Tough road-trip leaves Buccs in a hole (Round 12 MSBL Wrap)
Sun City Plumbing Geraldton Buccaneers' men's State Basketball League playoff hopes are all but over after an unsuccessful three-game road-trip during the long weekend.
The Buccaneers shocked defending champions Southlands Boulevarde Willetton Tigers with an upset 100-95 win on Saturday, but their 88-82 loss to Rockingham Flames on Sunday and 100-85 defeat to Perth Redbacks on Monday left them needing an urgent revival to make the top eight.
Geraldton has only missed the playoffs once in its 22 seasons, but it has now lost 11 games, three more than eighth-placed Perth, and would need to overcome a horror schedule and win seven of its remaining 10 games to have any chance of making the finals.
Fellow regional side SKILLED Goldfields Giants also struggled on their road-trip, winning only one of their three games.
The Giants beat the struggling Southwest Slammers 97-77, but fell 114-101 to Australian Central East Perth Eagles and 94-85 to Total Connections Perry Lakes Hawks.
The two defeats put a huge dent in Goldfields' top four hopes and saw the ninth-placed Eagles move within two wins of them, despite having a game in hand.
Australian Boomers squad member Jesse Wagstaff made his first appearance of the season for Perth, but it wasn't enough for his side to overcome ATD Stirling Senators.
The Senators moved up to sixth spot with their 112-97 win, which was their third straight. Wagstaff had 14 points against both Stirling and Geraldton for the Redbacks, who finished the round in eighth spot.
Wanneroo Wolves continued their solid form with an 89-83 victory against fellow top four side Cockburn Cougars.
Greg Hire had 17 points to lead Wanneroo, but his side remained in third spot as the Cougars held onto second place thanks to their 116-91 win over East Perth.
Ty Harrelson had 36 points to carry his side to victory against the Eagles, who ended the round just one win outside the top eight.
Kalamunda Eastern Suns beat Mandurah Magic 96-87 to move within one win of a finals spot, led by Dean Hadley (34 points)
League leaders Lakeside Lightning were far too good for the Slammers, extending their winning streak to six games with a 125-84 thrashing.
Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Darren Speedie (Vision Inspired Photography)
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