By Dion Stergiopoulos
Basketball NSW’s Waratah League regular season is coming to an end with the playoffs rapidly approaching.
This coming weekend marks the final round of the regular season and the final opportunity for teams to make a last-ditch effort to climb up the ladder.
Last Saturday featured five St George Saints Senior Reps teams in action both on the road and at home. All five teams came away with victories on Saturday marking an historic day for the club.
This marked the first time in the club’s history that all Senior teams picked up victories on any given matchday.
The day started with the Youth League Womens team on the road facing off against the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Spiders.
The Youth League Womens are finishing the season strong and came away with an impressive 67-53 victory over the Spiders.
Chloe Loyman had her best game of the season and exploded for 28 points off the bench. Lena Kahle had another consistent game finishing with 18 points.
Playoff bound Youth Leage Mens Red headed to Alexandria to face off against the Sydney Comets for their final game of the regular season.
The Saints looked to avenge a devastating round three loss to the Comets and continue their superior winning streak.
The team have not loss since their loss at the buzzer to the Comets back at the beginning of the season and are 20-1 heading into the final regular season matchup.
The Saints came out firing racing out to a 9-0 lead forcing an early timeout.
The Comets responded going on a 12-0 run of their own to regain control of the contest.
Poor outside shooting and early foul trouble kept the game close, however it was the Saints that dominated in the paint and on the boards (28 offensive rebounds).
The Saints were able to force a lot of second chance opportunities and take a nine-point lead into the halftime break (50-41).
The Saints lead began to grow throughout the third quarter and became slowly out of reach (26-16 for the quarter), taking a 19-point lead into the final term.
Despite a final quarter push from the Comets, the Saints’ defence ultimately deemed too much to handle for the home side with the Saints forcing 32 turnovers on their way to a 101-76 victory.
Maper Maker was massive on both sides of the ball for the Saints finishing with 27 points, 19 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 8 blocks.
Contributions from Abdul Hamid Banse (19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), Caleb Lagolago-Craig (11 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist), and Jaxon Jon Frintzilas (11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 6 steals) were key in the huge victory on the road.
This was the perfect ending to the season for the Saints Youth League Mens Red team, finishing with 21-1 record and an 18-game winning streak, taking a huge wave of momentum into their Quarter Finals matchup at home against Newcastle Falcons on Sunday 10 August.
In their final game of the regular season, the Saints Youth League Mens White team defended home court in a dominant performance against Maitland Mustangs.
The team’s cohesion and intensity on both end of the floor set the tone early in the game with standout contributions from Andrew Kim, controlling the tempo and Archie Fasch who was impressive with his defensive presence and rebounding.
Adonis Thanos added firepower to the Saints’ offense, knocking down key shots when it mattered, with support from Connor Ammon combining for 30 points, securing a 25-point victory in front of a lively home crowd at Hurstville Aquatic & Leisure Centre.
Saints head coach Paul Apostolos described the victory as a testament to the team’s growth over the course of the season.
“This win reflects the team’s continued progression and growth and will put them in good stead for next season,” he said.
The second home game for the Saints featured the Mens Red team taking on Inner West Bulls.
Zachary Akkawy (34 points) and Rade Dotlich (23 points) led the charge for the home side leading to a dominating 90-65 victory over the Bulls.
The final game of the day saw the Saints Mens White team travelling to Newcastle to take on the Falcons in a mid-table clash.
It was a tight matchup with the home crowd fans expecting a victory, with the Falcons holding onto a slim one-point lead at halftime (51-50).
The Saints kept their composure throughout the second half and were able to keep the score ticking over.
After two disappoint results in recent weeks the Saints played as one and came away with an impressive 97-90 victory.
Jayden Tanevski and Yianni Trikilis were outstanding for the Saints on offensive and Ross Aliferis and Riley Brown were rock solid in defence in helping the Saints over the line.
Saints head coach George Aliferis was impressed with his team’s grit and determination in order to get the victory.
“I could not be prouder of my players… they showed a lot of heart and gave it their all. It was a fantastic win and was well deserved,” he said.
This weekend the Saints community will come together to support the Youth League Mens Red team at home in their Quarter Finals matchup against Newcastle Falcons on Sunday 10 August.
The club has organised a major event for this game and look forward to a strong local support to help the team reach the semi-finals.
