Posted on 28 June, 2009

Kilsyth dominated throughout the contest against the Canberra Gunners opening up an 11 point lead at the first change.  Canberra had no answer for Cobras import Joe Werner (19pts, 11rbds, 4ass) who had his way in the opening term.

With a balanced scoring output the Cobras continued to outplay the Gunners taking a 12 point lead into the half time break.  Tim Lang (14pts, 15rbds) continued his improvement and provided yet another obstacle to a Canberra fight back.

Quincy Henderson (12pts), Adam Jackson (11pts) and Michael Wheeler (10pts) all made contributions in a game where Canberra never looked a chance.  The lead was 20 by the final change and as Coach Grant Wallace rested his starters for the majority of the final term the bench extended the margin towards the final buzzer.

Kilsyth dominated on the rebounds, pulling in 52 boards to just 32 for Canberra.  The other positive for Wallace was the Cobras 85% shooting from the free throw line.

Full of confidence after two straight wins the Cobras went into Sunday’s match knowing their best could defeat the Frankston Blues.

Frankston had dropped their last two matches after winning their first 16 and looked vulnerable with explosive guard Andrew Harms away with the Australian University team in Belgrade, Serbia.

Despite their fresh legs Frankston struggled in the opening term as Kilsyth rode their momentum to build a 27-17 lead at the opening break. Tim Lang (18pts, 9rbds) found his range in the opening term as the Blues struggled to contain the Werner-Lang combo.

Werner (13pts, 11rbds) tired as the game went on but battled hard against Blues Star David Gruber (22pts, 14rbds). Quincy Henderson (15pts, 5rbds, 3blk) had his best game for the season holding the Blues other import Rob Kampman to just 15 points for the game.

Frankston hit back in the second term despite Matt Shanahan (23pts) creating an impact.  He and Lang helped the Cobras hold onto the lead going into the half as Wallace was forced to rest Werner, who was in foul trouble.

Kilsyth gave up the lead early in the third and found themselves down seven mid way through the quarter.  A Matt Shanahan three sparked a run which saw the Cobras regain the slightest lead at the final break.

The Cobras again found themselves in a hole in the final term trailing by six with just over six minutes to play but after Shanahan and Henderson hit back to back threes, Kilsyth were again a chance.

Kilsyth lead by two with two minutes remaining after Shanahan hit two free throws but Gruber tied the game with a minute to go.

In frantic final minute the Cobras missed three opportunities to win the game but Adam Nener hit a three with just 22 secs remaining to give the Blues the win.

With Bendigo defeating Nunawading the Cobras find themselves in equal third with a 10-11 record behind Knox at 11-10.

Next weekends game will now be the most important of the season for the Cobras as they take on the Knox Raiders in the ‘Battle for the Ashes’ and attempt to remove them from second place on the ladder.

The Cobras will tip off at 8.15pm and will be aiming to retain the Ashes Trophy from the traditional rival.