By RUSSELL BENNETT
MOMENTUM can take an eternity to build but just a second to lose.
No one knows this better than the boys of the Pakenham Warriors’ Big V basketball side after their nail-biting lucky escape over the North East Bushrangers on Sunday afternoon, 70-68.
Ryan Rogers’ men led almost all game and were five points clear, 55-50, leading into the fourth quarter at the Colosseum. But they stumbled in crunch time and seemingly opened the gate for the visitors to walk right through to victory.
But it’s often said the mark of a strong team is how it handles adversity.
Even though the Warriors were struggling to finish on the offensive end – shooting just 32 per cent from the floor for the game – they maintained their trademark intensity on the glass and pushed the ball in transition at every given opportunity.
They also made their free-throws when it counted and stayed largely composed despite a series of questionable refereeing calls. The Bushrangers, by contrast, lost their cool at exactly the wrong moments as danger man Jacob Cincurak was ejected in the fourth just as he seemed to hold the key for the visitors on the offensive end.
With around seven minutes left in the game, the Bushrangers were up 64-57 and seemed home. But this time it was Pakenham’s chance to seize the opportunity. The two sides were neck-and-neck for the rest of the contest and with just two points separating them with mere seconds on the clock, the Bushrangers still would have clinched the win had Lloyd Wright’s buzzer-beating three-point attempt found the bottom of the net.
With versatile forward Sean Armstrong unavailable it was up to his Warriors front court partner in crime, Hayden Davey, to step his game up in the crunch. That he did, finishing with a 10-point, 15-rebound double-double which included a brilliant nine offensive boards. The Warriors’ other star performer of the game was inspirational, lead-by-example skipper Bill Winder – who for the most part possessed his team’s only real reliable mid-range jumper. He finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, while also shooting his free-throws at 71 per cent.
Young point guard Matt D’Arcy also deserved high-praise for his team’s lucky escape – playing some key minutes down the stretch in the fourth quarter and proving to be a clutch distributor.
Though the crowd didn’t quite pack out the Colosseum, they backed the Warriors to the hilt and proved to be a valuable sixth-man down the stretch. They were given free admission after Wednesday’s clash between Pakenham and Maccabi had to be called off due to unsafe court conditions – a soapy film was left on the court surface after it was cleaned and it became slippery as soon as even a drop of perspiration touched the hardwood.
It wasn’t exactly the ideal preparation for the game on Sunday – with the Maccabi clash called off in the first quarter – but the Bushrangers were playing their second of back-to-back games. No excuses.
The Warriors, now above the .500 ledger with a 3-2 record, next travel to Mornington to take on the Breakers on 26 April from 8pm.
