Buccaneers combine for massive 70-point haul for Hawks as Olympians grab first victory

Johny Narkle returned to the court to help lead the Octopuses to their first win of the 2022 Geraldton Amateur Basketball season on Tuesday.

After helping coach his team from the sidelines last week, Narkle was hands-on this time round leading all scorers with 16 points to help the Olympians to a 68-54 win.

Chapman Valley were coming off a win against Stateside on the back of Buccaneer Dempsey Joseph’s 31-point haul, along with Llewyn Valli (29) and Matthew Wundendberg (22).

But this time Valli would be the only player for the Warriors to crack double digits with 14 as Wundenberg was held to eight points and Joseph five.

The Warriors struggled to get their flow going in attack as Narkle was well supported by Liam Bennett (15) and Shaedan Edwards (12).

The win moved Olympians to third just above Chapman Valley with a slender 0.33 per cent margin.

If Narkle was influential in the Olympics win, fellow Buccs Ryan Blanchett and Fletcher Klasztorny were downright dominant in the Hawks’ 125-89 victory over Stateside on Thursday night.

For the second week in a row Stateside was on the receiving end of some Buccs magic as Klasztorny and Blanchett combined for a massive 70 points between them.

Blanchett had 40 and Klasztorny 30 as Stateside had no counter to the pair to fall to their second straight defeat.

Tristan Jacques had 21 points and Stuart Egan and Lucas Ronan had 15 each, but it did little more than add respectability to their score as six Hawks produced double-digit points.

It was an awe-inspiring display, though Klasztorny did miss a final dunk on the buzzer to provide the Scorpions with something to smile about.

In the final game of the night, Pumas took on Trades and it was the runners-up from last season who took the win 66-43 to move to a 2-0 record.

Trades were coming off a heavy loss to the Hawks in the opening round and were always the underdogs going into the clash.

The Pumas had four currently rostered Buccs players on hand to the Trades’ one and generally outsized their opponents across the court.

Tomas Dobson was once again effective from range and the Pumas cut through the Trades’ defence with some slick passing.

But Trades were up for the fight and if they couldn’t outreach their opponents they would try outmuscle them, as represented by the 20 fouls given away with players sent sprawling to the floor on more than one occasion.

Joseph Iaria was an inspirational leader serving as player and coach on the night and they managed to work their way back into the contest to close to within two points halfway through the first half.

But the Pumas adjusted, often playing with high up the court defence to squeeze the Trades’ passing space as they regained the initiative to lead 27-21 at the half.

Pumas went on a 9-3 run to start the second as William Galvin was starting to dominate the contest and would finish with 28 points.

Charlie Thrukle (11) and Jackson Patten (10) did their best to try keep the team in it but it was too big a mountain to climb as the Trades fell to a 23-point defeat.

It leaves them bottom of the table, while Pumas join Hawks with two wins in second place.

In the second division, Olympians beat Chapman Valley 59-48 while Pumas defeated Trades 70-56 despite a 24-point haul from Rorke Fiorenza.

Stateside moved to the top of the ladder thanks to a 74-41 win over the Hawks.