The NWBL hit Mandurah last Saturday night with the Be Active Perth Wheelcats taking on the Victoria Dandenong Rangers as a curtain raiser to the WA State Basketball League. It was the first time Perth have played a home game away from Herb Graham since 2006 and the first time they have played outside of the Perth Metro Area. This initiative was put into place in the lead up to Wheelchair Sports WA Regional Basketball Program being launched in Mandurah in July.

A crowd of almost 450 saw Victoria Dandenong Rangers challenge the Be Active Perth Wheelcats making them work hard for their 12^th straight win of the season. Wheelcats got off to a quick start with Deans opening the game in the first 30 seconds, however the Rangers refused to let them get too far ahead trailing 16-9 at the end of the first quarter. Fighting back hard in the second quarter Rangers closed gap to 26-all until Pike put it in for the Wheelcats right on the half time buzzer. He was then on fire in the third quarter scoring 12 points and contributing to a safer lead of 53-44 going into the final quarter. Rangers pushed hard in the final minutes of the game but were unable to close the gap giving Perth another win with a final score of 68-61.

Wheelchair Sports WA and Mandurah Basketball Association were both pleased with the success of the evening and are keen to ensure it is not the last time the NWBL is played in Mandurah.

Thank-you to Emily Dimozantos from Motion Pictures for the photo used in this article and her photography of the games. Check out http://motionphoto.com.au/ for more photos.