Pirates were in strong form against Cavaliers in the latest round of the 2024/25 basketball season at the NSC on Thursday evening.

Newly formed this season, Pirates had a bumpy start in the opening round of games but have taken great strides with the addition of league stalwarts Wig Bregazzi and Paul Ellison, their experience showing in a more balanced and controlled offensive set.

Mike Brew capitalised on the pass and cut movement to open the scoring for Pirates and was quickly joined by Mikey Brereton whose quick drives drew a bevy of fouls from the Cavaliers defence and provided a suite of free-throw baskets.

Initially caught on the hop, Cavs soon gained composure and opened chances for reliable scorers Chris Wolfendale and Marty French, the former finding lanes for the lay-up while the latter hit from mid-range.

Strong efforts on both ends of the floor saw the teams evenly matched throughout the first, with a step-up on defence keeping the scores low.

As the quarter drew to a close, a final push through the lanes saw foul-free throws on both sides, matched shooting keeping the teams level 7-7 at the buzzer.

Wolfendale started strongly in the second for Cavaliers, two quick drives in the opening minute giving the veteran team a four-point advantage.

The momentum didn’t last though as Pirates adjusted to cover and then flipped the lead with a string of baskets from Kelvin Salosagcol, capped by a swish three-pointer, pushing Pirates ahead 16-13.

Pirates struggled to defend big man Dave Minay late in the quarter and a series of fouls on the inside gave Cavs the opportunity to cut catch them and steal a single-basket lead 22-20 at half-time.

The third quarter saw a more vibrant Cavaliers offence, with some nice cuts and screens cracking open the Pirates defence and giving chances to David Boyle and Phil Evans who powered Cavs ahead.

Pirates adjusted after a few minutes and started to find their own successes, with Nick Hamer and Lance Davidas joining the scoring, the latter with a deep three-pointer.

The teams battled for the remainder of the quarter, but Pirates struggled to gain enough momentum to catch up with Cavaliers’ early push and finished the fourth trailing by seven points, 38-31.

A single-digit lead is a slender margin in a basketball game and it was still all to play for in the final quarter, that was until league veteran Wolfendale found form outside the line and delivered a devastating barrage of baskets that effectively sealed the game.

Boyle and Evans joined Wolfendale from outside the line, while Pirates struggled to find a return and relied more on inside drives that picked up foul free-throws.

With the final buzzer Cavaliers had sunk the Pirates, 64-42, in a game that had been much closer than the final result suggests and was a testament to the strengthening form of Pirates.

- Cannons put on a robust showing against Jets in the opening of their match-up last week.

The schoolboy side have proved to be tough competition in their rookie season, with a combination of strong pace and aggressive outside shooting helping them match up with more experienced teams.

Their skills were on full display in the first quarter as Evan O’Dea and Samson Shimmin swished early three-pointers while Rowan Coulter and Jack Wilkinson made strong drives to the basket.

The solid display initially caught Jets off guard, and they soon found themselves lagging behind by nine points.

Strong defensive communication and better movement allowed Jets to work back into contention in the latter part of the first quarter as Wayne Mears and Logan Glover found the mid-range and Paul Kilic hit the three.

Cannons kept the edge though and held a two-basket lead at the end of the quarter, 20-16.

- The second started as a balanced affair, Mears quickly levelling for Jets only for Coulter to push the Cannons back ahead. It seemed the game could be a close affair until a blistering five minutes saw Jets soar while Cannons misfired.

An active 3-2 zone defence shut down Cannons’ outside options, while an offensive set that combined quick ball swings with secondary cuts and baseline crashes created opportunities that Glover and Peter Boussougou capitalised on.

In a few short minutes, Jets had flipped the script and sat on a 16-point lead, 28-44.

A bad quarter can often be the end of a game and that was the case for Cannons whose pace slowed throughout the second half, playing into the hands of Jets.

The active zone continued to disrupt Cannons and provide for Jets as Glover regularly launched from the mid spot to snatch passes and break down the court for an easy lay-up, helping him to rack up a solid 24-point total and a quarter of Jets’ final score.

Cannons found some success when they picked up the pace, catching Jets in transition and opening some lanes that Wilkinson and Coulter could exploit. It did little to alter the course of the game though and Jets landed the win 48-99 at the buzzer.

- The final game of the evening saw an aggressive Ravens power ahead early against Hoops through a combination of pressure defence and quick breaks down the court, Matt Jones and Miltos Provatakis proving key in the first half.

Hoops made some inroads with strong drives from Becky Dunne and solid shooting from Daniella Kravela but couldn’t catch the pace of Ravens who continued to push ahead.

Hoops took the final basket with a nice mid-range shot from Oksana Fedorovych, but Ravens took the win 87-43.

- This Thursday’s games will see Hoops take on Pirates at 7pm, both teams having shown improved performances recently and hoping to take a win in the final set of round robin games.

Then at 8.30pm Wolves will seek to sink their teeth into Ravens, while Cannons will hope for solid aim against Cavaliers.

All games are played in the NSC main hall with courtside seating available for anyone wishing to attend.

MARTIN DUNNE