Chambers Franklyn Game Review

Saturday Night Round 8 – Women:

The Chambers Franklyn City of Joondalup Wolves women had their eighth straight win with the biggest battle of the season so far on Saturday night, defeating the Mandurah Magic in Round 8 of the NBL1 West 2022 season, 80-77!

Both the Wolves and the Magic came out with their best defensive effort from the get – forcing 6 turnovers a piece in the first quarter alone. Offensively, Casey Mihovilovich got the Magic rolling with a quick 3-pointer in the first possession.

The Wolves had a real challenge on their hands. Down 7 points with two minutes to go in the first the Wolves needed to make something happen; a big 3 from Kiara Phillips, and a set of foul shots paired with a two-point jumper on the buzzer by Robbi brought it back to a tie ball game at quarter time, 23-23.

Kiara and Robbi would prove to be a big impact on the game down the stretch, but an unfortunate foul call gave Robbi her second foul in the Wolves’ first offensive possession of the second quarter and Robbi was forced to sit the bench the rest of the half. The following offensive possession, Kiara got the Wolves rolling with another 3. Some great plays like a cut to a layup “and-1” by rookie, Hannah Duncan, and some crafty penetration by, point-guard, Tia Ucich also helped the Wolves end up ahead entering half time, 43-38.

Chelsea Belcher answered the Magic’s 3-pointer in the second half with a triple of her own to start the Wolves off. The Wolves defence intensified, and Robbi came out hungry – showing some of her fan-favourite hesitation moves to the rim. Another 3 by Chelsea and an “o-board put-back” by Teige forced the Magic to call a time-out to try and freeze the 57-46 lead with 2.45 to go in the third.

Another big 3 from the Magic, and a series of missed shots, turnovers and fouls pursued after that with Magic capitalizing on a turnover to keep themselves in it. But in the final possession of the third, Robbi brought the ball down finding Akim Lual for a 3 on the buzzer - Wolves up with the biggest lead of the night, 60-51!

The Magic fired back straight away in the fourth quarter with Carly Boag hitting three 3’s in a row closing the lead in 66-60 with 6.40 to go in the fourth. A little over a minute later the Wolves found themselves in another tie ball game after Sarah Toeaina single-handedly put another 6 points on the board for the Magic. The Wolves capitalized on the Magic’s pressure, finding Kiara all alone under the basket, but then Carly came down and hit yet another 3 to give the Magic a one-point lead - and the crowd, one intense ball game! 5 minutes left in the fourth.

Neseya Parker-Williams thrived under pressure, knocking down a crucial fade-away, contributing a huge defensive block right under the basket, and then, after attacking strong to the rim, answering a pair of Magic foul shots with two of her own - the Wolves and Magic playing tug-a-war with the lead. Then Teige came up with a tough “and-1” finish giving the Wolves a 75-71 lead with 2.07 left on the clock.

Two missed free throws followed by a turnover and foul by the Wolves was a series of unfortunate events resulting in another tie game with 1.08 to go; but Robbi fought back with a clutch 2-point jumper – Wolves up 77-75; 39 seconds left. The Magic fought right back capitalizing on an offensive rebound. 77 all - Wolves possession. 19 seconds on the clock.

Coach Marcus Wong called a timeout, drew up a play and although the Magic’s defence swarmed the ball, Robbi managed to get a perfect pass off to Kiara at least a meter off the 3-point line. Kiara let it fly and all oxygen left the stadium as everyone watched the ball rotate through the air, straight down the net. The stadium erupted with cheers as the entire Wolves family celebrated the game winning buzzer beater! Wolves win 80-77!

When asked how it felt to hit the winning shot, Kiara said, “It felt incredible. I think I was just ready to shoot; I wanted to win so bad, so it’s a great feeling that we got the win at the end.”

MVP of the night, Teige Morrell ended with 22 points; shooting 77% from the field. Robbi had 14 points and 3 assists. And Kiara and Neseya ended with 11 a piece with Neseya leading the Wolves with 4 assists on the night.

Head Coach Marcus Wong shared his thoughts on the game: “We knew Mandurah were going to be tough. They’re a quality side and they’ve been playing really great basketball, so you take a win any way you can. And, like we said to the girls, we put ourselves in a position to win and that’s full credit to the whole group.”

The Wolves are on the hunt to continue their winning streak with a big weekend starting with an away game verse the Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday, June 10^th; followed by another home game Saturday June 11^th. Be sure to come out and cheer them on in the next basketball battle!

Saturday Night Round 8 – Men:

The Chambers Franklyn City of Joondalup Wolves men got a big win at home in Round 8 on Saturday night against the Mandurah Magic, finishing up 92-84. It didn’t look like it was going to be the Wolves’ night in the first quarter as they got down a big 14 points, 20-6 to start the game. The crowd and Wolves team looked shocked. 

The Magic men’s team is a talented side - not a team you can often afford to get down big to. Big man Ray Turner, former Sydney Kings import, is a handful down low on the block and a huge threat on the o-boards, who gave the Wolves problems early. Import guard, Daquon Abrom, is a talented scorer as well, and he came out firing, killing the Wolves early going 3/3 from the 3-point line in the first 3 minutes. Top tier players, Jay Bowie and Kyle Armour, were firing as well, and the Magic looked like they’d be tough to beat.

However, at the end of the first quarter, Julian Pesava and CJ Turnage came to life and got the score back to a competitive situation. The Magic were loading up extra defenders and double teams towards CJ all night, and he had some nice passes and assists to Julian. The Wolves finished the first quarter only down 25-19, Julian with 9 points at quarter time, and CJ with 5 points and 3 assists. 

Julian stayed very aggressive in the second quarter and had 18 points at halftime, but the Wolves weren’t all that good, losing the quarter and going into half down 9. At one point, a few easy scores off of CJ passes versus Mandurah’s full court pressure got the game to 5, but then a few more lapses and offensive rebounds given up to Ray Turner, and the lead blew back up to double digits for the Magic.

The Wolves’ resiliency and adjustments shown through following halftime though, and the third quarter was a completely different story. The Wolves started to rebound as a pack, they were stifling on defense, and that allowed them to get out in transition for some easy buckets. The Magic only scored 11 points in the quarter, and the Wolves had 27. A 9-point deficit turned to a 7-point lead, 70-63 at quarter time. Mandurah’s pressure defense had lost its teeth in the quarter, and instead of causing disruption, it was now allowing easy looks in the paint and from the three. 

Jonathan Wade had been quiet through to the fourth quarter, but came out firing to seal the game off. In the first 4 minutes of the fourth, Jonathan had 7 points, and Joel Vaiangina had 2 dunks. This got the Wolves up 16 and the game had a different feeling to it. Two 3s by Jonathan and a couple free-throws by Julian got the game to 89-72 and the game was over. The Magic did a good job of fighting in the last couple minutes to tighten up the score, but the Wolves held on and protected their home floor. 

Julian ended the night with 34 points, 9 rebounds and earned the game MVP. Jonathan had 19 points, including 13 4^th quarter points. And CJ, under high levels of attention from the defense, scored below his averages with 13 points, but made his teammates’ job easier leading the game in assists.

Head Coach David Morrell shared his thoughts on the difference maker of the night: “We started rebounding better. I thought that was taking the air out of our sails a little bit was all the offensive rebounds that they were getting. So, third quarter especially when we made our big run – I think we won the third quarter something like 27-11 – we got just about every defensive rebound, and I think that’s what allowed us to get some momentum going and some offensive pace going as well. I thought early in the first half they were just able to set their traps, set their defence every single possession because it was just them beating us up on the offensive glass, so that was the biggest thing.”

Julian added, “I think defensively it was a lot better in the second half. We rebounded better and ran in transition and capitalized on the opportunities in transition. I think in the first half they got a lot of second chance opportunities. And maybe still had it in the second half, but we limited that where I think it was a mass improvement.”

The Wolves move to 6-2 and face the defending champion Perry Lakes Hawks on Friday the 10^th of June. They are back at home on Saturday the 11^th of June versus the Cockburn Cougars.

Enjoy your WA Day and be sure to come back out and support your Wolves! See you then, Wolfpack Family!