Giants a chance for top four finish
The Giants, who currently sit outright fourth with a win-loss record of 10-5, were pushed all the way by persistent opposition before blowing the game apart in the final quarter.
Creek said the match was much tighter than the final score suggested, but his players’ fighting spirit and ability to work as a team got them across the line.
“I’ve been stressing to the guys that we are a team, we do everything for the team and whether you play two minutes or 42 minutes, we give 100 per cent,” he said.
“We did that and it showed in the way the guys played as a team. “Our guys had to fight for it and, to their credit, they did what they had to do.”
The Giants started the match slowly, but still held a four-point lead at quarter-time before Kalamunda rallied to lead by five at the main break.
Creek’s half-time address sparked the Giants into action, as they wrestled the ascendancy back to take a two-point advantage into the final period.
Kalamunda refused to lie down in the closing stages, but the Giants gained some breathing space when Lordan Franich found the net from outside the arc and was then fouled after converting a lay-up. Consecutive baskets to Ryan Hulme and Matt Leske secured the points as the Giants stretched their impressive home record to 5-2.
Creek praised his team’s ability to bounce back from a slow start, saying their game-plan came to fruition in the second half.
“The way we played in the second half, in terms of our overall effort and the intensity we put in, was huge,” he said.
“We had a bit of a game plan and we basically reiterated what we wanted to do because in the first half, we didn’t do it nearly as half as well as we could.
“So we went back and highlighted things we spoke about and the areas where we were being let down in the first half.
“To their credit, we picked up our defensive intensity, started getting rebounds and executing our offensive moves a lot better – we played a lot smarter after the break.”
Leske led all scorers with 24 points while Hulme and Franich were also important with 23 and 14 points respectively. Creek also praised the efforts of Franich and American import Michael Haney, who combined to shut down Suns’ dangerman Adrian Majstrovich.
Majstrovich had a relatively quiet night by his standards, scoring 19 points.
“He scored 19 points which is pretty much half his season average,” Creek said.
“He’s one of the best players going around in the league at the moment.
“Lordan and Michael did a very good job on him and then they both chipped in with double figure points and eight or nine rebounds, so they both did a great job.”
The Giants host the 12th placed Cockburn Cougars at the Brookman Street Stadium this Saturday.
Article by Dean Stacey (Kalgoorlie Miner)
Photo by Travis Anderson(Andmedia/SportsVision)
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.