Dandenong’s Adrian Campbell calls the shots during the Rangers’ 90-81 win over the Sandringham Sabres on Saturday.By Paul Pickering
IT WAS billed as a Big V League showcase, a top-of-the-table clash between two teams which like one another about as much as they like losing.
It did not disappoint.
Admittedly, the Dandenong Rangers and Sandringham Sabres squared off in Saturday night’s Championship Men’s qualifying final with little more than bragging rights on the table.
But with both teams assured a home preliminary final, this battle was to be fuelled by a developing rivalry between the undeniable benchmarks of the competition.
Adding further interest to the match was the abundance of current and former National Basketball League-listed players taking part, including Rangers Ash Cannan and Brent Hobba and Sabres Simon Conn, Adam Quick and Joe Ingles.
To the bemusement of the crowd at Dandenong Stadium, the Sabres started Ingles – reigning NBL Rookie of the Year – on the bench in favour of its established starting five.
Just seconds after tip-off it was Ingles’ former South Dragons team-mate Cannan who slashed to the basket for the first score of the match, picking up where he left off from last week’s 28-point outing against Ringwood.
While the Rangers looked sharp in opening up an early lead, Sabres import George Williams was virtually unguardable at the other end, terrorising the Rangers defence on his way to a first-half double-double of 16 points and 11 boards (27 points and 12 rebounds for the night).
Ingles had little impact upon entering the game midway through the first term, while Dwayne and Adrian Campbell hit back-to-back threes to stretch the Rangers’ lead to nine at half-time.
The Sabres rallied in the third term – just as Dandenong coach Warren Dawson had told his team they would – and took the lead at three-quarter time on the back of an astonishing period of individual brilliance from Ingles.
The 19-year-old Boomers squad member scored 10 of his 19 points in the space of two minutes, knocking down consecutive three-point bombs and wreaking havoc with his long limbs on the defensive end.
The Rangers cranked up the defensive pressure in the last quarter, with Brent Hobba making his presence felt in the paint.
Captain Vince Inglima’s crucial pair of three-pointers in the final term book-ended an eight-point streak from Cannan, which included a pretty running hook shot from the baseline.
Fittingly, it was another jumper from the skipper that iced the game with one minute on the clock – the Rangers winning 90-81.
While Dawson was under no illusions about the meaning of the win, he was pleased by his team’s ability to control the tempo and execute under pressure.
“They made a run and we were able to withstand it,” he said.
“I thought our defence was just smothering in the fourth.”
As good as Cannan (22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists), Inglima (26, 6, 4) and Hobba (5 points, 10 rebounds) were, Dawson was keen to praise the efforts of his role players, noting the vital contributions of guards Jeremy Kirtley, David Godfrey and Mick Wheeler.
“If you have any interest in basketball, you can’t walk away from a game like that and be disappointed,” he said.
The Rangers will now meet Hume City in this week’s sudden death preliminary final at Dandenong Stadium.
The Broncos knocked off Warrnambool by a solitary point on Saturday night, and, having beaten the Rangers early this month, will take some confidence into the game.
Tip-off is at 8pm.
