GRAND FINAL: GAME 1 REVIEW

WHAT A GAME! The ‘Gippsland Physiotherapy Group’ Gippsland United Men travelled to Pakenham and returned with a resounding victory. In front of a sell-out crowd, many of whom were United fans, the men finished the game with an 11 point win.

The first half was a battle. Neither team could get the ascendency in a very low scoring affair. The score at halftime was 30 – 30. The three point shooting for both teams was missing with both teams only scoring 1 three point shot from 10 attempts. The teams were getting open looks, however the intensity on the court had the shots falling short or long. Jordan Gooiker was excellent in the second term scoring all of his 8 points in a 5 minute burst.

As expected, after halftime, business started to pick up and it was Gippsland United who took control of the game. On offensive rebound from Tom Portbury led to a trip to the foul line and he hit both. Followed by a nice turn-around jump shot from Jordan Canovan gave United a quick 4 point lead.

The next points for United came off the back of offensive rebounds and further trips to the foul line. Stephen O’Brien influential in the early stages of the third, and the entire game. ‘OB’ went head to head with league MVP Joe Davis and was outstanding. ‘OB’ finished the game with 9p, 12r, 5a but more importantly held Joe Davis to 20p, 11r. On a number of occasions, Stephen battled Joe 1v1 on the perimeter and won those battles which provided a huge confidence boost for the entire team.

With 2.5 minutes left in the third term, Pakenham had made three unanswered buckets and it felt like the momentum was swinging to the home team. That was until Alex Bazzzucchini hit a massive 3 point shot, quickly followed by 2 steals (Barlow & Armstrong) and 2 layups, all within 30 seconds to push the margin back out to 12 points. Before the end of the quarter, undisciplined play from Alistair Parker and a technical foul gifted another 2 points to United and a 14 point lead at the break.

Alistair Parker was Pakenham’s best player behind Joe Davis. His competitiveness off the bench gave the home team hope of a comeback victory. He finished the game with 14p, 6r, 4a in a terrific performance.

The final term was the Ben Barlow show. Ben EXPLODED in the fourth term to score 13 of his 20 points, hitting 3 threes in a row which sent the bench and visiting United supporters crazy. The lead was out to as many as 21 points in the final term with United ahead by 11 at the end of the game.

GAME 2 @ GRISS this Saturday Night!

Time: 7pm

Game 3 @ GRISS (if required)

Time: 1pm