Bullets show the Origin spirit
LIKE the recent Origin rugby league series, Queensland came back against the odds versus the Blues at Darwin Basketball Stadium last night.
The Spinning Bullets were thoroughly outclassed in game one of the two-match National Wheelchair Basketball League series, the Sydney Metro Blues winning 75-60.
But in true Queensland spirit, the visitors bounced back to win the second match 72-65 last night.
Darwin product and Australian representative Tom O’Neill-Thorne was outstanding for the winning team with 38 points.
“You’re always going to get a tough game out of Tommy,” Spinning Bullets coach Nick Such said.
“Matt McShane (14 points) our captain stepped up in the second half when we needed him, and our young rookie Lachlin Dalton at 16 years of age in his first trip away played beyond his years.”
On Friday night, American import Joe Chambers dominated for the Blues, notching up 40 points.
“It was a scrappy win. That’s a tough team right there. They stuck to their game plan and made it real tough,” he said.
“Being the import it carries a lot of weight and you’ve got to come and play hard every night. “Hopefully I did that.” Darwin product and teammate CJ McCarthy-Grogan was also impressive, scoring 13 points.
One of the highlights of the night was a long assist he provided Chambers in the fourth quarter, the big former US Paralympian faking an overhead shot and beating his opponent, before scoring.
In the last round in a fortnight, the Blues will take on Perth and Queensland will face Adelaide, both sides still in the finals mix.