SBL Men Show Grit in Comeback
The Redback Men displayed exceptional early season character on Saturday evening as they overcame a 17 point half time defecit to defeat the Cockburn Cougars.
Minus reigning club MVP Adrian Majstrovich who sustained a slight hamstring injury in game 1, it was young big man Michael Vigor who filled the scoring void, with a game high 30 points. In an impressive all-round game the Wildcats development player also contributed 7 rebounds, 4 asssists and 2 blocked shots.
Point-guard Joel Wagner reminded why he is the league's pre-eminent point man, leading from the front with 18 points and 11 assists.
American Blake Bender continued to display his all-round chops with a sensational line of 16 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. He was well supported by new reserve big man Shaun Bennison with a solid 8 and 8.
The win came on the back of some impressive second half defense which restricted the Cougars to 31 second half points. That defense was equally impressive the previous night in a wire to wire win over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
Against the Suns it was Forward Adrian Majstrovich who top-scored for the Redbacks with 31 points and 18 rebounds as he claimed the 2012 Len Vlahov Memorial Award.
The anticipated return of Jarrad Prior was impressive with the former Wildcats Development Player scoring 17 points while hounding the Suns' backcourt on his way to 4 steals, while Veteran Shooting Guard Ryan Neill showed no effects from off-season knee surgery, coming off the bench to score an incredibly efficient 19 points.
Bender again made a solid contribution with six assists, six points, six rebounds and five steals.
The back to back wins see the Redbacks’ men in second-place in the 14-team competition.
The Redbacks will host the Perry Lakes Hawks this Saturday at the Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre, with the women’s game starting at 6PM and the men’s game at 8PM.
The boys will be straight back to work with a Sunday away game against the Wanneroo Wolves at the Joondalup Basketball Stadium, with tip-off for the women’s game at midday and the men’s game at 2PM.
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