By Dion Stergiopoulos
Fresh from a week off following the Kings Birthday long weekend, St George Saints Mens White team hit the road once again for the long trip to face the Port Macquarie Dolphins.
Missing two of their starting big men; Ross Aliferis (in Greece) and Kyle Roeger (unavailable), the Saints needed to rely on their depth and resilience to remain competitive against a Dolphins team stacked with star imports.
The first quarter was a hard-fought physical battle, with the Saints holding their own, trailing by only three points at the end of the first term.
The second quarter continued in a similar fashion; however, some contentious calls saw the tide of the contest swaying with the home side.
Despite this, Yianni Trikilis and Jayden Tanevski continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over and the Saints in the game, with the visitors trailing by 13 points going into halftime.
The second half saw the Saints show incredible grit and composure in the hope of making a comeback.
With a tightened defensive set up and efficient offensive execution, the Saints clawed their way back to reduce the deficit to just nine points heading into the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins imports stepped up in the fourth quarter, and their experience began to sway the game back in the host’s favour.
The Saints were unable to sustain their momentum from the third quarter, going down 79-96.
Jayden Tanevski (sponsored by the Athlete Lab) finished with a game high 31 points continuing his strong form and Yianni Trikilis (sponsored by Jas Transport) finished with 23 points and a massive defensive effort.
The Saints return home this weekend for a huge double header against Newcastle Falcons on Saturday 21 June and Blacktown Storm on Sunday 22 June.
Saints Youth put-on all-round masterclass to cement themselves as a major championship threat
Fresh off a comfortable 49-point victory over Macarthur Heat, the St George Saints Youth League Mens Red team were searching for their eighth straight victory when they took on Moss Vale Magic last Saturday 14 June.
While their shooting took a while to get going, the Saints relied on their tenacious defence to pile on the steals to get a lot of fast break points.
The Saints caught fire from long range to close out the quarter, finishing with a 33-15 lead heading into the second quarter.
St George’s full court press was suffocating Moss Vale’s offensive momentum, halting any efforts for the Magic to reduce the deficit.
The Saints continued to rack up the steals (25 in the first half and 39 for the game) and their strong three-point shooting remained on display as St George extended their advantage.
The Saints were rapid on the fast break eager to put the result beyond any reasonable doubt before half time, heading into the main break with a 47-point lead (69-22).
Full credit to Moss Vale, with the deficit insurmountable and the team looking dejected on the court, every player continued to put in 100% effort every possession until the final buzzer.
In the end the result was never in doubt, with the Saints cruising to a massive 125-41 victory for their eighth straight victory.
It was a warm welcome back to Caleb Lagolago-Craig who returned from the United States completing his senior year of High School in Arizona, having only one training session with the team to get acquainted with the team to get ready for last weekend’s match.
He finished with a game high 24 points (9/14 FG), 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals off the bench.
Key contributions from Jaxon Jon Frintzilas (21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals), Luis Nunez (13 points, 1 rebound, 10 assists and 2 steals), and Peter Kospetas (12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals) inspired the Saints to victory.
Saints Assistant Coach Angelo Tsitsos said that he was very happy with the team’s preparation coming off the long weekend.
“The boys were keen to get back on the court after the Kings Birthday long weekend, and it showed,” Tsitsos said.
“The focus was to build good habits and to play our game for the full 40 minutes of play and we definitely did that.”
The Saints look forward to continuing their hot winning streak with a double-header this weekend, on the road to take on Macarthur Heat on Saturday 21 June, then returning home on Sunday 22 June to face off against Shoalhaven Tigers.
St George Saints Senior Reps results – Saturday 14 June 2025
- Youth League Mens White
St George Saints 87-79 Inner West Bulls
- Youth League Mens Red
St George Saints 125 – 41 Moss Vale Magic
- Youth League Womens
Camden Valley Wildfire 59-70 St George Saints
- Mens White
Port Macquarie Dolphins 95-79 St George Saints
- Mens Red
Canberra Gunners Academy 107 – 69
St George Saints Reps results – Sunday 15 June 2025
- Mens Red
St George Saints 66-73 Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders
