The GMHBA Miners and Harvey Norman Ballarat Rush suffer heavy defeats in Round 4
The GMHBA Miners and Harvey Norman Ballarat Rush suffer heavy defeats in Round 4
Written by Kasey Cornwell
Photo by Melanie Whelan
With a 43 point loss to the Kilsyth Cobras the Ballarat Harvey Norman Rush will be focusing on improving their defence and communication in preparation for the next round. Game MVP Shenae Graves was the team’s highest scorer with 15 points and 6 rebounds. In co-captain Abbey Wehrung’s return to the court she managed 12 points and 4 rebounds and was ably assisted by Kristy Rinaldi and Kasey Burton on 8 points apiece.
Abbey Wehrung notes that because the side is a new team they are still somewhat disjointed, but emphasized that they will stay positive and stick together in order to come out strong next week. Shenae Graves thinks the team will be focusing on defence and boxing out to make an improvement for the next round.
The Rush unfortunately did not execute for the 40 minutes and gave Kilsyth a lot of second chance points according to Wehrung. Communication seemed to be an issue on court for the Rush said Graves, in terms of defensive rebounding she was disappointed considering how athletic the team is and how much they pride themselves in their effort on court.
Head Coach Peter Cunningham thought that the Rush lacked teamwork on the court Sunday afternoon and was disappointed in this due to their high intensity trainings during the week. For next week Cunningham has challenged the team to improve their mentality, teamwork and their willingness to play hard and is hopeful that they will make an improvement for the next round.
The GMHBA Ballarat Miners also went down to the Kilsyth Cobras by 22 points.
Game MVP Liam Gibcus notched up 16 points and 6 rebounds, while Roy Booker scored 30 points in the loss. Kodi Augustus also managed a total of 16 points.
While the Miners were up by 3 points at the main break, Gibcus felt the intensity dropped off at the commencement of the third quarter and while Kilsyth was able to come together and play well, the Miners dropped their heads and the intensity went away. The Miners were strong and athletic on the court, but Kilysth managed to keep on top, beating them with points in the paint, rebounding and points from turnovers.
Basketball is a game of momentum; they swung the momentum into their favour said co-captain Kris Blicavs on the Miners’ disappointing third quarter. He felt there were a couple of breakdowns in the team’s communication. While Blicavs managed 8 points and 6 rebounds, he says the team needs to refocus and be willing to play ruthless and aggressive.
Gibcus is hopeful to get a bit of the fire back at training this week. He believes the team and he will be ready to play, ready to compete and ready to win for next week. Because that’s what it all comes down to in the end, and Gibcus believes the team will come out firing.
Blicavs wants the team to take the game a bit more personally, “you get beaten in defense, next time you say I’m not going to get beat this time”. Blicavs has a strong desire to make sure the team comes out next week and shows the supporters how they want to play.
The GMHBA Ballarat Miners & the Ballarat Harvey Norman Rush continue their seasons against Nunawading on Saturday 2 May at Nunawading and return home to the Mars Minerdome from 12:00pm Sunday 3 May to take on Frankston. Tickets can be purchased at the Mars Minerdome.