Friday 31st March 2017 Geelong Supercats vs Ballarat 6pm Women | 8pm Men Presented by
AWA Alliance Bank
GAME NIGHT PROGRAM FRIDAY 31st MARCH 2017 Printed by
14 Hepner Place North Geelong 3215 Ph: 52722558
VS SEABL WOMEN – 6:00PM SEABL MEN – 8:00PM
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MATCH DAY PREVIEWS MEN vs Ballarat 31.03.2017 Tonight our men take on the Ballarat Miners in their first game of the season, after having the BYE last week. There is no doubt the Miners present a vastly different challenge to the one we saw last week against the COE. The Miners have a proud history of success and will be anxious to start their season with a win so the Supercats will need to be on their game from the tip off. Following his wedding last weekend we will welcome back Kris Blicavs, his athletic play at both guard and forward positions will cause his old team plenty of headaches. Blicavs played 53 games for the minors before moving to the Supercats last season to join sister Sara and brother Mark in Geelong. Kris will allow the Supercats to settle into a more structured style of play while the team waits on the return of Nick Owusu. Owusu is still a notable omission from the team as he continues his rehab from off season knee surgery, but other than Nick we will go into this clash with our traditional rivals with a full team. Ahead of the game, Coach Leon O’Neill said “It has been a good week on the training court, with every player showing desire and enthusiasm to improve.” “Ballarat have two new imports as well as some quality locals so we will need to have all guns firing if we are to get the points on Friday night.”
WOMEN vs Ballarat 31.03.2017 & Melbourne 01.04.2017 After dropping the first game of the season, David Herbert's girls will be keen to square the ledger when they come up against the Ballarat Rush tonight. The Rush are yet to play in 2017 meaning our SEABL women have a limited ability to scout their opposition, including import Jaterra Bonds. The SEABL women have had a disrupted pre-season with players commitments to their WNBL teams extending through to the grand final just one week before the start of the SEABL season and Alex Bunton still playing in Russia as her Moscow Dynamo team have reached the final 4. With Sara Blicavs back on board coach David Herbert was upbeat abut the teams preparation this week “we are better prepared this week than we were last” he said, “we’ve had everyone at practice this week and the girls are beginning to gel as a group”. The challenges for our SEABL women are not just limited to Friday night, the team needs to back up again Saturday and take on the Melbourne Tigers women in their first EVER game in the SEABL. With former Supercat Tayla Roberts in the roster and one of the best your guards in the country Monique Conti, the tigers will be keen to start their reign as a SEABL club in style. Two tough games, but games we are confident our girls are up too.
FROM THE FRONT OFFICE Well we’re off and racing, your Supercats men started the season just as we would like, with a convincing win over the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence, while our girls, missing Sara Blicavs and Alex Bunton just didn’t have enough in the tank to get over the top of a very talented CoE side. So we move on to round 2 with a big double header tonight and our women backing up tomorrow against the Melbourne Tigers. Having not played in Round 1 we have to expect the unexpected from our country rivals the Ballarat Miners and Rush, these are two crucial games for our teams with cross conference wins essential for making the play offs at the end of the year.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE CEO, DEAN ANGLIN Tonight is a big night for the club. As many would know Basketball Geelong with the support of our game night sponsor AWA Alliance Bank made a bid for funding for a new stadium in Waurn Ponds heading into the 2016 federal election. Unfortunately our bid was unsuccessful and the dream of a new stadium to call home had to be reviewed. For many reasons the club had to take a fresh new look at the strategy and what we required. Late last year the club began exploring the option for a retro-fit of an existing building in Belmont into a 6 court stadium. Again one of the first meetings held by the club was with AWA Alliance Bank requesting their support for this new project. We are pleased to confirm that AWA provided their full support of the development and we have continued to move forward. There are a couple of hoops (pardon the pun) for Basketball Geelong still to jump through, however we are confident that in the coming months these boxes will be ticked and we will begin the fit out of the venue. The best part about this project is the building already exists, meaning that we only need focus on the construction of the internal requirements of the stadium, allowing for the stadium to be completed and in operation in late 2017.
This is a very exciting project for Basketball Geelong and offers the association an unprecedented opportunity to secure both our basketball and financial future. We could not be more grateful to AWA for their ongoing support and patience as we have worked through the options for stadiums in recent years. The partnership with AWA provides Basketball Geelong an opportunity to generate a return from business we can generate for them. Simply put, by moving your banking to AWA Alliance Bank you can assist Basketball Geelong in paying off the loan required to fit-out our new stadium. We are confident you will find AWA a viable and competitive option for your everyday banking, home and business loans, term deposits and more… So the important question is can you help us? We are asking all members and supporters to take the time to meet with the AWA team and discuss your banking needs. You can register with the AWA team in the foyer tonight, or on our website at http://supercats.com.au/awa-alliance-bank-partnership/
#SeeRed #SupercatsFamily Regards, Dean Anglin CEO
SUPERCATS MEMBERSHIPS ARE ON-SALE NOW VISIT THE SUPERCATS SHOP FOR MORE DETAILS
PROPOSED STADIUM DEVELOPMENT VIEW OF EXISTING BUILDING REDEVELOPED FROM THE ROAD
ARTISTS IMPRESSION INSIDE THE PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT
INTERNAL LAYOUT OF THE PROPOSED 6 COURT REDEVELOPMENT
ROUND 1 REVIEW Match Report by Wes Cusworth in the Geelong Advertiser
WOMEN AN inexperienced Geelong Lady Supercats line-up has suffered an opening-round loss to the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence by 10 points, 71-61. With both sides shooting at a lamentable 33 per cent from the field the visitors gained the edge at the freethrow line, 12 to eight, and on the glass, 54 rebounds to 47, to win the first-round clash of the 2017 SEABL season. But with a wealth of talent missing, Geelong unearthed some positives with Ebony Rolph’s 15-point, 12rebound double-double revealing her worth to the side. Geelong conceded a seven-point deficit by quarter time, but forced its way back into the contest on the back of returning homegrown talent Chantel Horvat (14 points and seven rebounds) and the energy of Isabella Brancatisano (13 points). Eve Braslis (eight points) and Alex Duck were others to provide energy.
MEN NEW addition Ma’alo Hicks has made an immediate impact on his SEABL return, steering Geelong to an opening round win over the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence with a 16-point, 10-rebound doubledouble on Saturday night. The former Corio Bay Stingray was outstanding for the Supercats, firing at 87 per cent from the field, as he emerged from a slow start to claim a comfortable 29-point victory, 97-68, over the crack development squad from the nation’s capital. “He’s been a great player at Big V Championship level, along with SEABL at Nunawading so we knew what he was capable of,” Geelong coach Leon O’Neill said after the season opener. “What was really impressive was that Ma’alo got himself into some early foul trouble, but showed great maturity and didn’t pick up his fourth foul until into the second half. “Meanwhile, he was excellent inside with some great rebounding. His presence really lifted the intensity of the guys.”
With Kris Blicavs missing the game after marrying SEABL Women’s champion Steph Cumming on Friday night, veteran Jamie Medved was called up as starting guard and didn’t disappoint. The evergreen Medved poured in 18 points, while also collecting five boards to show he’ll once again hold a valuable role in the region’s premier line-up. “We only scored nine points in the opening five minutes, but Meddy was terrific in his role as starting guard to get things going,” O’Neill said. “We couldn’t buy a basket early, but it was Meddy that lifted the shackles for everybody. “To think that we eventually almost reached 100 was testament to the guys’ ability to score and Jamie was a big part of getting that going.” The win wasn’t only about setting a significant precedent for a season that holds enormous promise for O’Neill’s line-up, it was also about honouring one of the club stalwarts. “To win in Nathan Herbert’s 350th game was terrific, particularly as we couldn’t get it done in his 300th,” the Supercats’ mentor said. But everybody that hit the floor, all nine players that suited up, made an impact and made certain we got the job done. Geelong fired at 50 per cent from the field and while some players struggled to find the basket import DeMarcus Gatlin was outstanding hitting his game-high 20 points at 75 per cent. Fellow import Eric Gaff finished just one board short of a double-double (13 points, nine rebounds) in his 26-minute contribution, while O’Neill also singled out Kristian Rocci for praise. The Supercats led by just three points at the opening interval, but scored 36 second quarter points to lead by 20 points at halftime. Stretching the buffer to 24 by the last break, O’Neill’s men eventually ran out winners by 29.
HICKS’ NEW TRICKS Written by Damien Ractliffe 30.03.2017 IT was the controversial move of the off-season, but Geelong Supercats recruit Ma’alo Hicks says there was nothing controversial about it. The former Corio Bay Stingray star’s switch to their SEABL foes was much publicised, but Hicks said the move was inevitable. “It was going to happen sooner or later, it was just a matter of when” he said. “I know the core guys at the Geelong Supercats. I’ve known them for a while and played against them, so I’ve been meaning to play with them. “I guess it was just a matter of me getting over to them before they called it quits, guys like Nathan Herbert, Nick Owusu, Jamie Medved and Ash Cannan. “I guess I wanted to get across and get a season with them before they hung up the boots.” Four seasons at the Stingrays saw the Big V State Championship team reach four finals series, which bore the fruit of two titles. Hicks also collected a SEABL Championship before making the move to Corio, proving success follows the big man. Hicks said the Supercats boasted the ingredients of a championship side. “I feel with this group of guys we can definetly get there” he said. “Im in it to win it. I know the guys that I play with, we’re all on the same page, we all want the same end goal, which is to win a championship” A 29-point win over Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence gave his side a comfortable start to 2017, with Hicks logging 16 points and 10 rebounds despite playing just over 20 minutes on court. “It’s only the first game but I’ve been told I need to be aggressive when I can” he said. “I’ve been at this level before, so I’m familiar with it, but it is a different level to what I was playing previously. “That early foul trouble is what I need to lose… “I need to be on court for as long as I can. “I’m still getting used to playing with this new group but so far it’s going well. Time will only tell, I guess”
Photo: Jamie Rutter (Track Images)
Voucher must be obtained by attending the Supercats game night, online print out of program is not valid.
LUINA GEELONG SUPERCATS SEABL WOMEN Number
Full Name
Position
Player Sponsor
Age
5
Alex Duck
Guard
26
8
Agnes Emma-Nnopu
Guard/Forward
15
9
Chantel Horvat
Forward
18
13
Alex Bunton
Centre
23
15
Sara Blicavs
Forward
24
20
Ebony Rolph
Forward
22
24
Isabella Brancatisano
Guard
22
19
Georgia Tauschke
Guard
21
30
Charlotte Brancatisano
Guard
20
44
Eve Braslis
Forward
17
Head Coach
David Herbert
Assistant Coaches
Glenn Sharp & Darren Busuttil
Team Manager & Assistant Team Managers
Beth Davis, Marcus Lovell & Malik Davis
Strength & Conditioning Coach Physio
Chelsey Cameron provided by Corio Bay Health Group
BALLARAT SEABL WOMEN Number
Full Name
Position
Age
2
Laura Taylor
Forward
16
3
Georgia Amoore
Guard
16
8
Jade McCowan
Forward
20
10
Jaterra Bonds
Guard
24
11
Kristy Rinaldi
Forward
31
13
Taylah Wynne
Guard
18
15
Molly Mathews
Forward
22
21
Claire Blower
Centre
20
22
Ashleigh Spencer
Forward
24
23
Lydia Brooks
Forward
21
Head Coach Assistant Coach Team Manager Team Manager
David Flint Rob Baker Emily Svanosio Melissa Thomas
NEXT HOME GAME FRIDAY 7th APRIL vs DANDENONG WOMEN 6pm & MEN 8pm
LUINA GEELONG SUPERCATS SEABL MEN Number
Full Name
Position
Player Sponsor
Age
5
DeMarcus Gatlin
Combo Guard
24
8
Kris Blicavs
Combo Gard
28
9
Nick Owusu
Point Guard
32
11
Nathan Herbert
Shooting Guard
32
15
Ma'alo Hicks
Power Forward
29
17
Nathan Freind
Guard
26
21
Kristian Rocci
Shooting Guard
23
24
Liam McInerney
Power Forward
26
42
Eric Gaff
Centre
30
52
Jamie Medved
Shooting Guard
34
54
Ash Cannan
Power Forward
35
Head Coach
Leon O’Neill
Assistant Coach
Luke Beauglehall
Team Manager & Assistant Team Managers Physio
Jesse Drever, Nathan Scarlett & Marcus Lovell provided by Corio Bay Health Group
BALLARAT SEABL MEN Number
Full Name
Position
Age
3
Peter Hooley
Guard
25
5
Sam Short
Guard
19
6
Ash Constable
Guard
23
8
Ross Weightman
Forward
19
9
Craig Moller
Forward
22
10
Tristan Fisher
Guard
19
20
Cam McCallum
Forward
28
32
Davon Usher
Guard
24
33
Marvin King-Davis
Forward
24
41
Chris Smith
Centre
28
Head Coach Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Team Manager
Eric Hayes Nathan Cooper-Brown Justin Fraser Brett Robinson
NEXT HOME GAME FRIDAY 7th APRIL vs DANDENONG WOMEN 6pm & MEN 8pm