By George, they’ve done it again
THE Geelong Supercats men have secured their place at the top of the NBL1 South ladder after defeating Keilor Thunder 84-76 at the Geelong Arena on Saturday night.
With Isaac Turner ruled out of the match at the 11th hour due to injury, George Blagojevic stepped up for Geelong with a big game at both ends of the floor, pouring in 29 points while pulling down 13 rebounds.
Supercats coach Justin Schueller – in his first game back following Melbourne United’s exit from NBL finals last weekend – praised the big man’s effort on the boards.
“What I love about his game is the way he was able to have consistency on the glass, to keep putting those numbers up rebound-wise – we know he can always score but (rebounding) that’s going to be important for us moving forward,” Schueller said.
Demarcus Gatlin also notched a double-double, scoring 12 points to go with his 10 rebounds, while Gabe Hadley went three from five from beyond the arc to finish with 20 points.
After two big wins for the Supercats last week, the Keilor match was a closer affair from the outset, with only five points separating the teams at quarter-time. By threequarter-time, Geelong had the gap out to 11, but after being up by as much as 16 points in the final term, the home side allowed Keilor back in, the Thunder cutting the lead to five points with two minutes left to play.
However, the Supercats were able to keep their composure and hold on for the win – their fourth in as many games this season.