Crackers dominate 'punk' whiteys!
The Crackers proved they were serious about their quest for the championship on friday after thrashing "Unpunctual" 80:66. Crackers led the scores for the entire game courtesy of a 18:6 run to start the game. Jeremy King had an outstanding game with 14points, 6 assists, many rebounds/steals and two huge blocks on the opposition shooting guard. The game was very much fast paced and the Crackers kept their composure for most of the game though the opposition did manage a few small runs, their best deficits being 14:18 and 39:47. SMITH'S RETURN It was another prime-time TV game which was broadcast to 68 countries via ESPN and features the return of Rene Smith whose absence surprisingly did not at all affect the Crackers' game. Smith started off cold but soon found his rhythm finishing the night with 20 pts. He also had a thundering block against one of the 'enemy' player which raised the roof and had the 14,000 fans begin an "M.V.P" chant. Player/Coach Nenad Petrovic was solid with 6/9 shooting and characteristic defensive hussle including. Andy Roxburgh, like Smith took his time to warm up but once he found his game, he was great on offense and on the boards racking up a quick double double of 10 pts, 11 rebounds. Sam Ward did not play a role as 'high profile' as in the Crackers last game but still managed to get 7 assists and architect a few great plays which stretched the lead. THE ROOKIE SHOWS WHO'S BOSS Player of the game honours without a doubt go to Anna Walsh who took it to Unpunctual and scored 10 points, including an impossible turn around jumper over one of their better players in the dying minutes of the game. She was also great on defence and hit the floor a couple of times in order to steal ball after ball from the chump girl on the other team. MATT YOUNG SECURES 14 DAY CONTRACT After missing the first half, coach Petrovic decided to give male supermodel and Clark Kent lookalike Matthew Young a chance in the second half and though he struggled for most of his time (though it was limited) on the court he managed 6 points and a few nice defensive plays. By doing this, he has extended his 10 day contract to 14 days with the club having the option to cancel the contract at any time or permanently sign up Young depending on his performance. Watch this space. AMATEUR REFEREEING One negative aspect that stood out in the game was (again) the awful refereeing of No-wit-zki who gave out 10+ shooting fouls against the Crackers including an obvious blunder when he wrongly accused King of aturnover; King was lucky to escape a technical foul after talking smack back to the referee. By making these calls, the referee literally handed the losing team about 20 points. Nenad Petrovic was also lucky to escape a T after he flopped during a lane drive in an attempt to use Nowitzki's whistle-happy approach to the benefit of the Crackers. TOP OF THE TABLE? With today's result, the Crackers can take the lead in the standings and are currently 3-1 (.750) with a gimme of a game coming up next week against a 0-3 team. Peace y'all Coach