QUALITY CLASH BETWEEN TOP TWO TEAMS
Townsville can still finish the regular season in first place despite losing to Southside, in a top of the table showdown at the Fire Pit, which saw the hosts slip to slip to second. It will require a Southside stumble against Adelaide and Townsville toppling Sydney. Last year’s grand finalists have the same record but the Flyers two wins in Townsville has given them the split. Their coach Cheryl Chambers isn’t sure how much of a psychological advantage that will be should the teams face off again in.
“We’re really thrilled but they’re a quality team so once finals start, the slate is clean and it’ll start again so we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.”
For the reigning champions, the 77-70 loss, a fourth from five games, wasn’t a disheartening defeat, according to their coach. Shannon Seebhom saw signs his side can return to its best in time to mount a strong title defence. A belief based on the defence displayed in the second half.
“We lifted our intensity, you know we had some break downs still and some errors and things like you always do but I think if we learn from some of those things, which are very controllable, and combine it with that effort moving forward, we’ll be in great shape. I think a really good step back in the right direction.”
The Fire fought back from 14 points down early in the third quarter to make the contest a one possession game. But stops at one end weren’t capitalised on enough at the other, it helped the visitors regain their composure and they maintained an arm’s length lead throughout the fourth period. Seebohm wasn’t overly critical of his players missing shots they’d usually hit.
“We went 6 possessions in a row to end the third where we didn’t score and then they scored 3 times in a row on drives and it kind of killed the momentum. I think we got pretty good looks, I just think honestly the ball just didn’t go in the basket. Just one of those days where we don’t miss open threes, we don’t make lay ups we miss seven free throws which is unlike us and it’s a seven point margin. We put ourselves in a position to win and sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in the basket, hopefully it does on Sunday”
When Townsville take on the Flames at the Fire Pit at 3pm. Tickets are available to purchase here.
