Werribee’s Muka Silver goes for a basket. 83147_14 Picture: DAMIAN VISENTINI
By LIAM TWOMEY
WERRIBEE has seen off a fighting performance from Altona to claim another victory in the Division One Men’s Big V Basketball.
The encounter may have looked like a mismatch on paper with the two sides occupying different ends of the ladder, however it was anything but after tip-off on Sunday.
The Gators shot out of the blocks, hitting a staggering 30 points in the first quarter to catch Werribee off guard and take a surprising five-point lead into the first change.
A highlight of Altona’s play was its accurate field goal shooting and that skill continued when play resumed as the Gators continued to come up with crucial baskets at the right times.
It was the opposite story down the Werribee end of the court with the Devils shooting at just 19 per cent from the field in the second term with the margin skipping out to 10.
But Werribee aren’t in first place on the ladder for no reason and the Devils showed just how dangerous they could be when play resumed.
Led by scoring machine Jordan Hughes, the players began to cut the margin rapidly and it was Altona who found themselves under pressure for the first time in the match.
Before long the Devils were back in front and they managed to carry that momentum through to the final quarter and skip away to an eight-point victory 100-92.
Hughes continues his outstanding play across the four quarters to be clearly the leading scorer on the court with 29 points. That haul included five three pointers and a total of eight rebounds.
The remainder of the scoring was shared between Cirkook Riak (15) Jonathon Sonda (12) and Josh Oswald (10).
For Altona, Mark Linnett scored 20 points while James Guljas also scored 17 and had 11 rebounds.
For Guljas it continues what has been a consistent season with a scoring average of 11 points per game as well as over nine rebounds per game.
The result sees Werribee take further control over top spot on the Big V ladder with the Devils sitting 12 points clear of its nearest rival Mildura in second spot.
Altona sit in sixth position with a 4-14 win/loss record this season.
The task will be just as tough for the Gators this week when they meet Mildura while Werribee will take on Warrnambool.
