By Benito Carbone

North Adelaide 81 | West Adelaide 70

North Adelaide’s Luke Mapunda piled on 24 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals as he lead his team to an 11-point win over West Adelaide in the opening round of the Premier League. It was not all smooth-sailing for the hosts however, with the Rockets finding themselves down by 11 points in the first five minutes of the match.

After losing a multitude of players in the off-season, doubts hovered over West Adelaide and their ability to stack up to the high quality sides in this league. Soon after tipoff though, the Bearcats showed they were up for the match racing out to a 14-3 lead thanks to 3-point plays from Perkins and Adam Pearce.

Mapunda pioneered the Rockets fightback, stepping back for a 3-pointer in the closing stages of the quarter and 14 points from Braithwaite ensured they reached quarter-time within 6 points. North hit the front halfway through the second period, finishing the half with a 43-39 lead.

Luke Mapunda continued to fire, hitting shots from inside and outside the arc as the Rockets consolidated their lead. The team fought hard but were unable to match the hosts when it mattered, as the lead pushed out to 19 points midway through the final quarter. Import, Demetrius Perkins converted a brilliant layup and one while falling to the ground, but it was purely consolation as North came away with the 81-70 win.

For the visitors, Perkins finished with 24 points, 4 rebounds and an array of highlights, while veteran Blake Truslove racked up 10 rebounds andTristan Braithwaite also impressed with 22 points for the losing team. In what seemed to be a theme for both games, the Bearcats struggled with field-goal shooting, hitting just 36% of their shots to North’s 46%.

In a post-match interview, Mapunda was ecstatic with the result and performance.

“We came out a little bit slow but we managed to pull it together and get our first win for the season, so we’re happy,” Mapunda said.

“It’s been a long preseason so there’s obviously a few nerves coming into the first game but our energy levels were good and we played well for each other.”

“Individually my stats were okay but the win’s the most important part to get us off to a good start. It doesn’t mean anything if we have a poor performance next week so we need to refocus and come out switched on for Woodville, which will be a tough match in their home stadium.” 

Round 2: Friday, 18 March at 8.15pm

North Adelaide VS Woodville Warriors at St Clair
West Adelaide VS Eastern Mavericks at Adelaide Hills