Coach hopeful import will play
Printsync South West Slammers men’s coach John Triscari is hopeful new import Terrell Carter’s clearance paperwork from FIBA will have been finalised prior to Saturday night’s tip off against the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
Triscari assured Slammers fans that all would be done to ensure the imposing American dual rebound threat can make his debut in front of a home crowd.
It will also be a somewhat sentimental clash for the Slammers coach and Eastern Suns boss Mark Utley, who are good friends on and off the basketball court.
Slammers: Showed no shortage of hustle during Friday night’s 96-64 loss to the Rockingham Flames at home. The undermanned Slammers struggled to curtail the height of the visitors, who had three players over 201cm in their starting five.Tyler Livingston (34 points, six rebounds, one steal) worked his socks off from the perimeter, while Phoenix O’Neill shrugged off a rolled ankle to hit a flawless 2/2 from the field when coming off the bench.
Eastern Suns: Lingering like a late lunch on a Friday afternoon, the Eastern Suns have thrown themselves into the play-off picture with excellent road form. They have been benefiting greatly from Javion Blake, who is providing excellent support to Louis Timms and Joshua Braun.
John Triscari’s take (Slammers)
“I always enjoy coaching against Mark. He always chucks something different at me. I always like to think outside of the square.
“I like to use different things – I don’t necessarily always press after we have scored a basket. I use my press at different times, so it will be interesting.
“Mark and I go back a long way. He is also a colleague of mine within the Department of Education as he is a deputy principal.
“Of the first 11 games, there were eight of them I reckon we could have won. And some of this was due to a change of style – it probably would have been better to have played some of the high flying teams earlier on than some of the teams which are around our mark.”
Scouting report(Kalamunda Eastern Suns)
League position: 9th; home record: 2-6; away record: 4-2; last round: lost to Perth Redbacks 92-91.
Top performer: Javion Blake – 16 points (6/7 from the field, 2/5 from beyond the arc, 4/7 from free throw line), five rebounds, 10 assists, one steal.
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