Fabbro heats up for the Flames
FLAMES coach Shannon Seebohm believes only a small taste of what Aliza Fabbro is capable of has been showcased ahead of tonight’s clash with USC Rip City.
The Townsville point guard is seeking to cement herself in the reigning WNBL coach of the year’s long-term plans – both with the NBL1 North side and the Fire.
While still a development player with the national North Queensland outfit, Fabbro has been able to spend the past eight months learning off the likes of Shyla Heal and Stephanie Reid – two emerging stars who have cemented themselves in the Australian competition.
With Reid playing full games in the state tournament, and Jaimee Seebohm regularly churning out 30 minutes, the Burdekin product has had limited time to make a major statement on the court.
But coach Seebohm has seen plenty of qualities in the young gun that has him confident greater responsibility was nearing her.
“I think a lot of Aliza, I think she has a lot of talent and has had some really great moments this season,” Seebohm said. “I think for her development moving forward it’s obviously showing that she can come in and defend at a really high level, execute our schemes and be in the right spots defensively on the floor.
“She’s putting the work in for it – she’s allowing us to coach her and help her. The more she gets comfortable the more minutes she will see and people will see offensively how much firepower she has.”
The Flames will head into tonight’s clash at Townsville Stadium determined to bounce back from a rare loss.
Townsville were right in the mix against the undefeated Spartans outfit, trailing by just two points with less than a minute on the clock. Seebohm attributed the defeat to minor and uncharacteristic lapses.
Despite Rip City’s spot on the ladder, he is expecting a pair of sisters to make life difficult for the Flames.
Delaney sisters, Alex and Bree, put on a clinic against Brisbane, and Seebohm said they would be on high alert to the threats they bring.
He said while there was still plenty of time to go in the season, each game would be approached with a must-win philosophy from this point.
“Absolutely I think every game is a must-win,” Seebohm declared. “For us we’re sort of trying to be one of those top teams in the competition and in order to do that we have to win games against the teams ranked below us.
“But we understand how much talent there is in this league. If you don’t come to play every game you will get beaten.”
The Flames will tip off at home at 6.30pm tonight.