By Dion Stergiopoulos
With the Basketball NSW Waratah League in the latter half of the season, every win in vital to make a push for finals contention.
The St George Saints Mens White team faced a tough double header last weekend against two powerhouse opponents: Newcastle Falcons (Saturday 21 June) and Blacktown Storm (Sunday 22 June).
With several key players unavailable due to injury and other commitments, it was going to be a challenging test for the youthful Saints squad.
Saturday’s clash against the Falcons was a fierce and physical battle, with Newcastle’s size and experience being a major point of focus, allowing them to play a very direct and aggressive style of basketball.
Despite this, the youthful Saints remained competitive throughout the contest and pushed the Falcons all the way, eventually going down by only ten points (81-91).
Sunday’s clash against the fifth placed Blacktown Storm was another gritty encounter against a highly fancied team.
With the absence of key players Jayden Tanevski (injured), Ross Aliferis (unavailable) and Kyle Roger (injured), adding to the challenge, the Saints yet again showed a lot of resilience and fearlessness.
At half time, the Saints trailed by just five points, determined to come out and put on a strong second half display and pull off a major upset.
Momentum shifted towards Blacktown in the third quarter, with a series of questionable call favouring the Storm, disrupting the Saints’ rhythm.
Despite this, the Saints mounted a spirited comeback in the final term, maintaining that self-belief that they could still pull off a major upset.
In the end the Storm emerged victorious 66-61, a tough loss.
Despite the dissatisfaction from the weekend’s results, Saints head coach George Aliferis was extremely happy with the team’s defensive performance.
“It was bitterly disappointing to come so close to pulling off not one but two major upsets,” he said.
“I was incredibly proud of our performance against Blacktown… With so many key players missing, our defensive effort was the best it has been all season.”
Standout defensive performances from Jack Ticic (sponsored by Chullora Auto Body) and Yianni Trikilis (sponsored by Jas Transport) were instrumental in keeping the Saints close in both contests.
The Saints will be looking to bounce back this weekend with a strong performance when they travel to take on Inner West Bulls on Saturday 28 June.
St George Saints Senior Reps results – Saturday 21 June 2025
Youth League Mens White
- St George Saints 99-61 Springwood Scorchers
Youth League Mens Red
- Macarthur Heat 68-96 St George Saints
Mens Red
- Camden Valley Wildfire 93-83 St George Saints
Mens White
- St George Saints 81-91 Newcastle Falcons
St George Saints Senior Reps results – Sunday 21 June 2025
Youth League Mens White
- St George Saints 61-60 Central Coast Crusaders
Youth League Mens Red
- St George Saints 106-60 Shoalhaven Tigers
Mens White
- St George Saints 51-66 Blacktown Storm
