Slammers lose grand final

The Collie Crane Hire South West Slammers have gone down in the State Basketball League grand final, losing to the Joondalup Wolves 105-75 tonight at the Bendat Basketball Stadium.

The Slammers only led briefly in the first term, but from there on in it was a domination by the Wolves with Trian Illiadis leading the way with 28 points.

In a game which at times was feisty, the Slammers failed to take advantage of their forward opportunities, uncharacteristically missing many shots.

The Slammers shot at just 30 per cent compared to Joondalup who were on target, shooting at 48 per cent.

Import Tre Nichols was kept quiet by the tight Wolves’ defence, while Harrelson failed to have his usual impact.

Brian Voelkel tried hard all game for the Slammers, grabbing 19 rebounds and scoring 12 points, while Trent Worthington was at his best in defence keeping Kevin Davis as quiet as possible.

But it was in vein as the polished Wolves showed why they finished the season on top of the ladder with the monster win.

The Wolves led by 10 at the end of the first and 15 at the main break, but a 33-15 third quarter sunk the Slammers and took them out of the game.

The Wolves moved the ball well around the court, allowing players such as Illiadis, captain Seb Salinas (11 points) and Robert Huntington (18 points) to score with little pressure from the Slammers defence.

The game ended Slammers’ playing-coach Ty Harrelson’s playing career, with the SBL legend heading to the United States this week to begin his career at Wayland Baptist University.