By Colin MacGillivray
WALLAN Panthers face an uphill battle to keep their dreams of a Big V division two men’s grand final berth alive this weekend, after a hard-to-swallow loss to minor premier Gippsland United in game one of their semi-final series.
The final score of 108-87 on Saturday night did not do justice to what was a hotly contested game that Wallan coach Tim Annett dubbed one of his side’s best performances of the season.
Both teams displayed incredible shot-making in the first quarter, with back-to-back three-pointers by Panthers point guard Jordan Hockley keeping the team in touch with the red-hot United.
However, a miraculous three-quarter-court heave by Gippsland’s Kody Tibballs on the quarter-time buzzer to give the visitors a four-point lead was an early indication that Wallan could be in for a tough night.
Annett inserted guard Jackson Wynne into the starting line-up after bringing him off the bench for the second half of the season, using him as a primary defender for Gippsland United star Brandon Armstrong.
Wynne used his height and length to force Armstrong into difficult shots, but Armstrong proved adept at making them.
The United point guard nailed an array of pull-up three-pointers, off-balance fadeaways and took 11 trips to the free-throw line on his way to a game-high 29 points.
Armstrong’s teammates were often the beneficiaries of his play, with Tibballs and Jordan Gooiker on the receiving end of kickout passes for open three-pointers.
Wallan centre Arcaim Lallemand was in early foul trouble after a pair of questionable calls, forcing the Panthers to go to backup centre Jaak Ponsford.
Ponsford competed well, scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds, but gave up 13 centimetres to Gippsland United big man Stephen O’Brien, who proved an excellent foil for Armstrong with 19 points.
Despite the Panthers’ foul trouble and Gippsland United’s strong shot-making, Wallan was in the contest until the final five minutes.
Down by nine points in the fourth quarter, Lallemand fouled out of the game on another questionable call after appearing to block Armstrong’s shot cleanly on a fast break.
The referees assessed two technical fouls to the frustrated Panthers – one on Hockley and one on Annett, who was subsequently ejected – giving United six free-throws and possession of the ball.
The incident took the wind out of Wallan’s sails, and the team was outscored 20-8 in the final five-and-a-half minutes.
Despite the frustration of being ejected, Annett was upbeat about his team’s performance after the game.
He said he liked Wallan’s chances of winning game two of the series in Traralgon on Saturday and forcing a decisive game three on Sunday.
“That was one of our best games of the year without a doubt. They shot the ball at nearly 60 per cent, which was ridiculous, and for us to keep up with that for three-and-a-half quarters is a credit to the guys for sticking to each other and sticking to what works,” he said.
“We’ll take a lot out of it as a group. We’re such a young group that this is all good experience, so hopefully the boys rally around each other and get up to Gippsland and get a couple of wins.
“We won’t let a 20-point scoreboard deficit affect us too much. We know we can compete with them now and the guys are really eager to go to Gippsland and put on a good show.”
Youth league women
A promising season for Wallan’s youth league division two women ended one win short of a grand final appearance on Saturday, with the Panthers succumbing to Coburg 56-80 in an away semi-final.\
Despite having beaten Coburg twice during the regular season, Wallan was on the back foot for much of the second half.
The Panthers led by one point at the long break, but struggled to keep pace with the Giants, who shot a scorching 50 per cent from the field in the second half.
Wallan, in contrast, struggled from the field, shooting just 26 per cent as a team.
Guard Olivia Dalmau was unusually subdued with nine points on 3-16 shooting, with Ruby Pantisano, 14 points, the only Panther to score in double digits.
Despite the loss the season was a successful one for the Panthers, who only fielded a youth league women’s side for the first time in 2021.
With Big V youth league player ages capped at 23, Dalmau will move into the senior women’s side in 2023, giving the team a fresh look next season.
