Sharks caught by Rampant Panthers in State League Basketball
The Penrith Panthers and Sutherland Sharks played what many will regard as a preview of the 2007 State League grand final, on Saturday night at the Sutherland Basketball Stadium.
Both teams have moved into equal favouritism from the Metropolitan Division, following two crushing pieces of news regarding the Macarthur Heat during the week.
Star signing Steve Leven has announced he will not be able to compete in the playoffs and has ended his season with the Heat immediately.
In addition, power forward Shane Lewis had knee surgery last week and has also announced he will not play again this season.
The Sharks are the quiet tip from the Shire to win this season's title and started Saturday night’s game accordingly, powering ahead to lead 23-16 and 46-34 after the first two quarters.
The Panthers still trailed 59-55 at the end of the third term but showed their ability to dominate the second half of a game again this week, over-running the Sharks to record a narrow 3-point win.
Guy Brandon led the Sharks with 28 points, ahead of Andrew Heather 14 and Nathan Gorman 11.
Heathcote’s Skuse stars for Razorbacks
The West Sydney Razorbacks have begun the 2007 National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) competition in style, defeating the Brisbane Spinning Bullets 90-73 and the Dandenong Rangers 74-73 in an action-packed first round of the season, which was held at Dandenong, Victoria.
Former South African international representative Nick Taylor made an immediate impact for the Razorbacks, grabbing 11 points in game one and 34 points in game two to underline the impact he will have on the NWBL this season.
PHOTO: Darren Skuse will again play for the Razorbacks in 2007 - photo courtesy of Noel Rowsell (www.photoexcellence.com.au)
Darren Skuse (Heathcote) has also re-signed with the Razorbacks and also made an immediate impact, grabbing 12 points and 11 boards in game one and 19 points and 11 boards in game two.
Game 1: West Sydney Razorbacks 74 (Troy Sachs 36 points, 21 boards; Darren Skuse 12 points, 11 boards; Nick Taylor 11 points, 6 assists) d Dandenong Rangers 73 (Shaun Groenewegen 34 points, 18 boards, 11 assists; Tom Fraser 23 points, 11 boards)
Game 2: West Sydney Razorbacks 90 (Nick Taylor 34 points, Troy Sachs 17 points, 21 boards, 7 assists, Darren Skuse 19 points, 11 boards; Grant Mizens 10 points) d Brisbane Spinning Bullets 73 (Adrian King 19 points, 10 boards; Adam Bates 16 points, 12 boards; Jace Clare 16 points, 7 assist; Cobi Crispin 15 points)
Sharks games go to form against Sydney United in Premier Youth League
The Sharks split Round 19 of the Premier Youth League away clash against Sydney United on June 23. In all grades the games went according to positions on the table.
The table topping Sharks Under 13s and Under 16s had wins, while the 15s and 18s lost to their much better performed opponents. United are third in the 15s with the Sharks in the cellar while in the 18s United hold the lead with the Sharks dropping to 5th after the loss.
As befits teams in 11th (United)and 12th (Sharks) spots and separated only by goal difference, the Under 14 clash was a 1 all draw.
With the predictable results, the punters were certainly happy at the end of the day!
Full results for Round 19 against Sydney United at Sydney United Centre were:
Sharks U13 won 2 nil
Sharks U14 drew 1 all
Sharks U15 lost 4 - 1
Sharks U16 won 1 nil
Sharks U18 lost 3 - 1
Crusaders sink Sharks in WABL
The Central Coast 'Oxigen' Crusaders men's and women's teams were victorious over the Sutherland Sharks in round 14 Waratah Australian Basketball League matches held on the weekend at Sutherland Basketball Stadium.
The Crusaders men proved they are the real deal as they outlasted the first placed and defending premiers 96-89 on their own court.
Terry 'TJ' Johnson was superb for the Crusaders as he used his wealth of experience to guide the team around the court and finish with a personal tally of 28 points and 8 rebounds.
Stefan Blaszczynski was again a major contributor in his team's fifth straight win bagging 20 points and 12 rebounds, whilst Tim Hudson (20 points) and Brett Wilcox (15 points and 13 rebounds) were also impressive.
As usual, the Sharks were shooting the lights out, but even BJ Carter's game high 33 points were not enough to hold off the Crusaders who showed great team spirit to take the important victory on the road.
Even after this loss the Sharks retain first spot with a winning percentage of 78.6% followed by Parramatta Wildcats (69%), Hills Hornets (67%), Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (64%), Central Coast Crusaders and Sydney Comets (both on 62%) in the thirteen team competition.
With the Sharks and Crusaders womens’ teams well down the ladder a close game was expected. This turned out to be the case. The Sharks led by 30 to 27 at the main break, but the Crusaders finished more strongly in the second half, scoring 48 to 39.
Point guard Heidi Freeburn led the Crusaders women's team to a much needed win with a game high 24 points in their 75-69 win. Top scorers for the Sharks were Kandace Lindberg with 16 and Mieke VanDam with 15. After this game the Sharks women are in 11th spot, with the Crusaders in 10th in the twelve team competition.
Central Coast "Oxigen" Crusaders 96 (Terry Johnson 28, Stefan Blaszczynski 20, Tim Hudson 20) def Sutherland Sharks 89 (BJ Carter 33, Brendon Gleeson 13, Cameron Tovey 11)
Central Coast "Oxigen" Crusaders 75 (Heidi Freeburn 24, Hayley Hughes 18, Brook McInnes 16) def Sutherland Sharks 69 (Kandace Lindeberg 16, Mieke VanDam 15, Kelly Richards 10)
Story adapted from report by Luke Tucker on www.waratah.basketball.net.au
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