By Colin MacGillivray
WALLAN fell short of a Big V men’s division two grand final, with the Panthers bundled out of their semi-final series against Gippsland United on Saturday.
The Panthers entered Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Centre needing a win on Saturday to force a decisive game three in the series, which would have been on Sunday, but were outplayed from the opening tip in a 65-106 loss.
In contrast to their competitive game one loss at Wallan, which coach Tim Annett termed one of their best performances of the season, the Panthers were outclassed all over the court.
Centre Arcaim Lallemand was again in early foul trouble, and despite finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds, also had a team-high seven turnovers.
Guard Abraham Solano, who emerged as one of the division’s best shooters this season, went scoreless on only three shot attempts, and no Panther other than Lallemand registered double figures on the score sheet.
Wallan finished the game shooting only 34 per cent from the field, turned the ball over 24 times and was comprehensively outrebounded.
“We saved our worst game for the year until the most important game, so it was a really disappointing finish,” Annett said.
“We had plans going into the match about how we were going to change things up a little bit, and they just came out of the blocks really switched on, and we were a little bit off our game early.
“Their defense was probably the best I’ve seen any team play this year in the first quarter in particular.
“We were outplayed and outworked. We had 11 rebounds in total at half time, which is not the standard we like to bring. We looked half the team we’ve been all year.”
Despite a disappointing end to the season, Annett, who has re-signed as coach for 2023, said there was plenty of reason for optimism at Wallan.
“We definitely had ups and downs during the season, but we’ve accomplished being the first Wallan team to win a Big V final and make our way into the semis, where we gained valuable experience,” he said.
“Hopefully going forward we maintain some of these guys together and add a few more pieces to it and go one step better next year.”
With Lallemand named on a shortlist for the division’s All Star Five and most valuable player honours and Tyler Best in the top three for Youth Player of the Year – along with youth league division two women’s player Olivia Dalmau earning a spot in her league’s All Star Five – Annett said Wallan was stocked with plenty of talent.
“As a club we’ve taken massive steps forward, both on the court and off the court,” he said.
“I think the quality of people and players we’ve got there now is showing that in the next few years we can really be a powerhouse club and keep building on what we’ve got.
“If you’ve got strong senior programs that filters down through the junior programs as well. We’re about providing that clear pathway where we can show our juniors that there are steps for them to progress through and play seniors for the club.
“We’re trying to bring in the right people, which we’ve started to do, and I think we’ll reap the benefits going forward.”
