SBL 2017: South West Slammers men finish the regular season in fifth

The Slammers travelled to Perth on Saturday night to take on the Joondalup Wolves. The two sides have played some classic games in recent years, including the 2015 grand final, with Saturday’s game proving to be no different. 

The Slammers missed the first three shots they put up for the night but halfway through the first term, they had recovered to 15-all. By the buzzer, the Wolves led 23-21. The second period saw the Wolves find their rhythm as they stretched the lead out to 52-37.

The Slammers had to get stuck in during the third term and bridged the gap down to nine points with a term to play. 

The South West side then monstered 32 points in the final term to fall agonisingly short, 89-86. 

Slammer Tre Nichols finished the game with 24 points and six rebounds while Brian Voelkel shot 16 points and had 20 rebounds. 

Teny Puot shot 15 points for the South West while Michael Lay shot 11 points. 

For Joondalup, Ryan Wright shot 23 points and had 13 rebounds while Trian Iliadis scored 17 points and Ben Ironmonger scored 12. 

The loss ended the Slammers hopes of a top-four finish and sees them ready to face off against the Redbacks in a three-game series. 

The return of superstar Voelkel boosted the Slammers dramatically in the back half of the season and he will be a key part of any finals success. 

Eaton Recreation Centre will host the second of the games on August 12 from 7pm. 

The South West Slammers women’s side narrowly missed out on the 2017 finals with early season losses seeing them finish tenth on the ladder with a 6-16 record.  

In their final game of the season, the Slammers found Joondalup too hot to handle, going down by 17 points. 

Missing import Brittany Hodges through injury, the Slammers struggled to match the scoring tempo of the Wolves and trailed 20-15 at the first buzzer.

Joondalup extended the lead to seven points at the main break and shot with more efficiency in the third period to open up a 15 point lead ahead of the final period. The Slammers dug deep but were overrun 71-54. 

Courtney Bayliss was the Slammers best player with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Kate Fielding scored 11 points and Raya Thompson added 10. 

Klara Wischer scored a game-high 25 points and 14 rebounds for Joondalup while Chelsea Belcher contributed 18 points.