basket, as the Hulkamaniacs without Adam and Beau were finding themselves undermanned down low.  Phoenix took control of the contest throughout the middle portion of the first half, continually over-powering the smaller Hulkamaniacs line-up.  And with Phoenix hitting no less than four successful 3-point field goal attempts in the first half alone, the Hulkamaniacs found it difficult matching up against their versatile opponents.

The return of Simon to the line-up, however, proved to be a significant boost for the Hulkamaniacs.  Simon gives the Hulkamaniacs another much needed inside threat, and along with Murray, should cause all kinds of trouble for opposition defences throughout the remainder of the season, with their terrific penetration and driving to the basket.

However it wasn't enough in the first half, as Phoenix continued to dominate and pile on the scoreboard pressure, racking up 36 points compared to the Hulkamaniacs modest total of 21 points.  Phil C's 11 points, and a combined total of 10 points from Simon and Murray had kept the Hulkamaniacs in contention at the half.

Following the half time break, Phil C continued from where he left off before the break, keeping the Hulkamaniacs in the contest, with some help from Simon - in just his third game for his adopted club - who was enjoying his best game so far.

However the absence of Beau and Adam was soon clearly felt, as scoring dried up in the second half for the Hulkamaniacs, once Phoenix started to contain MVP Phil C.  The Hulkamaniacs were sorely missing their second leading scorer in Beau (averaging 10 points per game this season in 6 games), not to mention Adam who played one of his best matches last week.

With Phoenix well in control, maintaining their 15-point half time lead, Ross got into the scoring action with a string of 4 consecutive points, with Luke following soon after with a 3-point field goal to keep the score board slowly ticking over for the Hulkamaniacs.

In fact, Ross and Luke combined for the Hulkamaniacs final 11 points of the game, but without key players Beau and Adam, and no other major scoring influences on the night behind Phil C, the Hulkamaniacs simply didn't have the firepower on the night to push Phoenix to the brink.

In a convincing performance from Phoenix, they successfully maintained and built upon their 15-point lead at the half, ending the match with a 20-point edge, and inserting another psychological stake into the sides of the Hulkamaniacs, having previously fallen to Phoenix in their first final in season 2003/04, the margin being 14 points on that night.  The Hulkamaniacs remain winless against Phoenix in 3 games all-time.

The final score was 58-38 in favour of Phoenix.

Leading scorers for the Hulkamaniacs were Phil C with 15, Simon 8, Luke 6, Ross 5 and Murray 4.

Next week promises to be another difficult assignment for the Hulkamaniacs, coming up against Bomb Squad, who sit in the top 2 and are currently the only other undefeated side together with Phoenix with 4 wins from 4 games.  It will be a big test for the Hulkamaniacs, be sure to check back here next week for the outcome!

MVP Standings: Phil C (52.5), Beau (28.0), Murray (21.5), Luke (20.5), Ross (14.5), Adam (7.5), Phil S (5.5), Simon (5.0).

Game notes.

Tonight was the third meeting between the two teams, with Phoenix now a perfect 3-0 against the Hulkamaniacs… Their last meeting saw the Hulkamaniacs suffer a 14-point loss in the first final of the 2003/04 season… Tonight is the first time in 40 games that a Hulkamaniacs opponent has scored 50+ points… The Phoenix first half total of 36 points in the 3rd highest all-time against the Hulkamaniacs… Phil C's 15 points is a Hulkamaniacs best versus Phoenix, the previous best being Murray's 9 points against them in 2003/04… Phil C continues his string of matches scoring 10+ points, with the streak now at 7 games, nearing a Hulkamaniacs record… See the Records and Player Stats sections for more.

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