This Sunday, 22nd May, was a great showing for the Wolves overall. Our club ended the day with a record of 20 wins and 15 losses.

The Under 12 boys ended with a 2-2 record. The Champs team got up big at halftime at Warwick but had a challenging second half with turnovers and dropped the lead. Always a part of the growing process throughout the year for young teams as they learn how to sustain leads. Team 4 had a great win versus the Redbacks, with NBL1 men’s player Mathiang Muo assisting head coach Jed Veljacich. After the game, Mathiang gave his vote of approval saying, “Coach Jed is great, he really knows how to get the best out of those boys. They played hard!” 

The Under 12 Girls went 1-3. The Champs girls had a 12-point win versus the Cougars. Missing one of their guards, Asha, multiple players stepped up in ball carrier duties to take care of the ball versus pressure. The rest of the U12 Girls teams fell in close, hard-fought losses. The closest of these was a 1-point loss by team 4, 30-29.

The Under 14 Boys went 2-2. Team 3 had another big win. The defensive pressure was fantastic, holding Mandurah to just 22 points while fuelling the fast break and an 82 point total the other way. The Champs Boys came out firing versus Warwick and were up 16-2 to start the game. Levi Simon hit a couple big 3s early, and the whole team was pressuring the ball and defending with tremendous intensity. The game evened out after the hot start, but the Wolves boys were able to continue their defensive effort and get stops to maintain the lead.

The Under 14 Girls went 2-2. Teams 3 and 4 got wins while team 1 and 2 lost. Team 4 had a very close game, winning 32-29. They showed great resiliency after a slow start, getting down early and only scoring 1 point in the first quarter. But the defensive effort stayed consistent, and they got back into the game in the second and third quarters. Team 3 had a bigger win versus East Perth, 60-26.  NBL1 Men’s player Dion Collins, there assistant coaching with head coach Jay Wakefield had this to say: “This was a really exciting game to be a part of. The girls actively took onboard feedback from coaches, played tenacious defence and selfless offence. What was most pleasing to see was how well they supported each other throughout the game. Great team win!”

The Under 16 Boys went 2-2 with the Champs team and team 2 winning, and teams 3 and 4 falling short. The champs’ boys responded to their first loss of the season last week in top notch fashion. Their defence was much improved this week holding East Perth to 67 points as they scored 86 points themselves. Team 2 got their second win of the year with improved defence as well. They beat the Hills Raiders 86-73. Five players hit double figures for team 2, and every player scored at least 5 points. That is a massive overall team effort.

The Under 16 Girls went 2-2. The Champs team lost, but they fought extremely hard to force overtime. Their defence was extraordinary versus the 2nd on the ladder Perth team, but just had a few too many empty possessions in overtime to fall just short. But there is no doubt the whole team gave it their absolute best effort – they were extremely competitive and intense throughout the game. Team 3 won 63-30 versus East Perth with big 14-point contributions by Quinn Beasley and Lucy Corden. Team 4 won by a huge margin, 97-40 and 6 players in double figures, plus another player with 8 points. Flat out team basketball at its best!

The Under 18 Boys had a good day at 3-1. Team 3 fell short in a 73-72 battle versus Perry Lakes and was the one loss in the group, so the U18 Boys group was one basket away from going undefeated on the day. Kindness James had a big day with 19 points for Team 4 as they won 86-70 against Perth Redbacks. Team 2 got off to a great start up 18-10 at quarter time and held on to win 79-71 versus a tough Cougars side. And the Champs boys had a high scoring 98-84 win against the Suns, including big scoring contributions from many players. Kieran McNamara chipped in 26 points as the leading scorer.  

The Under 18 Girls group went undefeated on the day, 3-0. The Champs team won 72-31 versus the Suns. They now sit atop the ladder at 5-0 in the early stages of the season. Team 2 had a huge win over Senators, 94-44 with a monster 28-point performance from Chloe Goldsmith who has been a force to be reckoned with the past few weeks. Five other players scored 9 or more in a great team effort. Team 3 also won big, 75-27 versus Suns in a tremendous defensive effort. Team 4 had a bye.

The Under 20 Men went 1-1 and the D-League teams also went 2-0. The Champs Under 20 Men’s game was a good win. It was a 3-point game at halftime, but a 23-7 third quarter blew the game wide open, and the Wolves went on to win by 25. Team 2 fell 16 points short versus Perry Lakes. The D-League men were down 8 midway through the 3^rd quarter, but had a massive lift of energy defensively, and scoring from Ben Geel and Gabe Chadinha to fuel a huge run down the stretch to win 88-73. The D-League Women had a similar great 4^th quarter in their game versus Warwick. Down 2 at 3-quarters time, the Wolves won the 4^th quarter 21-16 to win 73-66. Olivia Basso had a team high 15-point performance in the contest to help the women get over the line.

It was a great Sunday of basketball. Lots of excitement, lots of passion. Go Wolves!