Storm Brewing in Panthers Den

by noelrr
28/06/2012

The fourth-placed Blacktown Storm (9 wins–5 losses) and seventh-placed Penrith Panthers (6 wins-7 losses) Youth League Men's team clash at 4pm this Sunday afternoon at the Penrith Valley Regional Sports Centre (PVRSC) Herbert Street Cambridge Park, in Round Thirteen of the 2012 Waratah Youth League Basketball competition. Whilst on the surface this could appear to be a run-of-the-mill local derby, there will be some added pressure on both teams, as they chase every possible win in the race to the playoffs. The Storm recorded an effortless 91-51 win over the Panthers back in February, in a pre-season game, before a full-strength Panthers evened the ledger in the second round of the regular season, out-playing the higher-placed Storm for an 80-74 win. The odds have now however swung heavily in favour of the Storm, not only for this weekend but also perhaps in regards to both team's playoff chances this season. Sudanese-born Laat Amat Gak and Madol Chol have both left the Panthers squad this week, after being awarded scholarships at the Australian Institute of Sport. Jarrod Sorenson is also missing from the Panthers line-up, due to his commitments with the New Zealand Under 19 Men's team (Junior Tall Blacks) as the Kiwis work towards qualifying for the upcoming FIBA Under 19 World Championships. Panthers head coach Steve Sardi will be looking for his bench players to rise to the occasion, beginning with this Sunday's game. Sardi was very pleased with the efforts of his young team last Sunday in Bathurst but the squad will now have to be at peak form every week if their play-off dream is to become a reality. There don't appear to be any similar problems within the Storm camp, with head coach Greg Radford undoubtedly happy his young team is still well in the running for this year's play-off series. The Storm went agonisingly close to snaring a premiership title in 2011, surprising many pundits with two strong performances in the playoffs before ultimately falling to the strong Central Coast Crusaders in the grand final. The Storm have a slightly different playing roster this season but with the majority of the squad having tasted play-off success in 2011, they will be hard to resist at this stage of the competition. The points break for both teams probably best explains their respective positions on the competition ladder, with the Storm at 993 points for and 900 points against (+93), whilst the Panthers are 1,019 points for 1,059 points against (-40). The Youth League game tips-off at 4pm and will be preceded by a Waratah Championship League (WCL) game between the Panthers and Maitland Mustangs at 4pm. The second-placed Penrith Youth League Women (7-3) are also in action on Sunday, taking on the tenth-placed Mustangs (1-8) at 2pm. PHOTO: Brandon Gordon had a good game last weekend against the Goldminers - photo by Noel Rowsell

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