Rangers rally to clip Eagles’ wings

By Paul Pickering
WITH its status as the Big V yardstick under threat, Dandenong vented its frustrations with a 61-point drubbing of lowly Diamond Valley in the Championship Men’s division on Saturday night.
After lowering their colours to a rampant Melbourne Tigers unit the previous week, the Rangers were relentless against the Eagles, extending the lead at every break on their way to a 129-68 victory.
As the end scoreline would suggest, Dandenong was dominant in every aspect of the game.
Typically, it was Vince Inglima (26 points, 11 rebounds), Ash Cannan (28, 8) and Brent Hobba (25, 8) who led the way as the Rangers bullied the hosts on the boards (53-42).
But Dandenong’s renewed vigour – prompted by some home truths from coach Warren Dawson last week – was most evident in a stingy second-half defensive stand that allowed just 26 points.
Equally promising was a 16-point, 12-rebound return from back-up centre Matt Witherden, his best performance since sustaining an ankle injury mid-April.
The Rangers’ willingness to make the extra pass was evident in a one-sided assist count (28-10), with David Godfrey (11) the main distributor.
The range of Hobba was again on full display, as the sweet-shooting big man nailed six three-pointers for the night.
As a unit, Dandenong shot an impressive 50 per cent from behind the arc.
For the shell-shocked Eagles, handy contributions from Dane Steinke (18), Tom Burns (16) and Jerome Cole (14, 11) were all the home fans had to cheer about.
The Rangers, now 14-2 for the season, will host Ringwood at Stud Road on Sunday before hitting the road for a three-game away stretch to finish the regular season.
Already, a 13 July showdown with Sandringham (12-2) is shaping as the clash that may decide home-court advantage throughout the play-offs.
Meanwhile, in the Championship Women’s division, Dandenong all but cemented a play-off berth with an impressive 71-55 against Geelong at The Arena on Sunday.
An authoritative performance from forward Faith Probst (24, 13) guided the Rangers to a wire-to-wire victory.
Probst received valuable scoreboard support from Mel Colcott (13) and Fahy Phan (10), while Demelza Waixel grabbed 11 boards for the afternoon.
Dandenong is now sitting in third spot with a 11-5 record, two games clear of fifth-placed Sandringham, the only side outside the top four that could press for a play-off berth.
The Rangers are at home to Eltham from noon on Sunday.