Sturt Sabres (14-4, 1st) v Forestville Eagles (13-5, 2nd)
Saturday August 18, 7.15pm at Pasadena

The Sturt Sabres and Forestville Eagles will be playing for a Grand Final berth when they face off in the Second Semi Final at Pasadena.

For the loser, a home Preliminary Final awaits, either against North Adelaide or Norwood.

The Sabres had the week off in the first round of the finals, after finishing with the Minor Premiership. Their last match was in Round 18 against the Woodville Warriors, whom they beat 96-93 in overtime. Tim Klaosen (24 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists), Darren Ng (21 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) and Sam Daly (19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) were all productive.

That was the Sabres’ 14th win from 16 games. They achieved it without their best player, Tom Daly (18.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 7.6 apg, 0.7 spg, 45.8% FG).

Two of the Sabres’ four losses have been to the Eagles. Back in Round 2, the Eagles came away with a 97-84 victory. The Sabres were lucky to be as close as they were, thanks to a belated rally when the game was done and dusted. Rashad Tucker had 18 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists for the Eagles, while Majok Deng was also very good with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Tom Daly scored 25.

Nine rounds later (and eight Sabre wins later) and the Eagles had the wood on the Sabres again, winning 72-55 in a much less open contest. The Eagles’ Neil Mottram, who has not played since July 21, was pivotal with 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Brad Sullivan hit three treys and finished with 13 points and 6 assists. Klaosen was the Sabres’ highest scorer with 14 points, to go with 11 rebounds.

The Eagles’ good form extends past the Sabres. Last week’s victory over North was their ninth in 10 games. The game was tight for three quarters, before some stunning shooting and equally effective defence catapulted them to victory.

The Eagles shot 53% from the field and connected on 17/32 three-pointers. They held a plus-27 edge in perimeter points, the major difference between the two teams. The Eagles also held sway in the rebounding (35-24) and assist (29-20) departments.

The Eagles had many good performers, including Sullivan (22 points, 6/14 3FG), Brad Haydon (20 points, 4/6 3FG), Adam Doyle (19 points, 8 assists), Brad Gerlach (18 points, a season-best 3/3 3FG, 6 rebounds) and Tucker (12 rebounds, 9 points, 8 assists).

Last season’s Grand Finalists, the Norwood Flames, had two one-week breaks during the finals. After the first, they were victorious. Following the second, not-so. For Sturt, Tom Daly may have benefited from an extra week’s recovery time, though it will be interesting to see what sort of rhythm the Sabres are in after having a week off.

Ultimately, the Eagles have had the Sabres’ measure this season and with so much offensive depth, they should fly straight through to the Grand Final.

By James Woite