Sport
12 May, 2021
A half-dozen charges
THE Red Devils have won their share of games this season almost entirely from beyond the three-point arc, typically energised by their potent arsenal of Zayd Myrteza, Ricaydan Wason and Luke Fresta.
THE Red Devils have won their share of games this season almost entirely from beyond the three-point arc, typically energised by their potent arsenal of Zayd Myrteza, Ricaydan Wason and Luke Fresta.
Before tip-off it seemed that easy beats, Ballers, had little hope of containing the three-point barrage from four expert outside marksmen.
For Ballers, Dean Gallo and Chris Maloney worked for each other inside and Ethan Cummings sprinkled a few threes.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the Red Devils were quiet from long-range, but a storm was brewing.
That weather system was Zac Myrteza, he caught and shot in the paint, again, and again and then some more, his occasional miss he cleaned up and deftly reclaimed the net.
Late in the second quarter, Devil centre Dave McGrath joined in on this inside shooting frenzy and he held form in the third.
The fourth quarter was hot, and young Peter Lipede was playing well above his market value for the Ballers, composed with the rock in hand and scuttling defensively in front of far more experienced and imposing opposing guards.
Still, it was cunning Craig Farley waiting until the curtain to challenge a gallant defence. Devils 59 just over Ballers 57 in a surprisingly close game.
The second match of the night was always going to be a tussle, and so the first half produced genuine momentum shifts.
Kieran Turner and Brennan Collis came out blazing and the Buckets (formerly known as Council) were up 24 to 12 by the first break.
However, the tide shifted in the second quarter and the Ray shoal closed within two by end of half.
Ryan Mawdsley hustle was the noticeable key, and Warren Thomson capitalised dishing repeatedly to an in-form Jerome Gully.
In the second half, the foul tally escalated, a sign of two teams craving victory. The whistle was fair, with a whopping 48 infringements reported to the score bench, split 24 apiece.
Four players fouled out of the game, two per team, and a further three players escaped on the four-foul cusp.
The brilliance of Thomson reading overzealous ball carriers was the positive story to arise from the foul count. He took six charges in the game, a statistic not recorded in the modern era in Mareeba men’s fixtures for over a decade.
Darryl Turner provided discerning passing options especially when his team got stuck in the right-side corner.
The young combination of Turner junior (23 pts) and Brennan Collis (38 pts) kept the scoreboard ticking over and Ben Washington (7pts) found some range that has eluded him in recent weeks.
It seems the younger Bucket guards are still unaware of the range that Washington possesses as indeed he is quality catch and shoot.
Unfortunately, Washington’s unselfishness remains unrewarded with him frequently open on the perimeter.
The low point of the night was crowd favourite T. Bear succumbing to a calf muscle strain, and this will likely present challenges for the Stingrays in coming weeks whilst Gully’s fitness remains questionable. Buckets 79 Stingrays 70 at final siren.
