Rangers make eight straight

THE Dandenong Rangers championship men’s side stretched their winning streak to eight on Saturday night, thrashing the Waverley Falcons 90-54 in their Big V match at Waverley Basketball Stadium.
Dandenong dominated their opposition all over the court and were led by Brent Hobba, who scored 35 points and converted almost 60 per cent of his field goal attempts.
Lester Strong and Ash Cannan played important supporting roles, Strong netted 24 points and Cannan 15 points.
The Falcons worked tirelessly on closing down the space Strong had to work with inside the key, and managed to slow the star import.
But Hobba was relentless, scoring at will and ensuring the Rangers would record an impressive win.
Rangers veteran Mark Roberts played an inspired game in defence.
Dandenong coach Warren Dawson was at his charismatic best on the sidelines, engaging in banter with the referees throughout the night.
But whatever Dawson is doing is working and the Rangers side has not looked better this season.
Hobba, Strong and Cannan are combining like lifelong teammates and the team appears a closely-knit unit.
Assistant coach Michael Wheeler said things were finally starting to click.
“The team is really starting to become organised and we are beating quality sides,” he said.
Wheeler was all praise for Hobba and Strong.
“Athletically, Strong is as good as you’ll get anywhere in Australia,” he said.
“Hobba is our X-factor, he plays everywhere.”
Strong was named the Big V Player of the Month for May, alongside Dawson, who snared the coaches’ award.
Wheeler said Strong was an obvious choice.
“I thought he was a bit stiff last month,” he laughed.
“It’s great for Lester and the team as a whole. We had a great month in May and expect to win our way through the rest of the season.”