Young Raiders better for the long run after convincing semifinal defeat at Basketball WA Country Championships

Albany Basketball Association captain Luke Wilson says finals exposure is key for squad development after a second half collapse had them surrender a half-time lead and bow out of the Basketball WA Country Championships in Perth on Monday. A dominant second half from eventual premiers Bunbury Bears Red handed Albany Raiders men’s championship side a devastating 11-point semifinal defeat at Bendat Basketball Centre. After trailing by a point at half-time, Bears Red blew their opponents away with a 16-1 run in the final seven minutes to book their spot in the decider. Skipper Wilson, who led the floor for the Raiders with nine points, emphasised their brief finals campaign served as a pivotal stepping stone for the young team’s development. “I had a couple of guys come up and say ‘it was like the most hectic weekend, I’ve never played at this intensity and this level before’,” he said. “It’s a really good eye opener on things we need to work on so it was great that some of the younger kids had taken it on board before I’ve even had a chance to debrief with them once we got back to Albany. “The more experience you have just the easier those semifinals and finals become and it was so much fun for them and a really great learning experience.” Bears Red’s Cody Hill proved a nightmare to defend for the Raiders as he accumulated a game-high 15 points. Raiders qualified for the semifinal after finishing with the second best record with three wins, one loss and one draw. The Bears Blue dealt the Raiders their sole defeat of the group stage, clinching victory in a nailbiting one-point thriller, 49-48. The Raiders then found themselves locked at 39 points apiece at the round four buzzer when facing off against their semifinal nemeses. Kye Griffiths put together a stellar competition finishing seventh in the points tally across the competition with 56, while skipper Luke Wilson was eighth with 49. “I think next year we will absolutely be in the grand final and I would not be surprised if we can take out top spot because we were right there,” Wilson said. “It’s the best team we’ve taken up in a few years. “We all played excellently as a team and Kye (Griffiths) and James (Watters) went to another level this year.” The Raiders’ masters side finished top of pool A but bowed out in the semifinals after going down to Esperance Breakers 28-22 on Monday. Trailing by a point at half-time, Raiders evened the scores but the Breakers peeled away with a 10-2 run to set up their six-point triumph. They qualified for the finals with an impressive round-robin record of four wins and one loss which came in the opener to Bridgetown Firetails. Tristan Mackenzie shot lights out from beyond the arc with a competition-high 15 three-pointers on his way to 52 points for the championships. Raiders’ division five side had a far less successful tournament losing all seven of their regular fixtures to finish last. Eamon Pritchard was their shining light with 67 points, including six threes, across their seven games.