With just 1 round to go before finals are upon us, our two senior Pivot teams took to the court looking to generate some form heading into the postseason. With both teams guaranteed a spot in the 2022 playoffs, there is much anticipation about where each team will fall in the seeding. Check out how both teams went in this week’s review below!
CHAMPIONSHIP WOMEN
Coming into round 17 down two starters in Eve Braslis and Raini Matthews who are preparing for their NBL1 Finals run. Our Pivot City Women took on the challenge of first placed Sharks on court 4 last night in what was a very tight matchup throughout.
‘1st v 2nd was always a challenge with a depleted squad, we regained Vanessa marsh from holidays which was a positive, we also called upon 14 yo Evie Perez to fill the point guard role.’
Starting slow out of the gate, Pivot struggled to get their scoring going as Sharks jumped out to a quick lead. Some tough inside finishes from Pivot’s bigs however halted Sharks through the first as Pivot headed into quarter time down just 4.
The second quarter rolled around and Pivot picked up where they left off, stifling the main scoring outlets for Sharks allowing just 8 points and regaining momentum heading into half-time drawn at 25 all.
‘Evie Perez was given the role of guarding Georgia Varley and Evie was outstanding’ holding Georgia to a season low of 6, allowing Pivot to keep pace with the well-drilled Sharks outfit.
Through the third quarter, things stayed relatively the same with the lead going back and forth throughout. Trailing by 1 with 10 to play it was anyone’s game as both teams looked to take control in the fourth.
Again the lead went back and forth in the early stages of the fourth with Sharks grabbing a small advantage in the late stages of the game.
‘With only 6 players we were in the contest for the entire game and unfortunately missed some open shots in the last 2 minutes to go down by 6.’
While the game remained close it was Sharks who were able to get the better of Pivot once again in a tight 6-point loss 67-61.
Vanessa Marsh was brilliant in her return with 23, while Casidhe Green’s 16 and Eve Perez’s 14 contributed well also.
The team will look to finish our the regular season with a win against Try Boys at 8:15 next week.
CHAMPIONSHIP MEN
Our Championship Men were looking to lock in their finals spot in round 17 with a win ensuring they would finish 3rd on the ladder and face YMCA in round 1 of the playoffs.
Starting out strong Max Kos was seemingly unable to miss as Pivot jumped out to a quick 18-point lead.
‘after a 24 to 6 in the opening quarter thanks to Max Kos’s very hot hand we didn’t have much trouble in accounting for Kings.’
Leading 31-15 through the first 10 minutes, it was smooth sailing as Pivot looked to run up the score through the following 3 quarters.
With all players hitting the scoreboard early it was down the defensive end that Pivot took even more control.
Slipping slightly in the third and early in the fourth the Kings made a run to cut the lead to 12 however Pivot were able to find the hot hand to extend the lead back out and get the game out of reach for the Kings.
‘The game became a shoot-out in the last quarter with defence not being a priority, was great to see Aaron Ruiz get involved when the game was getting close, Jordan, Cohen, James, Tyler and Alex all having moments of glory during the game.’
The Men were ultimately able to run away 18 points winners, 106-88 behind 31 points from Max Kos. Cohen Blythe was also great chipping in 21 while Jordan O’Leary put up 15.
The Men will look to hand Wildcats their first loss of the season in the final round of the regular season next week before setting their sights on YMCA in the first round of finals.