Lakeside Lightning’s hopes of making amends for last year’s Grand Final loss received an early boost with a 98-71 thrashing of Kalamunda Eastern Suns.

The Lightning jumped out to a 28-point lead at half-time and cruised to the opening round victory from there in a performance which showed they could go one better than their loss in the 2010 decider to Willetton.

Import forward Ben Beran only received his immigration clearance on the day of the game but still led Lakeside with 29 points and 21 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end, while substitute guard Brad Jackson hit seven three-pointers on his way to 28 points.

Veteran centre Justin Brown top-scored for Kalamunda with 16 points, while import Dean Hadley had seven points and eight rebounds in his debut for the club.

Perth Wildcats development player Jarrod Balcombe led East Perth Eagles to a 105-78 victory over Mandurah Magic.

The 20-year-old forward, who has appeared in four games for the Wildcats this season, scored 31 points while new import Colin Matteson added 25 for the Eagles.

Tom Remmerswaal had 22 points on a disappointing night for the Magic, who had been tipped by many to make the finals for the first time since 1999.

Rockingham Flames defeated Southwest Slammers 94-75, thanks largely to Rhett Della Maddalena’s 26 points and 19 rebounds.

The Flames were in control for most of the match despite import Matthew Smith’s 23 points for the Slammers, who finished last in 2010.

Southwest’s women didn’t win until their final game of last season, but Bianca Donovan’s 22 points saw them open this year with a 73-59 victory over Rockingham, who finished second in 2010.

Elsewhere, Mandurah overturned a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to beat East Perth 66-63 and Kalamunda defeated Lakeside 64-56.

Article by Jacob Kagi
Photo by Grant Lauterbach

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