Stirling strike for fifth spot on incredible final day

ATD Stirling Senators have snatched fifth place in the men’s State Basketball League standings with a thrilling come-from-behind 129-115 overtime win against Wanneroo Wolves at Warwick Leisure Centre last night.

Needing a win over Wanneroo and Perth to defeat East Perth Eagles to claim fifth place, the Senators brought a finals like intensity to the contest.

The Senators in the end clinched fifth place as a result of having the best head-to-head record against the other three sides – Perth, Willetton and East Perth – who all finished on 30 points.

Stirling trailed by as much as six points with four minutes left in the topsy-turvy final period but managed to claw their way back into the contest and force overtime.

They then ran away with the match in the first extra term, outscoring Wanneroo 20-6, to avoid an eighth-place finish and a daunting challenge against minor premiers Lakeside.

Coach Don Jamieson said the most important thing his team would take from the win was the confidence of defeating a second placed Wanneroo outfit heading into the finals.

“To win the last game at home, especially for us against Wanneroo, which is the local rivals, is going to put the boys into a great spirit heading into finals – that’s probably more important than the position we finished on the ladder,” he said.

“We got into tonight’s game expecting almost anything to happen, we knew that it wasn’t totally in our control, it was also about what East Perth would do. We believed if we’d got our mathematics right we’d probably be fifth.

“It doesn’t give us home court advantage but it does take us away from Lakeside and Wanneroo, obviously the two strongest teams at the moment.

“We’ve had a very slow start to the season, so we’re actually starting to peak now, as much by accident as by design, but we are beginning to peak and I think the boys have shown that tonight.”

Lee Roberts led the Senators with 41 points and 16 rebounds while Wanneroo captain Greg Hire did his best to drag his team over the line with 31 points and 12 rebounds.

Wanneroo coach Ben Etteridge played down the importance of the loss and their recent run of poor form.

“The last four weeks didn’t mean anything to us because we had secured second spot. If anything, the other sides have come out and shown us all of their cards,” he said.

“The three teams that have beaten us, they’ve all played an outstanding game. They’ve all come out and played their best game to beat us.

“We’ve got everyone healthy, everyone is over the flu, and there are no injuries. I would be very sceptical of a team that is going to underestimate the second placed team of all season come the playoffs.”

The final standings mean Stirling will take on Perry Lakes in the Series two of the finals, while Wanneroo come up against defending champions Willetton.

“We’re going to have a tough task whichever way you look at it we’re going to have a tough game but we will be ready for it, we intend to hit the track hard this week and get ready for a good series,” Jamieson said of his side’s clash with Perry Lakes.

In the women’s, Wanneroo Wolves annihilated the Stirling Senators in what would be their final outing of the season 87-48.

The Wolves would have climbed to fourth had Mandurah Magic lost to Cockburn, but instead they finished fifth and gained plenty of confidence ahead of their quarter-finals series with the South Metropolitan side.

Rebecca Mercer had 24 points for Wanneroo while Michelle Joy had 21 for the Senators.

Article by Ben Cameron at Warwick Recreation Centre
Photo by Mick Cronin

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