Aussies draw Pool B for Wheelchair Championships

courtesy of: basketball.net.au

Wheelies worlds draws announced

12.11.09

The Executive Council of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) has announced the draws for the men's and women's world championships in Birmingham, England that will take place in July next year.

Australia’s Paralympic Gold Medallist men’s wheelchair basketball team has been drawn in Pool B alongside Mexico, France, Turkey, Algeria and Beijing Silver Medallist Canada.

Great Britain and the United States, who ranked third and fourth in Beijing, are on the other side of the draw in Pool A along with Japan, Poland, Italy and Korea.

In the women’s competition, Beijing Paralympics Bronze Medallist Australia has been drawn in Pool A along with The Netherlands, Great Britain, Mexico and Canada.

The United States and Germany, who won Gold and Silver in Beijing, have been drawn in Pool B along with Brazil, Japan and China.

Rollers head coach Ben Ettridge was happy with Australia’s positioning in men’s Pool B.

“The two pools are fairly even but I’d have to say that our pool may be slightly less experienced,” Ettridge said.

“Our pool contains a few unknowns for us in Mexico, France, Turkey and Algeria but each team has obviously done well to get to the worlds so no game will be easy and we need to win the early games to set us up for the crossover matches.

“Mexico beat Brazil at the IWBF Americas, for example, and Brazil was nearly a bogey team for us in Beijing, so that should be a challenging match up.

“Six teams (Poland, Italy, Mexico, France, Turkey, Algeria and Korea) did not qualify for Beijing but have qualified for the world cup so there has been some changing of the guard in world wheelchair basketball and we’ll have to be ready for that.”

Gliders head coach John Triscari was pleased with the women’s draw but stressed the importance of a good start for the Gliders.

“With the US and Germany on the opposite side of the draw to us, we need to win our preliminary games and win them well to secure a good seed for the crossover rounds,” Triscari said.

“If we do that, we’ll be in good shape to push on and achieve great things.”

Men’s and Women’s Pools for the 2010 IWBF World Championships:

Men:

Pool A: Japan, Poland, Italy, Great Britain, USA and Korea
Pool B: Mexico, Australia, France, Turkey, Algeria, Canada

Women:

Pool A: The Netherlands, Great Britain, Australia, Mexico, Canada
Pool B: Brazil, Japan, Germany, USA, China.

Aussie Report

Down Under Wrap

On the Aussie Hoop scene, “Sir” Julius Hodge returned to Aussie shores as a Melbourne Tiger and promptly went to work with a 22 point, 9 rebound, 7 assist and 3 steal debut in leading the Tigers to a 98-91 win over Townsville. The Crocs suffered from indifferent form in going through a one win, two loss week after being blown out by the Gold Coast on the heels of winning the NQ derby over Cairns.

Table toppers Perth and Wollongong suffered losses last week but remained on the top two ladder spots.

There are only four games on the schedule for this week but the matches on Wednesday and Friday nights in North Queensland should be interesting as John Rillie returns to the area with the New Zealand Breakers looking to consolidate their form as the season reaches the midway point.

The last week in the WNBL has seen the resignation of coaches in Perth and Dandenong while on the court, Eva Afeaki lead the Sydney Flames to a fourteen point thumping of Bulleen, the leagues final undefeated team. Elsewhere, Perth gained their first win of the season at the hands of the winless students from the AIS. This week’s action culminates in a huge matchup in Bendigo as the Spirit welcomes Sydney.

By all means get out and support the local product if you are in areas hosting games.

NBA Weekly Update

It’s All Ball Y’all!!!

The NBA season is well and truly underway with the last week bringing some much awaited excitement from Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks. On Saturday “Mr. Jennings”, touched up the Golden State Warriors with a 55 point outing in three quarters no less as he went scoreless in the first term. Also over the last week in the NBA, the Phoenix Suns continued their resurgence with three wins sandwiched around a loss to the defending champion LA Lakers. But in picking a team of the week, I’ll have to go with the Cleveland Cavaliers who are in the midst of a four game winning streak after an indifferent start. Shaq is currently day to day with a shoulder problem but the team as a whole is coming together for a title push this season.

Other surprises thus far in the league are the San Antonio Spurs who are an even .500 while trying to sort through various injuries and adjust to new personnel. The whole Central Division is playing at .500 or better. Miami looks stronger than expected, Denver looks solid and Sacramento has surprised a few people.

My first NBA Top 10: Record Previous Rank

1. Cleveland 7-3 --

2. Boston 8-3 --

3. Denver 7-3 --

4. Orlando 8-3 --

5. Phoenix 9-2 --

6. Atlanta 9-2 --

7. LA Lakers 7-3 --

8. Dallas 8-3 --

9. Portland 8-4 --

10. Miami 7-2 --

Bubbling: Houston, Milwaukee

The Man returns!!

Finally, JR Returns to a venue near you

By

ChuckE

It is a time honoured tradition in Australian sports for well serving sportspeople to have a Testimonial Season or Match. Over the years we have seen it happen for the likes of Wally Lewis, Alfie Langer, John Eales, LeRoy Loggins and countless others from all sports. While the practice has occurred several times in the sport of basketball, this year, supposedly due to financial reasons, the Townsville Cocs saw fit to part ways with John Rillie. Though this did not cause ripples and outrage around the sports world, most in Townsville and any true basketball fans in general were left puzzled. Many remember his commanding performance against Perth in the 2008-2009 NBL playoffs where he led from the front with a captains know of 34 points that included 10 three point bombs.

In the NBL off season there was a reshuffling of the competition with the league cut to eight teams and more local players left without teams. Upon his release by the Crocs, Rillie remained a presence in Townsville whether popping up at North Queensland Cowboy NRL matches or posting rapid fire information to his blog (http://jronfire.blogspot.com).

Fast forward to Wednesday 10 November 2009 and good ol’ JR has arrived on the scene in New Zealand. Visualize a Wild West theme with the new Gunslinger riding in to save the locals. The New Zealand Breakers were the media darlings of the NBL preseason, pick to finish at or near the top of the table. After an opening win against the Gold Coast Blaze, the team has sputtered to a four win, five loss season record. Along the way there have been nagging injuries to a few players with Kirk Penney out from an injury for another two to three weeks. The Breakers made their move on Tuesday releasing import Awvee Storey and signing Rillie.

The move gives the Breakers another veteran player with a winning attitude. Rillie will possibly see his first court time Thursday night as the Breakers host none other than the Perth Wildcats who will be hoping that Rillie on the horizon will not be a bad omen.

Hopefully this will give John Rillie the chance to finish his career on his own terms, not saying that this will even be his last season due to him always being in basketball shape. The NBL will only gain from the return of JR to the game he not only loves but lives.

Previously in a few articles written by yours truly, I have given John the nicknames of “Three Shooter”, due his long range capabilities or “Johnny the Sponge” because in my very first encounter with the very young Toowoomba kid back in the early 1990’s, he had a thirst for knowledge of the game and soaked up any and everything basketball. He was a total devotee to the game and at the time idolized George “Iceman” Gervin and Reggie Miller along with Mr. Jordan. That thirst for knowledge took him on an odyssey the went from Toowoomba to Tacoma and Spokane Washington in the United States, back to Queensland for a stint with the Brisbane Bullets, on to Adelaide for a title run with the 36ers. From there it was a stop in Sydney with the West Sydney Razorbacks before returning to Queensland to captain the Townsville outfit over the last three seasons.

The New Zealand Breakers now have in place upon the return of Penney a very potent long range attack. I am already throwing out the nicknames and thinking of the marketing potential. First up could be “The Posse”, sticking with the western theme featuring John “Three Shooter” Rillie, C.J. “The Kid” Bruton, and “Killer Kirk” Penney. The trio could also be marketed Indiana Jones style as “Raiders from the Three Arc”.

Previously in my blog (http://cdstarrbblog.blogspot.com), I have referred to the NBL with the slogan “Not Bad Lately”, now with the season roughly a third of the way through, things seem to be heating up. If there is a game in your area, get out and have a look. Alternately tune in to the weekly broadcasts on FOX. In conclusion, good luck JR and all other sportsmen plying their trade in these tough economic times.

In Ball Today

Greetings fellow Ballaholics. We are now in our essence with action in the NBL, NBA, WNBL and the ASEAN leagues in full throttle.

In the NBL, Wollongong and Perth top the table with the other eight teams neck and neck heading towards the mid point of the season. There are still a number of top notch players out due to injuries so the power base could shift as they return. Most recently, the Gold Coast Breakers pulled off a huge upset of the New Zealand Breakers last night in NZ.

Meanwhile in the WNBL, Bulleen and Townsville remain undefeated at the top of the ladder. On the bottom rungs sit the AIS and Perth both of whom are hungry for a win. Defending champs Canberra continue to have an up and down ride at this stage of the season but never count them out.

Remember the Singapore Slingers?? Well guess who sits atop the ASEAN Basketball League ladder?? So far the Slingers are undefeated after four matches in the newly formed competition. Have a look through the rosters of the teams on the league website and you will see a few former SEABL players along with a few others who have played here in Australia.

And finally, in the last week, we have gotten our NBA fixes!! Early on, the Denver Nuggets have to be the team of note with Carmelo Anthony lighting up the score sheets. The Orlando Magic are also looking ominous. Defending champion LA Lakers have a few injured players but are winning close games through the scoring of Kobe Bryant. San Antonio rookie DeJuan Blair has proved to be a future double/double machine with his ferocious efforts off the glass.

Oh, don't forget, for us true fans, the NCAA kicks off its season in the next week or two...go Heels!!

Basketball junkies, your fix is on the way!!

Well it is here, the 2009-2010 NBA season kicks off Tuesday night in the US. There are lots of new faces in new places this season along with some familiar ones returning from injuries. For a start I will just make my fearless forecasts.

In the East I see the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavs as the teams to beat while out West, look for a Spurs resurgence in San Antonio along with the always tough Lakers and Dallas as the best picks.

Other surprises could come from the Toronto Raptors, Portland Trailblazers, Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets. In the end I’m going for a Spurs vs. Magic finals series.

Roundup of Aussie action

Round 5 of the 2009-2010 NBL season kicked off with Melbourne pulling off a huge win on the road in Adelaide beating the 36ers 81-70. Mark Worthington went on a tear in the final 10 minutes of the game for the Tigers scoring 15 of his game high 29 points to lead from the front.

Thursday nights action across the Tasman saw the New Zealand Breakers limit the effect of red hot Corey Williams and held on to beat Townsville 92-82. The when came in home game number 100 for the Breakers.

On Friday night, the Gold Coast breakers ambushed Cairns 80-63 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. Winning on the road is proving to be an Achilles Heel for the Snakes.

Saturday night saw the continued slumping form of Corey Williams as Townsville went down for the second consecutive game losing 99-77 to Wollongong on the road. The Hawks remain at the top of the table with only one loss in five outings.

The poor form of North Queensland teams did not change in Cairns on Saturday night as the Snakes fell heavily to the visiting 36ers 106-89. The win was a quick fix for Adelaide after their loss to the Tigers to start the round.

On Sunday Perth recorded their 500^th win in the NBL by squeaking past Melbourne 93-90 in a battle of the Cats at Challenge Stadium. Perth now sits at number two on the NBL ladder.

In the WNBL, the students from the AIS were given another basketball lesson on Friday night, this time at the hands of Adelaide by a 77-52 count. It was a reunion of sorts for the eight players on the Lightning roster who are graduates of the AIS programme.

Friday night also saw a seesaw battle in Sydney where the Canberra Capitals got a much needed 74-72 win. The defending premiers are out to turn their season around after early struggles.

Also on Friday night, Townsville overcame foul trouble throughout the game to pull away from the visiting Perth Lynx 97-81. The win kept the Fire in sight of table toppers Bulleen.

On Saturday night Bulleen dumped Dandenong 80-67 in the Melbourne Derby. In Sunday action Canberra continued its reversal of fortunes by handing the Adelaide Lightning their first loss of the season 100-73 in the nation’s capital. The win helps Canberra make their first appearance in the top half of the ladder and sends an ominous warning to future opponents. Sunday’s other games saw the Logan Thunder top Perth 76-65 at Logan and Dandenong pick up their first win of the season on the road no less beating up on hosts Bendigo 88-72.