Above: Ranger Ash Cannan strips Sandringham import George Williams of the ball during Dandenong’s game one victory on Saturday night.By Paul Pickering
THE Dandenong Rangers showed no mercy to an undermanned rival in game one of the Big V’s Championship series on Saturday night, drawing first blood in front of a hostile Sandringham crowd.
For the third consecutive year, the Rangers and Sabres stared each other down as the national anthem played to announce their arrival at the Big V’s final hurdle.
The packed house was stunned to see Sabres’ pivot Simon Conn take to the court in his civvies after sustaining a calf injury during the week.
While Rangers coach Warren Dawson had heard rumours of the key omission on Thursday, he later admitted he was stunned to see Conn riding the pine.
“I said to the guys during the week, I don’t care if he’s on one leg, he’s going to play,” Dawson said, adding that he was actually disappointed that the Sabres’ centre couldn’t play.
“You always want to go into battle against their best line-up, you want to see the best possible players out there playing,” he said.
Without Conn’s presence in the paint, Rangers big men Brent Hobba and Ash Cannan ran rampant inside from the opening tip-off.
Hobba pulled in 21 rebounds for the night and compiled 21 points in a dominant performance.
Cannan – the Rangers’ spiritual leader – was at his creative best in scoring 26 points, pulling down 12 boards and restricting Sabres import George Williams to a modest tally of 16 points.
Despite the leadership of Cannan and Hobba, it was the contributions of Dandenong’s supporting cast that bankrolled the 93-75 win.
With captain Vince Inglima having a rare off night, substitutes Jeremy Kirtley, Dwayne Campbell, Adrian Campbell and Matt Witherden all stepped up to embrace the ultimate stage.
All four hit huge three-pointers at crucial stages of the game, effectively halting sporadic Sabres runs and highlighting the gulf in depth between the two sides.
For the Sabres, dynamic point guard Adam Quick did his best to rally his deflated squad, scoring 23 points on the back of an impressive rapid-fire shooting display.
The Rangers, however, never looked like surrendering their vice-like grip on the match, extending the margin at each break to run out comfortable winners.
Dawson praised his team for its swarming defensive pressure and relentless attack on the boards, but lamented an underwhelming shooting performance.
“I still think we can get better,” he warned post-match.
“Our offence isn’t going to miss that many shots again, and the players – to a man – would say the same thing.”
Returning home for game two, the Rangers are 48 minutes away from back-to-back Big V championships.
Dawson this week said the Rangers’ 2007 campaign had been spurred by a perceived lack of respect from the rest of the league.
“We don’t feel like we were given respect by anybody, maybe because they were shocked by us winning the final last year,” he said.
“One of the things we’ve talked about is that we’ve got too much pride within the group to drop off this year.”
While Sandringham is yet to declare Conn fit for Saturday night’s game, Dawson is expecting an all-out assault from the Sabres regardless of their personnel.
“They’re playing for their lives,” he said, predicting a brutal contest.
The Sabres are faced with the task of winning two games in two days at Dandenong Basketball Stadium if they are to complete an unlikely resurgence.
For the Rangers, who are unbeaten at home this year, a win – along with the Championship title – will surely demand the respect and admiration they deserve.
The tip-off for game two is on Saturday at 7.30pm, with Sunday’s decider, if required, starting at 2pm.
