Pirie Panthers
Years ago
Locked: Pirie Mini Blitz - SAC Nationals + Whyalla
This detailed write up is from a couple of weeks ago, however I did not post on HOOPS straight away due to the Nationals (at the time) coming up soon, therefore I didn't want to give the opposition too may hints on the teams main scorers etc. However the 'SCOUTS' would know everything by now therefore enjoy the read.
After 3 years in hiatus the Senior Mini Blitz Basketball Tournament made a spectacular return to Port Pirie, with a twist. The twist to this years Blitz was the inclusion of the South Australian Country National U18 Men & Women teams, competing against Whyalla & Port Pirie as a friendly lead up to the annual National Championships, this year being held in Gawler from the 18th to the 25th of April.
With 8 fully timed games to be played it was going to be a very big challenge for each of the teams both physically and mentally as a game lasting a full hour and a half, with the scoreboard usually ticking over to combined scores of between 120 and 150 points per game.
SA Country Women
Over the course of the weekend the SA Country Women were awesome and really never challenged, as they amassed an average score of 92 points per game and keeping their opposition to 42. Lead by Nicole Seekamp who is a recent recipient of an Australian Institute of Sport Scholarship, this South Australian Representative team has a strong chance of winning a Gold Medal at the Championships and went out to improve their game each time they hit the floor.
SA Country Men
The men started their weekend with a loss of 16 points to Whyalla, however after receiving quite the abrupt talking to by Coach Salter, the boys jumped out the blocks against Port Pirie with a 13 point quarter time lead, which held strong to win by 12. The offensive work load was shared quite evenly between Jordan Holliet, Peter Holey and Tom Pinyon. This group of boys are very big and will hopefully with their size dominate a lot of the opposition.
Port Pirie Women
After a shaky start against Whyalla, the PPW were able to finish the game strongly and recorded their only victory for the weekend, but it came at a loss with Jess Dunkley fracturing her Collar Bone. Jordan Rawlins dominated offensively with both Whyalla & the National girls finding her to be the most difficult to guard with the 3rd highest points tally by all teams.
Port Pirie Men
Dominating Whyalla with athleticism and precision passing Port Pirie Lead by Lyall Gillett's 22 points was far too good for Whyalla with a 44 point victory. In game 2 against the SA Country Men, a 13 point quarter time deficit proved too difficult to catch up resulting in a loss by 12 points. Pirie trialled a new offensive structure preparing for the 2009/10 season with the success being a positive.
Whyalla Women
Putting up the best challenge against the SA Country Women, Ebony Curwood brought all of her past representative talent to the floor leading her team with 12 points. In game 2 against Port Pirie, Whyalla jumped out to a strong start outscoring Port Pirie 16 to 7 in the first quarter, but Port Pirie flicked a switch to dominate the remainder of the game. Whyalla was unable to record a victory for the weekend, but enjoyed the challenge.
Whyalla Men
Lead by the evergreen Darren Quinn with 32 points against the SA Country Men in Game 1, Whyalla were completely outclassed by Port Pirie in game 2 resulting in a 44 point loss. This was Whyalla's first combined hit out in over a year having not attended the SA Country Senior Championships in January and unable to field their strongest line up, however they were represented strongly by their team and will be a force when they return next year.
For all game results & individual scorers, please visit the Port Pirie Basketball Associations website at
www.portpirie.basketball.net.au
