Sunday, 3rd June, 2012

Sydney Uni put last night's 81-63 loss to the Victoria Dandenong Rangers behind them and came out brilliantly today to win 52-50. The win means they leapfrog RSL Queensland Spinning Bullets for 4th place and a spot in the NWBL Finals in Wollongong in 2 weeks.

Without coach Gerry Hewson who had broken his femur in an accidental fall on Friday, the WheelKings headed into Melbourne for the double-header without an off-court leader (assistant coach Alan Cox was coaching the Sydney Uni Flames women's team in the Women's NWBL).

Strategically, this showed on Saturday night as Dandenong forward Daniel Del Toso was allowed to score at will as he piled on 30 points and 14 rebounds to totally dominate the WheelKings. Former Australian Roller Campbell Message also had an outstanding game as he continually got free on the fast break to record 16 points.

For Sydney Uni, Kylie Gauci had a tremendous game and almost had a triple-double with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. Jason Voncina also had his best game of the season adding 11 points at 63% accuracy but Craig Cannane and CJ Grogan were well below their best.

On to Sunday, phone calls between Coach Hewson from his hospital bed and Craig and Kylie bought about some much-needed changes in the game plan: 1. Stop Del Toso; 2. Let others shoot but stop Del Toso; 3. Keep Del Toso from getting to his spots; 4. ... you get the idea.

From the tip-off, the game plan wasn't looking too effective as Del Toso hit 8 of his 25 points in the first quarter. However, in the second quarter, the WheelKings did something they hadn't been able to do the entire season - they closed down a quality opponent for a full quarter. Rangers could only manage 6 points against Sydney's stifling defence while the visitors racked up 15 to lead 29-24 at the half.

An opening burst in the third saw The WheelKings jump to a 9 point lead and they looked in control of the game. However, Dandenong wasn't going away and they clawed their way back into the game to trail by just 3 going into the final term.

With their season on the line, Sydney continued with their starting line-up of Kylie Gauci, Josh Meoli, CJ Grogan, Craig Cannane and Jason Voncina. This was the tallest combination the WheelKings could run to combat the height of the Rangers and it had been working very well so far.

In an atmosphere worthy of a grand final, neither team could get more than a point in front throughout the fourth quarter. With 3:19 left, Voncina hit a huge 2-pointer to put the WheelKings up 51-50.Amazingly, for the next 3 minutes, neither team could hit a field goal and turnovers reigned. The pressure was unbearable on Sydney as CJ went to the line for 2 FTs with 13 seconds on the clock. He made the first to create a 2 point buffer but missed the second, giving Dandenong one last chance to tie or win with a 3-pointer. As time ran out, Rangers guard D'Amelio took the shot to tie the game but the WheelKings bench erupted as his attempt went wide.

Sydney Uni played their hearts out to get the win and sneak into the finals. It was a huge effort from all concerned with Cannane (15), Grogan (19) and Voncina (14) having great games. Onwards now to Shellharbour in 2 weeks for the 2012 NWBL Finals! Watch this space for game times.

Full stats for Saturday's game: http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/17/05/03/52/99GrrU7cGg/

Full stats for Sunday's game: http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/17/05/03/51/22a1oYdJVllc/