Chambers Franklyn Game Review

Saturday Night Round 11 – Women:

The Chambers Franklyn City of Joondalup Wolves women keep on rolling with 13-0 solidified against the East Perth Eagles in the NBL1 West Round 11 on Saturday, 105-70!

It was a beautiful day for some beautiful basketball as the Wolves entered Eagles’ territory for the first Wolves vs Eagles match-up of the season. Unfortunately, Captain Chelsea Belcher would not be suiting up for the Wolves due to an ankle injury, but “Big Bad Belcher” (as her team members call her) would not let the circumstances steal the hype. It was game time.

Teige Morrell and Eagles new centre, Ellyse Ironmonger, went head-to-head starting things off with the tip. The Wolves missed a 3 in the first possession, which lead to the Eagles getting the first 2-points on the scoreboard from a transition bucket followed up with a Wolves turnover in the next possession. It was a scrappy battle to begin with, but Teige got the Wolves going 2-minutes in with an offensive board put-back “and-1”. And Neseya-Parker Williams led the first-quarter battle with 12 points; Wolves up 24-20.

The Wolves started the second quarter with a defensive possession that lead to an offensive rebound for the Eagles who capitalized with an easy bucket down low. Giving up another 19 points in the quarter, the Wolves defence was lacking in the first half. Offensively, Robbi turned up with an “and-1” to get her 11 points on the quarter started. The Eagles kept things close; trailing the Wolves by just 3 points with 1:29 left in the half. But Robbi stretched the lead by drawing a foul, sinking the free-throws, and getting a 3 in the very next possession. Wolves entered half-time on top, 47-39.

The second half was another story with the lead stretching out to 24 points in the third quarter and Robbi simply having a field day with 18 points in one quarter alone. The Wolves found their defensive mojo again too and, in the fourth quarter, they held the Eagles to just 13 points. The perfect way to solidify their 13 and 0 run; defeating the East Perth Eagles 105-70.

Robbi ended her double-double MVP performance on the night with 39 points, 14 rebounds, and a great 59% from the field including 63% (5/8) from the three. And the Wolves’ ‘3-headed monster’ came to play with Teige adding 23 points on 64% from the field, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. And Neseya ending the night with 17 on 54% from the field, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, along with 4 steals.

Wolves Head Coach, Marcus Wong, shared his thoughts on the game: “I thought East Perth really brought it to us early and rattled us at the offensive end all game. Credit to our girls who stuck at it and were able to execute the required adjustments at half time and come away with another solid team performance.”

The Wolves next game will be another big re-match against the Cockburn Cougars on Cougar territory next Saturday, 2^nd July! So be sure to come out, bring your best Wolfpack hype and cheer the Wolves on to another victory!

Saturday Night Round 11 – Men:

The Chambers Franklyn City of Joondalup Wolves men solidified a 10-3 record over the weekend defeating the East Perth Eagles in the NBL1 West Round 11 on Saturday, 83-61.

The Eagles came into the game sitting in the bottom 3 on the ladder at 1-10, and the Wolves were sitting at 9-3 at the 4 spot. However, this was a new looking Eagles team. 

On top of Justin King who has been with the team all year, and averaging 21ppg, the Eagles just added Shaquille Maharaj to the roster last week. Maharaj, a 6’5 wing, averaged 25ppg in the West Coast Classic in 2020. And playing minutes for the first time of the year on Saturday, was American big man Lee Roberts, and Uruguay-born import Sergio Diego Soarez. 

But the Wolves came out and took control early. Jonathan Wade had the first 8 points for the Wolves, 2/2 from 3 in the opening minutes, plus a pair of free throws. As a team, the Wolves’ defense was stifling. The first quarter ended with the Wolves up 22-12, an early lead that would be a welcome sight for a team that has struggled in first quarter play throughout the season.

The Eagles switched to a full-court trap in the second quarter and, at first, it slowed up the Wolves forcing a few more turnovers than they would’ve liked. But at the end of the second quarter, a Josh Bloxham made 3, followed by a Julian Pesava made 3 off of a CJ Turnage assist, and Pesava getting fouled on a 3pt attempt and making 2/3 free throws, all steadied things for the Wolves who went into half with a reasonable 44-30 lead. 

Lee Roberts came out of halftime very aggressive and had 7 early points. But the scores were mixed with stops as well, and the Wolves did well offensively. The lead stretched to 20 in the first 4 minutes of the third quarter and hung around that mark the rest of the way. The closest it got from there was 16 points, the biggest the lead got was 24. The final score ended 83-61.

Earning MVP of the game, Jonathan had 27 points on 59% shooting and 7 assists. Julian had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 3 steals. CJ had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. And Joel Vaiangina also chipped in 11 points on 67% shooting. It was a well-rounded Wolves effort.

Wolves Head Coach, David Morrell shared his thoughts on the game: “I was very pleased with our focus to start the game. We played 40 minutes of defense with the right force and spirit and it showed up on the scoreboard. That Eagles team had a lot of guys that can really score the ball, so for us to hold them to 61 showed something.”

The Wolves play the Cockburn Cougars on the road this week. It was a very exciting 1-point win for the Wolves in a comeback at HBF Arena in the last face-off. It’s likely going to be another game full of excitement as the 5^th place Cougars try to push into the top 4. Be sure to come be a part of cheering your Wolves on to another victory! We’ll see you there, Wolfpack Family!

If you can’t make it out on the night, tune in to the livestream right back here on our website!