WILCHER TURNS UP HEAT
POINT guard Josh Wilcher says the Townsville Heat have the belief they can claim a historic QBL “threepeat” this season after knocking off one of their fiercest rivals for the championship over the weekend.
The Heat made a strong start to their road tripleheader as they beat USC Rip City 89-67 on Friday night, but they hit a stumbling block with a 91-79 loss to the Sunshine Coast Phoenix on Saturday.
The two-time defending champions then bounced back in style to hand the Brisbane Capitals their first loss of the season 105-86 on Sunday afternoon and cement second place on the ladder.
The Heat led by just one point early in the third quarter before Wilcher (27 points, 8 assists), Matt Rees (29 points), and Keegan Tudehope (14 points, 11 rebounds) took charge.
The result ended a 13game winning streak for the Capitals and Wilcher said it was a huge confidence boost as they chase a top-two finish and home court advantage in the playoffs.
“It’s a game that we’ve had pencilled in for a couple of weeks now,” Wilcher said.
“It was a bit of a let-down to lose on the Saturday night, but I think we bounced back pretty well to beat them on their home court on Sunday. The next three weeks is going to be a big part of our season to see where we can end up and how many home games we can have for playoffs.”
Wilcher has been in blistering form over the past few weeks and averaged 26 points across their triple-header.
The 2017 grand final MVP is in his fourth season in Townsville and he said everyone within the playing group had bought into their winning culture.
“I know what to expect from Rod (Anderson, head coach) and the club so I’m very comfortable and I’m enjoying it once again,” Wilcher said.
“We’ve all won together, we’ve all played together before, so there’s no new faces we really have to carry along. The group’s bought into what everyone needs to do.
“I’ve been here four seasons and the guys that weren’t playing in those early years are starting to contribute a lot now, so it’s good to see the local talent’s really grown.”
The Townsville Flames surged into the top four after a perfect weekend on the road with wins over the Rip City (84-69), Phoenix (85-59), and Capitals (84-65).
Abby Bishop averaged 20 points across the three games, but it was a strong team effort as Rachael Mccully (23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) led the way against Rip City.