SUPERCATS ON SONG
GEELONG Supercats coach Leon O’Neill has praised his side’s ability to handle early pressure following Saturday night’s NBL1 men’s win over Sandringham.
The Supercats maintain third position on the ladder after disposing of cellardweller Sabres 89-78.
Leading at all breaks, the Supercats steadily increased their lead as the game progressed to take the comfortable 11-point win.
The Supercats’ starting five each racked up double-figure points for the game, with Lewis Thomas dropping 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, while Ma’alo Hicks also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
AJ Williams notched 20 points to go with five assists, DeMarcus Gatlin had 16 points and seven rebounds and captain Nick Owusu rounded out the starters with 11 points.
O’Neill said he was pleased with the win on the road.
“I was really happy with the way we played,” he said. “They (Sandringham) shot the lights out to start the game, putting up more threes than twos. When a team consistently shoots that many shots, it can really stretch the defence.
“We rebounded consistently and after halftime we were able to play our game rather than their tempo, and get back to playing the way we wanted to.”
Geelong travels to Ballarat this Wednesday for a midweek match-up against top-of-the table Miners.
After a closely-fought loss to the Miners at The Arena last week, the Supercats will be looking to get the edge on the ladder-leader this time around.
With three games left in the regular season, coupled with the ladder being so close, each win is crucial for the Supercats to set up their finals campaign.
Meanwhile, the Supercats women’s juggernaut rolls on following their 68-59 victory against the Sabres earlier on Saturday night.
The Supercats moved to a 16-1 record with three games to go in the NBL1 regular season, even without prodigious talent Ezi Magbegor, who is travelling to Italy as part of the Emerging Opals team to compete in the University Games from July 3-14. 3-2
Sara Blicavs led all scorers for the game with 23 points and also pulled in 12 rebounds.
Zitina Aokuso recorded a double-double of her own with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Coach David Herbert said his team was solid on defence but struggled offensively.
“We never really got into a rhythm,” Herbert said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well. But it still felt comfortable. We were in control the whole game.”
July will be a testing month for the Supercats women’s team, with multiple players and head coach David Herbert in and out of the squad for national commitments. As well as the University Games, Magbegor will head to Phoenix along with Blicavs for the Opals’ Asia Cup selection camp from July 20-28.
At the same time, Jaz Shelley and Herbert will be heading to the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Thailand, with a 10-day tour beforehand.
While the NBL1 has changed the first week of the women’s finals schedules to accommodate players attending the Opals camp, the final three games of the regular season could be crucial in determining the final ladder positioning of the Supercats.