Round 12
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Sunshine Coast Phoenix v Cairns
Marlins
The Phoenix have kept their playoff
hopes alive after splitting their round 11
double header. Sunshine Coast were
unable to hand the Capitals their first
loss of the season, going down by 20
points despite a monster night from
Eric McAlister who finished with 24
points and 18 rebounds. They were
able to bounce back with a strong
road victory over Southern Districts
largely thanks to a big 34-point third
quarter. McAlister balled out again
with 28 points, 12 boards and 6 dimes.
Cairns made light work of the visiting
Rockhampton Rockets with a 23-point
thumping. Christian Jurlina was the
game’s highest scorer with 29, whilst
Krslovic and Hamilton both had
point-rebound double-doubles. With
Phoenix only a game from eighth and
Cairns one game outside of fourth
this is a huge contest which will have
a large impact on playoff seedings.
Phoenix have dropped 4 of their
past 5 at home and will need to turn
around this form if they are to be any
chance of a playoff berth. Cairns in a
close one.
USC Rip City v Townsville Heat
USC pulled off the upset off the
weekend winning an overtime thriller
on the Gold Coast against the Rollers.
Isaih Tueta was huge for the visitors
with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 4
steals whilst playing all 45 minutes.
Jamerson and Bradley both put in 23
of their own. Jamerson was impactful
on the defensive end with 5 steals and
3 blocked shots. The unlikely win has
kept Rip in the eighth seed, a game
clear of Phoenix in ninth. Townsville
were able to hand the Meteors their
first home loss of 2019 in convincing
fashion by a whopping 35 points.
This was the second team the Heat
have knocked off Mackay in a 9-day
timeframe. Wilcher put in 28, whilst
Tudehope had a 19 point/14 rebound
double-double. Townsville now find
themselves a game clear in second
position on the table. It appears the
Heat are starting to put it all together
at the right time of year and we don’t
see them losing this one as they look
for their 5th straight W.
Gold Coast Rollers v South West
Metro Pirates
Gold Coast will be looking to bounce
back after a disappointing overtime
loss to USC at home in round 11.
Spencer Parker put in a game-high
29 points in the loss, whilst Thalo
Green pulled in 11 boards including
5 on the offensive end. The loss
sees the Rollers drop to third on the
table, but due to Mackay’s recent
struggles Gold Coast are still two
games clear of fourth. South West’s
poor form of late has continued,
this time with a 30-point drumming
at the hands of Rockhampton. The
Rockets were entering the third game
of the weekend and still managed to
blow the Pirates off their home court.
Nelson Larkins and Jarred Bairstow put
in 28 and 21 respectively. The Pirates
have dropped to 4-8 on the season
after losing four straight matches.
Gold Coast will be eager to get back
on the winners list after last rounds
minor hiccup and should be able to
do so comfortably over the struggling
Pirates.
Logan Thunder v Gold Coast
Rollers
The Thunder were able to capitalise
on a strong opening half where they
led Gladstone by 16 at the major break
which set up a comfortable 14-point
home victory. Mitch Young put in an
efficient 25 points and 12 rebounds
on only 13 shot attempts, whilst Bryan
Coleman had 24 points of his own.
The win puts Logan two games clear
inside of the top 8 in seventh position.
Logan will face the Gold Coast Rollers
who come to town for the second
game in two days after a Friday night
matchup with the Pirates. The Rollers
who have lost two of their past five
matches cannot afford to drop many
more if they want to keep their grip
on third position on the ladder with
only 4 rounds remaining. In what is a
difficult match to predict, we think the
Rollers may prove to be too strong on
the road for the Thunder at Cornubia
Park Sports Centre.
North Gold Coast Seahawks v
Southern Districts Spartans
The Seahawks returned home for
the first time in five weeks only to
go down narrowly to the Ipswich
Force at Runaway Bay Stadium.
Despite taking a 6-point buffer into
the second North Gold Coast were
outscored 15-32 in the third quarter
which enabled the Force to pull the
game in their favour. Five Seahawks’
players scored in double figures,
whilst Quinton Campbell pulled
down 13 boards on his way to a
double-double. The Seahawks will
see this as a great opportunity to get
back on the winners list as Southern
Districts come to town following a
101-107 home loss to the Phoenix.
Similar to the Seahawks game, the
Spartans were unable to capitalise on
a half time lead. Whitehead put up
a monster 33 points, although on 27
field goal attempts. Scott Kenny was
again electric off the bench with 23
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