Home courts prevail in week one (Saturday night wrap)
The lower ranked teams all took 1-0 series leads with home court advantage in game one of the semi-final series this weekend.
East Perth Eagles defeated the defending champions 82-7 in front of their home crowd to move one step closer to their first ever grand final appearance.
The Eagles led convincingly throughout the first two quarters of the game until the Wolves rallied in the second half bouncing back to within two points in the final minutes but they couldn't get over the line.
Eagles Tom Jervis stepped up to the challenge taking on the minor premiers with a massive 34 points, 21 rebounds and ten blocks, while veteran Joe-Alan Tupaea had 16 points and five assists.
The Wolves were missing star Greg Hire who is in hospital recovering from an infected finger, Jordan Wild stepped up in their captains’ absence with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Veteran Damian Matacz chipped in with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while youngster Jackson Hussey had 16 points and five rebounds.
Cockburn Cougars also took advantage of their home court crowd, defeating the Lakeside Lightning 98-91.
The Lightning could only manage 37 points in the first half to Cockburn’s 52, while the Lightning managed pulled it back to just two with minutes remaining the Cougars remained composed.
Brian Carlwell was strong inside for the Cougars with 23 points and 22 rebounds, while Jeremiah Wilson had 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Ben Beran was the Lightning’s best with 27 points and five rebounds, Luke Payne (23 points, eight rebounds) and Christopher Sofoulis (18 points, five rebounds) provided support.
In the women's league the first leg of the semi-finals series saw the South West Slammers take down the Willetton Tigers 79-55.
The Slammers home crowd brought out the best in star Kim Sitzmann who finished with 23 points and ten rebounds, while fellow import Valeria Ogoke had 14 points and ten rebounds.
Willetton will welcome a return to familiar surrounds after struggling offensively away from home, shooting just 33% from the field and zero per cent from three point range.
Next weekend all series revert back to the higher ranked team’s home venue for games two and three, if required.
Article by Hannah Coleman
Photo by Mick Cronin
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