Forestville completely dismantled a poor Sturt side at Wayville, winning 99-57, racing to the top of the table at 2-0.

Touted as the match of the round, both teams provided good energy and looked up for the contest. Jake Rios was his usual lively self, notching up the Eagles’ first 5 points on his way to 8 for the quarter.

Isaac White showed plenty of promise, hitting a nice jumper for Sturt but failed to convert his opportunities at the foul-line. Sturt would rue not taking their chances as Forestville went on 20-2 run in sensational style. Antonio Garrett was making his presence felt, picking Claybrin McMath’s pocket and dunking high to get a boisterous crowd on their feet.

Sturt was having little luck, with many shots bouncing out as they sought to halt Forestville’s charge. As they say, fortune favours the brave, as Forestville dared and dashed to a 27-7 lead at the first break.

In a much brighter quarter for Sturt, Jacob Rigoni continued last week’s good form- attacking the basket and knocking down a crucial 3 pointer. As a quiet achiever, Rigoni’s continual improvement is well known internally, but he is now forcing other teams to take notice.

Cale Matthews, whilst used sparingly, held his own in a number of tough defensive plays -drawing fouls. Jan Warbout was also handy in the key with successive baskets mid-way through the term.

For all of Sturt’s improvement, they struggled to contain a powerful Forestville offence. Majok Deng really started to demonstrate his impressive credentials, culminating in a super dunk, as he combined with Jake Rios as they picked apart Sturt’s defence (34 1^st half pts between them) to retain a 22 point advantage at the half.

Forestville kept pushing Sturt in the third, quickly building a sizeable lead. Majok Deng and Stefan Wright (10 for the match) were dominant on boards, as the Eagles thoroughly outrebounded Sturt (47 to 29). Deng was perhaps most impressive at the line, with a perfect 12/12 owning to a precise and balanced technique.

The Eagles were running away with the contest, as the lead hovered around 40 points.

Whilst the game intensity faded late on, Sturt continued to put in despite the lofty margin. The injection of Harry Reemst was positive and Rigoni tirelessly battled, accumulating 18 points as the Sabres best. Tim Klaosen, although fouling out late, showed good heart bringing down some valuable boards.

Having won the grand final re-match last week, Coach Paul Rigoni would be hoping that this display was an early glitch, rather than a reality check.

Majok Deng (34 pts, 8 rebounds) was excellent all night, demonstrating exactly why Forestville worked so hard to get him this season. Perhaps the fact he was fouled 10 times emphasises his impact around the ball, with Sturt struggling to stop his drive to the rim.

Jake Rios (28 pts) and Antonio Garrett (16 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 steals) were both first-rate for the Eagles, sending a potent warning to the rest of the competition.

 

Round 3 Saturday 22^nd April, 8:15 pm:

Eastern Mavericks v Forestville Eagles @ Adelaide Hills

Sturt Sabres v North Adelaide Rockets @ Pasadena