Press Release by Noel Rowsell - 21st September, 2010

PERTH WHEELCATS TOO STRONG FOR WOLLONGONG ROLLER HAWKS

The Perth Wheelcats have continued their dominance of the National Wheelchair Basketball League (NWBL) competition, defeating the Wollongong Roller Hawks 101-81 on Sunday afternoon at the Shellharbour Basketball Stadium, in an entertaining grand final, to claim their fifth successive premiership title success.
Shaun Norris (Wheelcats) confirmed his status as the world's undisputed best mid-point player, grabbing triple-doubles in both the major semi-final and the grand final.

Few teams in the world can boast of such dominance in their chosen sport for an extended period of time and the Wheelcats must certainly relish their unique situation, with their team including both the number one-ranked high-point player (Justin Eveson) and number one-ranked mid-point player (Norris), along with a strong support crew of both seasoned and young players.

The Wheelcats began the Finals Weekend in impressive form, defeating the Roller Hawks 90-78 on Friday night in the major semi-final, while the Brisbane Spinning Bullets defeated the Dandenong Rangers 79-63 in the minor semi.

These two results put the Spinning Bullets and Roller Hawks against each other in the preliminary final on Saturday evening, with the Roller Hawks winning 80-60 to progress through to Sunday's grand final and another clash with the imposing Wheelcats.

The grand final was enthralling during a very tight first half, with neither team dominating the action.
That all changed in a one-sided second half, with the Wheelcats hitting top form and racing away for a twenty-point win.

Major Semi-Final: Perth Wheelcats 90 (Shaun Norris 35 points, 11 boards, 10 assists; Adam Deanes 19 points, 7 boards; Justin Eveson 18 points, 19 boards, 7 assists, Nick Radovich 12 points, 6 assists) def Roller Hawks 78 (Brett Stibners 34 points, 10 boards; Tristan Knowles 20 points, 10 boards, 16 assists, Yvon Rouillard 18 points, 7 boards)

Minor Semi-Final: Brisbane Spinning Bullets 79 (Bill Latham 26 points, 15 boards; Augustin Alonso 22 points, 11 boards; Adrian King 20 points) def Dandenong Rangers 63 (Shaun Groenewegan 26 points, 8 boards; Dylan Alcott 15 points; Brook Quinn 6 points, 10 boards)

Preliminary Final: Wollongong Roller Hawks 80 (Tristan Knowles 41 points, 9 boards, 8 assists; Yvon Rouillard 18 points, 16 boards; Brett Stibners 11 points; Shawn Russell 11 rebounds) def Brisbane Spinning Bullets 60 (Bill Latham 23 points, 7 boards; Augustin Alonso 15 points, 13 boards)

Third/Fourth Playoff: Dandenong Rangers 72 (Shaun Groenewegan 29 points, 11 boards; Billy Ferguson 11 points, 9 boards; Dylan Alcott 9 points, 8 assists; Jannik Blair 8 points; Brook Quinn 8 points, 6 assists) def Brisbane Spinning Bullets 67 (Augustin Alonso 41 points, 17 boards; Bill Latham 12 points, 14 boards, 8 assists, 4 steals)

GRAND FINAL: Perth Wheelcats 101 (Shaun Norris 43 points, 12 boards, 15 assists; Robert Pike 18 points; Nick Radovich 15 points; Justin Eveson 11 points, 22 boards, 9 assists) def Wollongong Roller Hawks 81 (Tristan Knowles 39 points, 10 boards, 9 assists; Brett Stibners 16 points, 7 assists; Yvon Rouillard 13 points, 6 boards)

Photo: Shaun Norris shoots over Great Britain captain and former WheelKings import Jon Pollock at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)