SEABL MEN The Hog’s Breath Cup has been claimed by the Knox Ford Raiders for the first time in its three year history after the Raiders SEABL men recorded an important nine point victory over the Frankston Blues on Sunday afternoon at Frankston Basketball Centre. After suffering a 10 point defeat at the hands of Conference rivals Ballarat Miners on Saturday evening at the WIN Minerdome, the Raiders bounced back with an impressive performance over last year’s South Conference Champions, the Frankston Blues. Still playing without the services of big man Lester Strong who is still recovering from a car accident two weeks ago, the Raiders rallied on Sunday after a poor showing against the Miners the night before. All five Raiders starters scored in double figures with replacement starter John Philip continuing his good form whilst Strong remains on the sidelines. Philip was an anchor defensively for the Raiders down low and poured in 13 points @ 66.7% and pulled down 7 rebounds. Providing the support upfront with Philip was Cam Rigby with 17 points @ 50%, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Raiders captain Sean Carroll did a solid job at the point guard position and finished with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists whilst Mick Hill notched up 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in a handy role for the visiting team. Leading the scoring punch for the Raiders was CJ Massingale who despite playing with injury recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with 3 assists. The Raiders held a two point advantage at the main break thanks to a Philip buzzer beater but it was the third quarter performance that set up the winning margin as the Raiders won the term 27-12 and went into the final quarter with a 17 point lead. The Blues fought hard to peg the margin back in the last but it was too little too late for the home team as the Raiders came away with the 88-79 win. Best for the Blues were Rob Kampman (25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists) and Chaz Briggs (22 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists). The nine point victory extended the Raiders Hog’s Breath Cup winning margin to a massive 65 points after three previous SEABL games between the two clubs earlier this season where the Raiders women defeated the Lady Blues by 16 and 15 and the Raiders men defeated the Blues by 26 at Knox Converse Stadium in round three. Captain Sean Carroll accepted the Cup after the match of behalf of the Raiders from Hog’s Breath Café representative Tim and thanked the sponsor of both Knox and Frankston associations for their ongoing support. On Saturday evening there were not as many smiles as there were at Frankston as the home team Miners proved too much for the Raiders too handle without the physical presence of Strong. The Raiders hung tough for the majority of the match but a poor third quarter performance and an inability to get stops on defence led to a 93-83 win by the Miners. Cam Rigby top scored for the Raiders with 20 points @ 61.5% to go with 4 rebounds whilst the duo of CJ Massingale and John Philip both poured in 19 points each and 6 and 7 rebounds respectively. For the Miners it was last week’s SEABL Player of the Week, Drake Reed who led all scorers with 28 points and 6 rebounds and Tariq Naqqash with 24 points and 3 steals who did the majority of the damage for the home team. The Raiders remain in fifth position with a 5-6 record on the East Conference ladder after their 1-1 split on the weekend. The Miners sit fourth with a 6-7 record. Next up on the radar for the Raiders will be the Canberra Gunners this coming Sunday 16th May at Knox Converse Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Gunners last week in the Nation’s Capital but will need to bring their best effort to secure another important win whilst Strong remains inactive for the next few weeks. SEABL WOMEN After suffering a 20 point defeat at the hands of Championship favourite Launceston Tornadoes on Friday night in Tasmania, the Raiders responded in emphatic fashion on Saturday evening in Hobart with a 56 point drubbing over the Lady Chargers. The Raiders road trip didn’t start the way Coach Heath Anderson had planned as the Tornadoes 29-11 third quarter set up an insurmountable 18 point margin in the final quarter. League leading scorer Liz Cambage was kept well held by the Raiders in the first half with only 8 points but the 6 foot 8 inch Australian Opals squad member found her rhythm in the second half as she poured in 26 points for the half including 14 of the Tornadoes 29 in the third. Still playing without Emily Fryters, the Raiders simply could not match the dominance of Cambage inside. Fellow WNBL Bulleen Boomer teammate, Sharin Milner was also effective for the home side with 19 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists whilst Jamie-Lee Peris finished with 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. For the Raiders it was Odette Andrew who led the team with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Three other players scored in double figures, being Danni Bone (13 points), Amy Denson (11 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists) and Sarah Graham (10 points). The Raiders had 24 hours to regroup before their encounter with Hobart on Saturday and a refocused and determined Knox outfit came out blazing in the first quarter and lead 35-13 at the end of the first quarter. The Raiders racked up 10 assists and 7 steals in the opening term and shot the ball at 59.1% from the field. The second quarter saw the carnage continue for the home team as the Raiders pushed their lead out a further 10 points to lead the match by 32 at half-time. Despite holding a huge lead, the Raiders showed no sign of mercy on the women’s competitions newest team as the defensive intensity was turned up another notch. The Raiders allowed the Lady Chargers to score just six points in the third quarter whilst putting up 22 points of their own. The final quarter saw the onslaught carry on as the Raiders finished off their opponents 101-45. All Raiders players scored with five scoring in double figures. Import Amy Denson top scored for her team with 21 points @ 50%, 8 rebounds and 3 assists and received great support from Odette Andrew (19 points and 6 rebounds) and Sarah Graham (18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists). But it was Lill Keane’s almost triple-double that was arguably the best Raiders performance of the night. Keane recorded a stat line 17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and a staggering 13 steals. Keane’s 13 steals ties the SEABL All-Time single game record for steals, tying Emily McInerny’s 13 back against Launceston on the 3rd of April, 2004. Keane also shatters the Raiders SEABL women’s All-Time individual single game record for steals with Kylie Page’s 10 steals on the 1st of April, 1995 the previous best. The Raiders currently sit one spot out of the playoffs race at seventh with a 5-4 record. Knox Converse Stadium will play host to the Raiders women’s next match against Albury/Wodonga on Sunday 16th May, tip-off 12pm.