Cannan to bow out with Bandits clash

GEELONG Supercats’ final round clash tonight with theAlbury-Wodonga Bandits tonight took on even more meaning during the week with the retirement announcement of veteran big man Ash Cannan.

Cannan, who joined the Supercats in 2013 after playing in the US College system and in the NBL, has further enhanced his reputation as one of the SEABL competition’s finest big men during his five seasons in a red singlet.

The clash with the Bandits will be Cannan’s last regular season game before Geelong embarks on a 20th consecutive playoff campaign.

However, where they start their post-season is yet to be determined. Currently third, the only hope the Supercats have of snatching second spot — and ensuring the doublechance to open the playoffs — is beating Albury-Wodonga and seeing Canberra upset Nunawading.

However, the Bandits, despite having nothing to play for following three consecutive losses, would love to complete a season sweep of Geelong.

When the two teams last met, in April, Albury-Wodonga claimed a 98-97 thriller on the back of 27 points from import Antone Robinson and 17 from sharpshooter Deba George.

Both are coming off solid outings against Kilsyth last week, with Robinson posting a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, while George dropped 23 points and dished eight assists in a 103-93 loss.

The Lady Supercats’ fate lies well beyond the Geelong Arena.

With Geelong expected to claim a club record 18th season win against Albury-Wodonga, the only hope of retaining top spot is to have Sydney Uni upset second-placed Kilsyth.

If the Lady Cobras win, they will retake top spot and host Geelong in next week’s East Conference semi-final.

Lady Supercats coach Dave Herbert knows that using the last chance to get his rotations settled ahead of the playoffs is more of a concern than what takes place at Kilsyth.

Chantel Horvat’s US College commitments mean her season came to an end last week, while life without star big Alex Bunton also goes on.

However, Sara Blicavs and Alex Duck both return to the line-up. Blicavs has been lim- ited to just 13 games due to Opals commitments, while Duck hasn’t played since midJune before heading overseas.

Isa Brancatisano has captained the Lady Supercats in their absence with aplomb.

Ebony Rolph has also shown why Bendigo has upgraded her to their full roster in recent weeks, highlighted by consecutive SEABL Team of the Week selections.