The winning streak continued for the Bankstown Bruins as they defeated Canberra Gunners 104 -89 at Bankstown Basketball Stadium on Saturday night. Despite Angus Byatt winning the jumpball for the Gunners, Jason Cadee slotted a three-point jump shot to open the scoring for the Bruins.
Both teams missed shots, with the Gunners making costly errors, including Cameron Pender turning the ball over, which led to Jaylin Galloway stealing and Charlie McBeath missing the shot for the Bruins. Gum Majak also turned the ball over, gifting William Mayfield the ball and an opportunity for the Gunners to score a three-pointer and level the score margin.
McBeath gave the Bruins their lead back by shooting a three-point jump shot and giving his side a sense of confidence. On the edge of quarter time, Hayden Blankley fumbled the ball, causing Edward Bigg-Wither to steal and score a two-point layup.
Jason Cadee opened the second quarter by scoring a two-point layup shot to get the Bruins off to a strong start, but also turned the ball over, allowing James Toohey to steal the ball. However, Toohey failed to score a three-point jump shot for the Gunners. The Gunners did manage to get themselves a chance to possibly take the lead, but the Bruins’ defence stepped into action, blocking many shots. The Bruins took a 52-36 lead at halftime.
Galloway scored a three-point jump shot to further extend their solid lead over Canberra, with Cadee also scoring a three-pointer only a few minutes later. Dominique Keyes blocked a likely shot by Derek Emelifeonwu from slotting in. The Gunners in the third quarter end to end scoring shots, although the Gunners made the situation more difficult by turning the ball over, allowing the Bruins to score and making a comeback tough.
The fourth quarter saw Galloway dunking two shots in less than a minute, sending a loud wave of cheers from the crowd. Canberra also slotted a three-pointer by Angus Byatt, tightening the margin and giving them a sense of hope for a possible comeback.
Scoring opportunities kept coming for the Gunners, but the Bruins’ defence and determination stopped many shots. Dunks also kept coming for the Bruins with Dominique Keyes shooting an alley-oop dunk. Turnovers on the edge of full-time gave the Gunners easy opportunities to score, but in the end, the Bruins outplayed the Canberra Gunners, winning another game.
CEO of the Bruins, Christian Gobolos, was again pleased with the win and is confident in the team heading into the finals. “The men kept their running going as well, and I think they really set themselves up for a good finals opportunity,” Goblos highlighted.
Gobolos said that the junior players are looking at the older, more experienced players as mentors and are giving them more confidence to take their game to the next level.
Gobolos knows the next game ahead will be a challenge. “Hopefully, we can get a win against the Manly Sea Eagles with the men as well. They beat us last time, so hopefully we can get a little bit of revenge. It’s gonna be a hard game,” Gobolos emphasised.
The Bruins now face the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Bankstown Basketball Stadium on July 18, which promises to deliver a tight match.
