By JARROD POTTER
EIGHT wins – no losses.
THE victorious ways continued for the Casey Cavaliers in its three divisions as the women cantered to victory over Melbourne Uni while the men had to fight through overtime to take the points against Oakleigh and the youth men strolled past Melton.
The club’s first Big V home match this season proved a cakewalk as it shoved a 63-44 win down the throats of the Black Angels.
The Cavaliers rotation-centric strategy paid dividends with Sam Johnson (13 points, five rebounds) getting her job done off only 18 minutes while Jess Szalek (10 points, 12 rebounds) controlled the key as did Alex Keates (10 points, four rebounds).
“Really happy with that – it’s been a big focus for us that we have good options, rather than crash-and-bash basketball,” coach Tim Parker said.
“Getting the points across the board – we’re aiming for six-to-10 points for each player and so far the girls are finding that every week.”
Parker is prizing high-energy, full-roster basketball instead of relying on one or two stars – with 30-minute games a rarity rather than the status quo.
“There’s a lot of confidence around the group when they’re all getting time, and if someone gets in foul trouble, the next person can step in and can play the same game without having to worry about getting minutes,” Parker said.
“Having an even spread of skill and a lot of time over summer to work on it, there are no weak links in our team at all, so we’re doing well across the board.”
Casey men watched Oakleigh come from 10 lengths back to push the Cavaliers down the straight. Import Andrew Kaban (37 points, seven rebounds) was the main man for the Warriors, but once he fouled out in overtime, the Cavaliers were able to work around his absence to snare a comfortable 90-83 win.
Matt Pebole (23 points, seven rebounds) continued his stellar start to the year – averaging 24 points per game – while Bevan Camilleri (23 points), Dean Johnson (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Matt Witherden (12 points, six rebounds) all chipped in for significant numbers.
The Casey youth men claimed a 77-66 win over Melton with Alistair Parker (26 points, 11 rebounds) reeling in a monster double-double.
A Big V triple header is on display at Cranbourne Basketball Stadium on Saturday as the youth men, women and men face the Mornington Breakers from 4.30pm.
