Rangers rally for finals berth

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG is preparing for a three-week arm wrestle with the Bendigo Spirit for the last available finals berth in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) after splitting its northern road double last weekend.
The Rangers all but eliminated sixth-placed Townsville from the playoff race by claiming a gutsy 64-60 win over the Fire on Saturday night.
But the bruising encounter left Dandenong vulnerable to Sydney Uni in the controversially postponed Monday afternoon fixture, as the Rangers went down 73-61.
The Flames game was due to be played the previous weekend, but slippery court conditions rendered the Sydney University surface unplayable.
And while the Rangers administration aired its grievances with the league this week over the inconvenient rescheduling of the game, coach Dale Waters and his team must have been satisfied with a 1-1 return from the weekend. Waters, at least, was buoyed by the hard-fought split and eager to tackle a hectic itinerary over the next three weeks.
“In the last two months we’ve won six of eight and only lost to the top two teams (Adelaide and Sydney Uni),” he said. “So we’re starting to peak at the right time and at the moment we can still control our own destiny moving forward.
“If we’re fresh and healthy we can beat any team in the league, so if we make the playoffs we’ll be a bit of a smoky.”
The Rangers, now boasting a 10-9 win-loss record, will play five games in the next 17 days.
While Waters has set his sights on winning at least four of those games, three should almost certainly secure a playoff berth.
The road home will begin on Friday night as Dandenong hosts reigning champion Canberra (14-6, third) at Stud Road. Tip-off is at 7.30pm.