Rnd 10: Sabres Men hold on in vocal South matchup
By Connor Rice
Sturt Sabres 95 | South Adelaide Panthers 86
In an incredibly physical and tight game, the Sabres came out victorious over the Panthers by 9 points last Saturday. The Panther Army were especially vocal this particular game due to the rivalry of the squads and close nature of the game but the Sabres strong guard set proved too much for the Panthers in the end.
South Adelaide’s Shane Boal had his best game of the season, exploding for five first quarter 3’s – he was on fire and it was incredibly hard for the Sabres to stop this flow and the Panthers were rolling.
Despite their offensive explosion in the first, the Panthers couldn’t stem the scoring of the Sabres. Five Sabres ended up in double figures for the game as they got a very balanced scoring output from their starters and bench. Big games from young gun, Isaac White finishing with 18 points and Max Calligeros with 14 points and playing some great interior defense was influential in the win. The Sabres collective defense in the second half was a focal point as they both got out to the Panthers shooters, limited those who were hot in the first half and also crashed the defensive glass. While a smaller team on paper, their small forwards and power forwards played with a sense of urgency and desperation in fighting for rebounds and loose balls.
Limited offensive production for the Panthers outside of Boal and Coleman’s 20 point games really hurt the Panthers in trying to find the win. The game ended as a 5 point deficit but poor rebounding, defense and late game execution hurt any chance of the Panthers winning against a lethal Sabres offense.
Still struggling on the season, it’s now a massive key for the Panthers to both improve their late game execution and also to get a greater overall team production. The Sabres now move to 6-4 and will be looking to improve against the league’s elite especially as they get key Centre, Daniel Johnson back.
Round 11: Saturday, 28 May at 8.15pm
Sturt Sabres V Central Districts @ Starplex
South Adelaide V Forestville Eagles @ Marion
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