Wheelcats NWBL Minor Premiers
The 2013 National Wheelchair Basketball League season is drawing to a close and round six has all but consolidated the top four in this year’s finals series.
The Be Active Perth Wheelcats were ruthless in winning game one against the Spinning Bullets by 44 points in Perth last weekend and then left no doubt about their title credentials by coasting to a 69 point win in game two.
The Spinning Bullets had pushed the Wheelcats in front of a home crowd earlier in the year but faced a Perth team who was at full strength for just the second time this year. The series win means that the minor premiership is Perth’s for 2013 and they’ll go into round seven very keen to have another look at Wollongong before finals.
Wollongong ensured they’ll finish in second place with a series sweep against the Sydney Uni Wheelkings in the NSW Derby. A 44 point win was followed by a 37 point win with Wollongong’s trademark spread of scoring getting the job done with the big four; Shawn Russell, Brett Stibners, Luke Pople and Nick Taylor all scoring in double figures on both days. Auprince and Grogan were the best for Sydney Uni but the Rollerhawks efficiency was just too much for the young Wheelkings.
In Victoria, the travelling Thunder almost did enough to make round seven very interesting by taking a game off Victoria, winning by 14 points on Saturday night. The Victorians were pushed all the way on Sunday, doing just enough to squeak past the Thunder 55-57. Daniel Del Toso was massive with 27 points and 22 rebounds in that game but Victoria’s ability to find a second scorer in Campbell Message (15 points) that was the difference in the end.
The seventh and final round of the 2013 NWBL regular season sees a league first with two mini-cluster rounds. The Sydney Uni wheelkings will host both the Wollongong Rollerhawks and Be Active Perth Wheelcats while the Adelaide Thunder will play host to the RSL QLD Spinning Bullets and Victoria.
For the top four teams moving onto finals it’ll be a dress rehearsal for what’s to come later this month while the teams not moving on will look to end their year on a positive note. Either way, round seven will act as a teaser for what’s building up as a very exciting final series.
Focus:
It’s hard to look past big man and WAIS scholarship holder Justin Eveson who is having another dominant season, leading the league in points per game (26), rebounds per game (11.4) and assists per game (7.2), at an average of approximately 27 minutes court time per game.
Fellow big man Robbie Pike who is often overlooked by opposition teams just continues to get the job done averaging 15 points, six rebounds and four assists per game, coming off the Wheelcats bench. Efficiency has been the key to Pike’s game in 2013, who has put up those number shooting at 62% while averaging just 19 minutes of court time per game.
Andrew Liddawi doesn’t hit the scoresheet as often as the big power forwards but has played much bigger minutes this season and continues to develop as a quality low pointer.
Report Card:
There is only one way to describe the way the Wheelcats have played their basketball in 2013, ruthless. The Undefeated Wheelcats has scored 200 more points than second placed Wollongong and at the same time, conceded 200 less points than their closest rivals.
The Wheelcats almost boast the complete starting five of the Australian National team but they’ve only managed to hit the court together once so far in 2013 (Round 1 v Wollongong). The depth off their bench is second to none in the NWBL and is the reason they have been able to continue to win games while not being at full strength.
Having said all that, the Wheelcats can ill afford to become complacent in their run home. The Rollerhawks saved their best basketball until finals in 2011 and 2012 and are building nicely towards another Championship effort in 2013 while the Spinning Bullets have announced their arrival as legitimate NWBL contenders.
-NWBL