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THE 2019 Men’s SBL season got underway with a Grand Final rematch with the Joondalup Wolves earning a measure of revenge over the Perry Lakes Hawks with Lakeside, Willetton, Geraldton, East Perth, Warwick, Kalamunda and Goldfields other Round 1 winners.

The 2019 season got underway on Friday night in the Grand Final rematch as the Perry Lakes Hawks raised their banner from the 2018 championship. But the Joondalup Wolves came out firing winning 112-76.

The other Friday night fixture was a much tighter affair with the Lakeside Lightning beating the Mandurah Magic 80-77 at Lakeside Recreation Centre.

2019 MEN’S SBL SEASON PREVIEW

It was then a huge Saturday night with 12 of the 14 teams in the league in action beginning at Wally Hagan Stadium with he Willetton Tigers beating the Cockburn Cougars 90-81.

The Joondalup Wolves backed up their win on Friday by defeating the Goldfields Giants 91-83 at HBF Arena while the Geraldton Buccaneers beat the Rockingham Flames 86-70 at Active West Stadium.

The East Perth Eagles started their season well winning on the road 108-98 over the South West Slammers with the Warwick Senators beating the Perth Redbacks 96-61 and the Kalamunda Eastern Suns prevailing 82-75 over the Mandurah Magic.

The round then concluded on Sunday at Ray Owen Sports Centre with the Goldfields Giants beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 98-65.

ROUND 1 MEN’S SBL MATCHES

FRIDAY
LAKESIDE LIGHTNING 80 defeated MANDURAH MAGIC 77
LAKESIDE MOVE ALL ABOUT ENJOYMENT FOR ARMOUR

The Lakeside Lightning celebrated milestones of Jarrad Prue and Kyle Armour holding on for a thrilling 80-77 win over the Mandurah Magic at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Friday night.

Armour was making his return to Lakeside and playing his 200th SBL game while Prue was celebrating his 350th appearance for the Lightning, and the pair ended up enjoying the occasion with the three-point victory.

Lakeside started well leading 26-19 by quarter-time but Mandurah took over the contest from there outscoring the Lightning 42-26 over the next two quarters to lead by as much as 12 points.

But the Magic couldn’t quite hold on with Lakeside producing a dominant last quarter and then avoiding overtime with new Mandurah star Travis Durnin missing the potential tying three on the back of an offensive board from Akau Deng.

Lakeside ended up taking 10 extra shots and 13 more free-throws than Mandurah on the back of 56 rebounds to 40 of which 26 were at the offensive end. The Lightning scored 23 second chance points as a result.

Prue was the major reason for that with another 28-rebound performance with 11 of those on the offensive glass.

Despite still being without Jack Isenbarger and Michael Vigor, Lakeside had some impressive performers with Armour having 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in his 200th SBL game.

Rowan Mackenzie also had 19 points and seven rebounds with Jobi Wall finishing with 14 points and five assists in his SBL debut. Ben Lee also had 11 points on debut.

Shaun Stewart started off his second SBL season impressively for Mandurah with 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists including going 7/12 from three-point territory.

Travis Durnin contributed 12 points, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals as well for the Magic with Marvin Smith adding 11 points and nine boards, Akau Deng eight points and nine rebounds, and Chad Miegel eight points and four assists.

ID ATHLETIC PERRY LAKES HAWKS 76 lost to CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 112
PARSONS FOCUSING ON HAWKS’ CONTINUED GROWTH

It was Grand Final rematch time on Friday night at Bendat Basketball Centre with the Joondalup Wolves starting the new season in emphatic fashion beating the Perry Lakes Hawks 112-76.

It might not quite be revenge for last year’s Grand Final, but it was an early season statement from the Wolfpack beating the reigning champs on the night they raised their championship banner by 36 points.

It was a dominant display from Joondalup who led by as much as 39 points and had a tremendous shooting night going 33/63 at 52 per cent from the floor and 16/34 at 47 per cent from three-point range.

The Wolves shared the ball well with 22 assists on those 33 field goals along with finishing the night with 44 rebounds to 35 with their depth also on full show with the 49 points from the bench.

The Hawks might have been without Lochlan Cummings and Tevin Jackson with Ben Purser going off injured and limited to 13 minutes, but that shouldn’t diminish how impressive the Wolves were.

Earnest Ross sent a message what a pick up he will be for the Wolves coming off a season with Geraldton, producing 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds while going 10/13 from the field.

Seb Salinas hit 5/5 from three-point range for 16 points while Trian Iliadis finished with 13 points for the Wolves, Ridell Camidge 11 points, Sam Curtis 11 points, Kevin Davis nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks, and Reece Maxwell eight points, four boards, three assists and three steals.

Cooper Hamilton top-scored for Perry Lakes with 15 points and three assists with Ryan Smith adding 14 points, Mitch Clarke 13 points, five assists and four rebounds, and Brian Carlwell nine points, 11 boards and four assists.

SATURDAY
PRESTIGE HONDA MELVILLE COCKBURN COUGARS 81 lost to WILLETTON TIGERS 90
BITTER SWEET 200TH MILESTONE FOR COUGAR CHAN

A new-look Willetton Tigers team made a winning start to their season on Saturday night at Wally Hagan Stadium beating the Cockburn Cougars 90-81.

With Jackson Hussey, Mo Barrow and Marcanvis Hymon leading the new arrivals for the Tigers with Kyle Armour and Jay Bowie among the departures, they made an encouraging start to the new season beating the Cougars on the road by nine points.

They had to overcome a huge game from Cockburn captain Gavin Field to come away with the win with the Cougars also celebrating the 200th game of championship-winning point guard Seva Chan.

There was plenty for Willetton coach Steve Black to like with the Tigers finishing with 20 assists and 11 turnovers along with 53 rebounds with 18 of those offensive. They did well inside with 50 points in the paint to make up for going just 3/14 from beyond the arc.

Willetton led by as much as 21 before winning by nine with Jackson Hussey top-scoring with 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists in his 102nd SBL appearance with his third club.

Marcanvis Hymon looked good too with an efficient 16 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks on 8/11 shooting.

Mo Barrow added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers, Damien Scott 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, Scott Elder 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Michael Garbellini nine points, four boards and four assists.

Gavin Field starred for the Cougars with 36 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks while shooting 10/22 from the floor, 4/10 from deep and 12/12 at the foul line.

Jaarod Holmes added 11 points and eight rebounds for Cockburn, Hayden Bell nine points and four boards, and 200-gamer Seva Chan seven points and six assists.

CHAMBERS FRANKLYN JOONDALUP CITY WOLVES 91 defeated NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 83
CREEK LOOKS FOR RAPID GIANTS RISE IN 2019
DAVIS JOINS ROSS AS WOLVES GEAR UP FOR 2019

The Joondalup Wolves backed up their big Friday night win to make it a perfect start to the 2019 season with a 91-83 victory over the Goldfields Giants at HBF Arena on Saturday.

Playing back-to-back nights to open a season is always a challenge but buoyed by the confidence of their big win on Friday over Perry Lakes and by getting to play at HBF Arena for the first time in 2019, the Wolfpack produced another impressive showing.

The Wolves didn’t have things all their own way and the Giants showed enough to suggest they can be big improvers this year, but the home team got the job done and 2-0 is just the start coach Ben Ettridge would have been after as they attempt to reach a fifth straight Grand Final.

Again it was a good shooting night from the Wolfpack especially from three-point range where they went 13/32. Import guard Ridell Camidge was a big part in that hitting 8/13 from deep on his way to 32 points.

Earnest Ross was again impressive with another 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists for the Wolves with Rob Huntington adding 15 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Davis pulled in 12 rebounds while Trian Iliadis dished out three assists.

New Goldfields import Patrick Burke came off the bench to play 30 minutes and produce 24 points and eight rebounds with the returning Jay Bowie finishing with 15 points, nine boards, four assists and two blocks.

Manylok Malek also had 15 points and six rebounds for the Giants and David Humphries 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.

QUADRIO EARTHMOVING GERALDTON BUCCANEERS 86 defeated ROCKINGHAM FLAMES 70
PETRIK READY FOR JOB AHEAD TO GET FLAMES FIRING
FINE TUNING KEY FOR BUCCS UNDER JOSEPH

Geraldton marked the opening of their season by hosting the team that eliminated them in last year’s quarter finals with the Buccs starting 2019 with a strong 86-70 victory over the Rockingham Flames.

The Buccaneers looked genuine championship contenders again in 2018 and finished the regular season in top spot, but they came up against a determined and experienced Rockingham team in the quarter finals and lost to them in two games.

There was no better way for both teams to start the new season than having a rematch from that and it was the Buccs who got the upper hand to end up winning by 16 points having led by as much as 19.

Geraldton might have shot just 35 per cent from the field and gone 3/27 from downtown, but they had 31 offensive rebounds for 24 second chance points along with 48 points in the paint.

The Buccs were without Mat Wundenberg and Colter Lasher, but had plenty of firepower still with Brayden Inger the star of the night with 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Marcus Alipate also had 15 points and six assists for Geraldton, Liam Hunt 11 points and 10 rebounds, Aaron Ralph 10 points, 11 boards, eight steals and three assists, Brendan Dinardo nine points and six rebounds, and James Paringatai eight points and four boards.

Rockingham coach Ryan Petrik was without Greg Hire who was in Melbourne preparing to end his NBL career with a fourth championship with Brad Robbins, Jarryd Griffin and Callum Beard not making the trip.

Josh Ritchart top-scored for the Flames with 15 points and eight rebounds with Ryan Godfrey contributing 13 points and eight assists, Caleb White 13 points and two assists, and Justin Beard eight points and four rebounds.

PRINT SYNC SOUTH WEST SLAMMERS 98 lost to CMTG EAST PERTH EAGLES 108
TRISCARI TO BUILD FOR LONG-TERM AT SLAMMERS

East Perth made a nice early season statement with an 108-98 road win over the South West Slammers on Saturday despite still being without some key pieces including their coach.

Both the Slammers and Eagles have new coaches in 2019 and are looking to get back into the playoff hunt after disappointing 2018 seasons so there was plenty of intrigue coming into how they started the new campaign.

Neither team was at full strength but they still produced an entertaining game at Eaton Recreation Centre with the Slammers starting particularly well going into half-time leading 52-46.

But East Perth got rolling in the third quarter piling on 31 points to 15 to set up the eventual victory on the back of a 12-0 run.

Despite coach Adam Forde being with the Perth Wildcats in Melbourne and Vinnie Zollo and Sunday Dech not yet with the team, the Eagles showed plenty of encouraging signs that they should aim for a vastly improved season.

Andrej Donlagic top-scored with 23 points and six rebounds with Cameron Williams adding 22 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Captain Drew Williamson finished with 19 points, six rebounds, four blocks and three assists with Jordan Wellsteed contributing 16 points and seven rebounds, and Aiden Murphy nine points, five boards, five assists and five steals.

The Slammers weren’t at full strength either with Brian Voelkel yet to arrive and Chris Douglas not playing, but Tyler Livingston impressed on debut with 33 points, 12 rebounds and three steals on shooting 13/24 from the field and 7/12 from deep.

James Goodlad also had 21 points and eight rebounds for South West while Michael Lay had 19 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four steals, and Brody England 11 points and six boards.

TEXTURE WA PERTH REDBACKS 61 lost to BETHANIE WARWICK SENATORS 96
ROUND 1 SPOTLIGHT: WARWICK HAMMERS YOUNG REDBACKS

While acknowledging his opponent was far from full strength, Warwick Senators coach Mike Ellis was happy with his team’s first hit out of the 2019 SBL with a big win over the Perth Redbacks on Saturday night as they look to build on their semi-final appearance last year.

Most of Stirling’s core players were ready to go on Saturday night even with import Rob Anshila yet to arrive this season and point guard Corban Wroe having departed, and the result was an emphatic 96-61 victory over the Redbacks at Belmont Oasis.

While the Redbacks will be a different looking team in the second half of the season than the one that played on Saturday night once Lee Roberts, Jourdan DeMuynck, Marshall Nelson and Kyle Bowen all return, what it was about for the Senators was building some early season momentum.

Warwick did lead 42-35 at half-time but with just 14 points in the second quarter, Ellis was anything but happy at the half.

But the Senators opened the second half with a 20-6 to get some momentum flowing and they continued that on the rest of the way to at one stage lead by 39 points before winning by 35.

Warwick ended up shooting 48 per cent from the field and 46 per cent from three-point range along with 51 rebounds to 35 and 25 assists on their 36 field goals.

The 22 turnovers is something Ellis would like to see something tidied up but that will remain a work in progress throughout the season as the Senators use hybrid players as ball carriers without a genuine point guard following the departure of Wroe.

It was Tom Witts who started and spent time in that one spot with three assists with Cody Ellis, Justin King, Caleb Davis and even Wani Swaka Lo Buluk all spending time in that role running and setting up the offence.

There were good signs that the Senators can have another strong season with King finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Davis 23 points, six boards and two assists.

Just 24 hours after playing in Perth Wildcats’ Game 3 Grand Final win at RAC Arena and hitting the floor for the last three minutes and knocking down a three, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk played 26 minutes for 14 points, five rebounds and four assists including going 3/4 from downtown.

Cody Ellis also had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, Ash Litterick 10 points, three rebounds and three assists, and Michael Riley seven points and two boards.

It was a chance for a new generation of Redbacks to get significant court time and that saw Majier Garang finish with 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals and Zac Gattorna eight points, three boards and two assists despite being restricted to foul trouble.

New arrival David Swaby was equal top-scorer with 10 points while Wagner produced nine points and former Senator Jayden Coburn nine points, three assists and three steals against the team he departed from this off-season.

MANDURAH MAGIC 75 lost to KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 82
UTLEY EXCITED TO RETURN WITH EASTERN SUNS

Mandurah returned home on Saturday following their loss on Friday at Lakeside and again showed some good signs, but were overrun once more this time by the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Magic gave up a three quarter-time lead to lose to the Lighting on Friday night on the road ahead of their home opener on Saturday night with the Eastern Suns making their first appearance of 2019 under new coach Mark Utley.

Despite scoring just 10 first quarter points, Mandurah managed to lead 38-36 at half-time but couldn’t hold on throughout the second half with the Suns ending up winning 82-75.

It was an encouraging start to the new season for Kalamunda under a new coach. New import guard Josh Braun was especially impressive with 28 points, three assists, two steals and two rebounds while shooting 7/15 from the field, 4/10 from three-point range and 10/11 at the free-throw line.

Louis Timms also had 18 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots in the win for the Eastern Suns with Ryan Blanchett producing 15 points and seven boards.

Logan Viskovich also contributed 10 points for Kalamunda in the win.

The 0-2 start was a disappointing return from a more than competitive weekend from the Magic.

Shaun Stewart was the standout against the Suns for the home team finishing with 36 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals on shooting 13/24 from the field, 3/10 from long range and 7/8 from the charity stripe.

Travis Durnin finished with nine points for the Magic, Marvin Smith nine points, three rebounds and three assists, and Akau Deng seven points and 12 boards.

SUNDAY
KALAMUNDA EASTERN SUNS 65 lost to NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES GOLDFIELDS GIANTS 98

The last game of the opening round was a lone fixture on Sunday with the Goldfields Giants putting in a terrific showing beating the Kalamunda Eastern Suns 98-65.

Both teams were coming off playing the previous evening with the Suns winning in Mandurah while the Giants had lost to the Wolves, but it was a different story on Sunday at Ray Owen Sports Centre.

Goldfields put in such an emphatic performance in the 33-point win that it sends an early season statement that they will be big improvers this season under the coaching of Wayne Creek.

The Giants started well leading 26-23 by quarter-time before holding the Suns to a paltry six second quarter points as the visitors took a 48-29 lead into the half.

They didn’t let up in the second half either outscoring Kalamunda 50 points to 36 to end up winning by 33 having gone on a 24-0 run at one point to break the game open.

Goldfields dominated inside with 58 points in the paint while also forcing the Suns into 20 turnovers of which they scored 24 points from.

David Humphries produced a standout performance for the Giants showing why they had initially been excited to recruit him in 2017 before injury got in the way. He produced 35 points, six rebounds, six steals and two assists on shooting 15/26 from the floor.

Manylok Malek added 15 points and 11 rebounds with Patrick Burke contributing eight points and five boards, Jay Bowie eight points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Brandon Holloway seven points and six assists, and Daniel Forlano seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

Josh Braun delivered another 21 points, eight rebounds and two assists for Kalamunda despite the disappointing result in their home opener.

Logan Viskovich added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Louis Timms eight points and 11 boards.