Saturday, 18th July, 2009

The first thing Wenty noticed when they got to the venue was that Adelaide's British import Ghazain Choudry wasn't playing. He'd broken his collarbone and was done for the season. The second surprise was that retired Adelaide champion, 5-time Paralympian David Gould would be suiting up for the Thunder.

The game started well for the WheelKings as they jumped to an 8-0 lead led by Jonathon Simon's 3-3 shooting in the first 90 seconds! However, David Gould was all over the place creating havoc with a bunch of steals, rebounds and assists as well as 6 points in the quarter. It was his all-round play that put Adelaide up 19-18 at the first break. Wenty's Jon Pollock was also getting amongst the steals and assists but his shot wasn't dropping as he went 1 of 7 for the term.

Pollock's shooting improved in the 2nd quarter as his tally stretched to 12 points but it was Jon Simon (16) and Jeremy Van Asperen (11) that were making a high percentage of their attempts under the ring. The 3 of them combined for 39 of Wenty's 41 points at the half. The other 2 points were courtesy of rookie Josh Meoli who not only started the game but had now hit his first NWBL points! Adelaide were shooting the same percentage as Wenty (44%) and were out-rebounding them 23-17 but they were killing themselves with 17 turnovers. The WheelKings active hands and pressure defence had earned an 8 point halftime lead.

Wenty extended their lead in the third quarter with Pollock adding 11 points. Kylie Gauci wasn't making her shots but she was rebounding like a 7 footer and handing out assists like they were lollies. For the Thunder, David Gould had been quiet in the second quarter but was now pushing for a triple-double with 15 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists. Unfortunately, he also had 8 turnovers and 5 fouls.  Adelaide continued to throw the ball away at an alarming rate as they racked up 25 turnovers to Wenty's 11. The WheelKings had made 12 points directly off Adelaide turnovers and that was pretty much the difference as Wenty led 62-48 going into the last period.

The WheelKings maintained a double digit lead for most of the fourth quarter but had a scare with 4:30 to go as the Thunder got the deficit down to 9. However, Adelaide's chances of a remarkable comeback were dashed a few seconds later when Gould fouled out. He'd got a triple-double - 19 points, 18 rebounds and 10 turnovers! He had 8 assists as well but those TOs hurt. Wenty went on to record a comfortable 78-64 win.

Overall, it was a good game from the WheelKings as they ran with a very short rotation. Pollock, Van Asperen and Kylie Gauci played the full 48 minutes. Gaetano Bagnato and Tina McKenzie, both in their first game of the season, gave some rest to Simon and Meoli, but Craig Cannane never made the court as he was too ill with the flu. He'd travelled to Adelaide a few days earlier so it wasn't like he could stay home either.

Jon Simon had a standout game for Wenty with 24 points @ 60%, 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Van Asperen had 19 points, 10 boards and an amazing 7 steals. Pollock scored 27, dished 7 assists and pocketed 4 steals. Gauci made 8 assists but sensationally snapped in 9 boards - probably her best ever rebounding effort. Meoli also has to be congratulated on a fine debut performance with 6 points and 8 rebounds.

Hopefully, Cannane will be somewhat fit for tomorrow's game as Van Asperen has to leave on an early morning flight due to work commitments. Bagnato and McKenzie can also expect a lot more playing time. Frankly, it is going to be tough to get the second win on the road but the team did show great heart today and no doubt will lift again.

Box scores and other stats available at http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/17/00/76/38/14xYG9Qv6kjyI/