Wildcats ready to pounce on grand final berth

Corbin Middlemas, Gold Coast

Updated April 04, 2012 17:12:45

The Perth Wildcats will try to ignore the lagging effects of a horror road trip tonight as they attempt to become the first team through to the NBL's grand final series.

Having taken game one from the Blaze on Sunday, victory tonight on the Gold Coast would ensure direct entry to the NBL's showcase series, while the hosts face sudden death elimination.

Flight problems at Perth Airport delayed the Wildcats over three hours, as their scheduled flight to the Gold Coast (via Sydney) was cancelled at short notice.

The team later boarded a connecting flight to Melbourne, before eventually arriving on the glitter strip after midnight on the morning of the game.

But Perth coach Rob Beveridge was not concerned about any potential impact it may have on his chargers.

"When we found out the flight was cancelled, it's just shrug the shoulders, alright boys, we got in late last night but that's the way it is," he said.

Perth trained strongly this morning at the team's shoot around as they ran through final set play scenarios.

"The guys seem very focussed and very switched on," Beveridge said.

"I think tonight we've got to play edgy and I think we're at our best when we're that way because we know the Gold Coast are going to throw everything at us. It's make or break for them tonight."

The Wildcats took a squad of 11 to the Gold Coast, all of whom made it through the session.

Jeremiah Trueman stood out of Perth's five-on-five drills and is expected to be the unlucky 11th man on the roster.

Mark Worthington was fouled out in game one and was held to just eight points.

The Australian representative will be pivotal for the Blaze if they are to keep the series alive, with Beveridge expecting Worthington to bounce back.

"I suspect that he'll get 15-20 shots tonight. I think he's their best player with [Adam] Gibson and [Adris] DeLeon," Beveridge said.

"He didn't get too many open looks the other night and he was a bit shitty about that.

"It's not often Mark Worthington plays two average games in a row. This is do or die for them, so we have to make sure we're switched on with him."

Gibson has been hampered by an ongoing calf injury over the past month which restricted him to just 18 minutes in game one.

The Boomers guard has also been troubled with his long range shooting of late, hitting just 7 of his past 37 three-point attempts.

All indications on the Gold Coast is he will be more prevalent on court in game two.

The Blaze have an impressive 10-2 record this season at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, including two wins against the 'Cats, while Perth boast the best travelling record in the NBL, 9-5.

Listen to tonight's semi-final on Grandstand Digital from 7:30pm EST, or via streaming online.

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, southport-4215, perth-6000, wa, qld, australia

First posted April 04, 2012 17:05:45

View the original article here

Wildcats force grand final decider

Updated April 20, 2012 23:37:56

Shawn Redhage pulled off a last-second rejection to hand the Perth Wildcats a nail-biting 87-86 victory over the New Zealand Breakers in game two of the NBL grand final series at Challenge Stadium on Friday night.

In a bizarre finish to the match, the Wildcats hit the lead with a minute remaining after Breakers forward Gary Wilkinson accidentally tipped the ball into his own basket.

Then, with the clock counting down, Breakers guard CJ Bruton charged in for what he hoped would be the game-winning lay-up, only for Redhage to come over the top with a massive block to secure the win.

Redhage had endured a dirty night up until that point, but the forward erupted in pure joy after pulling off the game-deciding move in front of a sell-out crowd.

Perth's win levelled the series at 1-1, with the decider to be played in Auckland next Tuesday.

Wilkinson top-scored for the Breakers with 28 points, while CJ Bruton (20 points) and CJ Pledger (14) were also important for the visitors.

The Wildcats hit just one of 18 three-point attempts, but still managed to come away with the win courtesy of an even scoring load.

Star guard Kevin Lisch and Jesse Wagstaff each scored 15, while Matthew Knight (13), Greg Hire (12) and Redhage (12) also chipped in.

Wilkinson was unstoppable in the first half, with the centre nailing 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting to silence the Perth crowd early.

Bruton was deadly from long range as the Breakers opened up a 46-33 lead midway through the second quarter.

Tempers threatened to boil over late in the half as the teams engaged in a push-and-shove, and the extra heat seemed to help the Cats as they closed the deficit to six by the main break.

However, the half ended on a controversial note when Wilkinson was awarded a basket on the buzzer despite Wildcats players believing time had already elapsed.

The Wildcats failed to hit a three-pointer in the opening half, and it took them until the dying minutes of the third term to finally register one.

Several bombs from Bruton in the final term looked to be enough to give New Zealand the win, but the Wildcats kept plugging away and eventually wore down the Breakers.

Star Breakers swingman Tom Abercrombie managed just six points in his first game back from an ankle injury.

AAP

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, perth-6000, wa, australia, new-zealand

First posted April 20, 2012 23:12:35

View the original article here

NBL grand final preview: Breakers v Wildcats

Corbin Middlemas in Auckland

Updated April 12, 2012 16:20:21

Game one of the NBL grand final series has arrived. After 126 regular season matches and six play-off games, tonight the two premier teams in the competition face off at Auckland's Vector Arena.

The rivalry between these two teams is anything but manufactured. It has been built on engrossing tussles and mutual respect.

These sides have shared the past two championships while New Zealand holds a 2-1 series split over the Wildcats this season, separated only by a thrilling overtime result in Perth in which the Wildcats blew a nine-point lead in the last quarter.

Adding to the hostilities, the Wildcats have not forgotten it was the Breakers who ended their championship defence 12 months ago.

"Last year I truly believe if we'd had (Shawn) Redhage we would have won the championship," Perth coach Rob Beveridge told ABC Grandstand.

"We won game one over here in the semi-final series and it was an incredible game by (Kirk) Penney and (Kevin) Braswell at home. We were very much disappointed we didn't go through to the grand final."

The Breakers have again provided an injury byplay to the week, this time centred around star swingman Thomas Abercrombie.

The reigning finals MVP landed awkwardly on his ankle late in game three against the Crocs, and the injury has been the most talked about topic in the lead up to tonight's fixture in Auckland.

It is a sight the Wildcats are all to familiar with, following Mika Vukona's starring comeback from a knee injury to pull in 10 rebounds in last year's semi-final in Perth.

"I'm not buying into it at all," Beveridge said.

"Right now I know Abercrombie will be playing, simple as that. We've prepared as if Abercrombie is going to be there. We haven't changed any game plan whatsoever."

Tonight will also be the first time the Wildcats have played at Vector Arena.

The stadium hosted five Breakers fixtures this season, of which the home side won four.

Their only loss came in game one of the semi-final series against Townsville.

The NBL has declared tonight's game a sell out. Vector Arena seats 9,190 spectators, and tonight's crowd is almost certain to set a new Breakers club and New Zealand basketball attendance record.

Coach Beveridge was impressed when Wildcats had their first look at the arena during today's shoot around.

"I keep saying to our players, this is a very special moment, six of us have experience winning a championship but for the other five players it's going to be fantastic for them to absorb this atmosphere."

Among those five players is Matthew Knight, who celebrates his 100th game, and Luke Nevill who reaches the 50-game milestone.

The Wildcats understand the importance of claiming game one as the traveling team.

"We think if we can win today, we feel fantastic about going home and closing it in two," Beveridge added.

"But that's the Cinderella story, we'd love to do it on our home court."

Of the past 26 grand final series, just four times has a side recovered from defeat in game one to win the championship.

Moreover, it has happened only twice in 20 attempts where travel is such a factor.

In the last 20 best-of-three series in the NBL, the team ranked higher has won 19.

Tickets for game two in Perth on Friday, April 20, sold out within minutes of going on sale to the general public yesterday.

Live coverage of game one can be heard on ABC Grandstand Digital and streaming online from 5:30pm EST, 3:30pm WST.

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, new-zealand, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted April 12, 2012 13:54:29

View the original article here

Breakers advance to grand final again

Updated April 07, 2012 20:18:46

New Zealand will chase back-to-back NBL titles after winning through to the grand final series with a 97-80 game three win over Townsville in Auckland on Saturday night.

The best-of-three series was tied at 1-1 coming into the clash after both sides grabbed road victories in games one and two.

A tight affair was eventually taken by the defending champion Breakers after the hosts pulled away in the fourth period to win.

CJ Bruton led New Zealand with 20 points, while Tom Abercrombie and Daryl Corletto chipped in with 19 each in front of nearly 7,500 fans.

But in a sour note for the Breakers Abercrombie limped off in the dying minutes after a hard foul by Peter Crawford, who was called for an unsportsmanlike foul.

Crawford was the best of the Crocodiles with 24 points, with Luke Schenscher adding 19 and eight rebounds.

Tags: nbl, basketball, sport, new-zealand, townsville-4810, qld, australia

First posted April 07, 2012 20:18:46

View the original article here