All-stars all entertainment in evening of razzle-dazzle
THE SCOREKEEPER was always going to struggle to keep up with 20 of the NBL’s best players when they descended on Adelaide Arena – and the All-Stars made sure of that with a 248-point thriller.
With the likes of Cedric Jackson, Jonny Flynn and Chris Goulding on board, South All Stars lived up to their tag as favourites with an emphatic 134-114 win. It was the first time the event has been held since 2007 and the all-out attacking display made a strong case for the match to become an annual event.
It took less than two minutes for the crowd to be treated to an alleyoop when South’s Flynn and Jackson combined.
South’s precision on the counter gave them a 14-3 lead four minutes into the game as Jackson began to find his rhythm and North became lambs to the slaughter. South tripled North’s score by the second timeout midway through the first quarter, leading 21-7. The break failed to disrupt South’s onslaught and the hosts stormed to a 38-13 lead at quarter-time.
Wollongong’s Adris Deleon led a North revival with two threepointers and a superb lay-up basket, though his efforts only further encouraged the in-form Jackson, who made a defensive rebound and dribbled past three opponents to provide a perfect assist for Seth Scott.
There were less than 15 minutes on the match clock by the time South scored their 50th point. Lance Hurdle and Cameron Tragardh sparked a North resurgence and reduced the deficit to 15 points but South saved the best for near the end of the first half. Former NBA star Flynn toyed with Gary Ervin in a stand- off, while flirting with the shot clock. Flynn evaded Ervin, and then regathered the rebound to hit three and shave the buzzer. South led 69-51 at the half.
A half- time celebrity match including Australian basketballers Al Green and Andrew Gaze and rugby/league players Lote Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor kept the crowd entertained. Former Adelaide 36ers coach Ken Cole was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame to raucous home- crowd applause.
North stemmed the bleeding immediately after the restart and cut the deficit to only four points midway through the quarter with baskets from Ben Madgen, Darnell Lazare and Ervin. Both teams’ defence began to strengthen and the stars resorted to shooting from distance. North’s Deleon hit a three but South’s Stephen Weigh responded with two from outside the ‘‘D’’ to extend the hosts’ lead to 12 points at the final break.
South continued their dominance early in the fourth quarter and Stephen Weigh broke through the weak North defence to provide a clever assist for Adam Gibson.
As individual flair began to subside to more fluid team performances, Flynn brought a roar from the 4523 fans with another tight close- control dribbling move, evading his markers to set up Seth Scott for an easy finish. Goulding finished on 24 and Daniel Johnson on 21. North’s Hurdle, Lazare and Deleon shared a high of 18.