A Pakenham-flavoured first quarter has lifted the Warriors Youth Men to a commanding 79-63 victory over Camberwell in a do-or-die final on Saturday night.
Led by captain Kaleb Beveridge and point guard Aaron Small at Cardinia Life, Pakenham dominated the first frame 23-6 to set up the game.
Through the middle nine minutes of the term, the Warriors went on a 23-2 run, as Camberwell went 1/12 and turned it over six times, the Warriors forcing the visitors to shoot from deep and proving too clinical off the glass.
The first quarter was clinical: the Warriors used their speed to punish turnovers and poor ball-handling, with Camberwell’s errors coming thick and fast as Pakenham clogged the lane.
An early Beveridge dunk got the crowd involved and was symbolic of Pakenham’s sureness and speed against a scrambled Camberwell.
“We talked about the fact that if we could him some dunks early, it would really bring the crowd into it and you look at that defensive effort in the first quarter, he was huge,” coach Braden Venning said.
While Beveridge had 10 points, two rebounds and a steal in a busy first quarter, Small was also influential making four of his eight threes attempted throughout a night where Pakenham struggled in that area.
“He was so good,” Beveridge said of Small.
“He leads us as our point guard.
“He brings the ball down, gets us set up, a few times we shot a score and he came down, got us into a good set and got us flowing so he’s awesome to have.”
The result guarantees Pakenham a spot in next year’s play-in series to the Youth Championship Division, and gets them to within two wins of winning this year’s chip.
The difference in intensity and execution was again on show when Hayden Melsen missed two easy baskets but had time to successfully shoot a third early in the second quarter as the margin ballooned out.
That sort of space was not afforded at the other end.
“It was a big plan to pack the paint,” Beveridge said.
“They’ve got some good players if you let them get down on the ring and we knew they had a few different shooters we had a few different coverages for so I was really happy with how we went.”
Through the middle of the game, Pakenham did just enough but were challenged as the game became more physical.
Camberwell got to within nine points early in the last term before points to Cooper Lanting, Mason Fraser and Aaron Small helped keep the visitors at arm’s length.
“We knew there would be runs; it would be how we reacted and countered those runs that would matter,” Venning said.
“It’s good to see that confidence.
“Early in the season, we didn’t react well, so we’ve learned and grown from that and guys are used to playing in those situations now.”
Mitch Zeunert was another key contributor, finishing with 16 points to continue his meteoric rise through the Warriors lineup.
A late Zeunert three was an exclamation mark on the win, but was one of just nine from 34 Pakenham shot on the night, well below their league-best 35 per cent average from deep.
Having fallen short after an undefeated season last year, Beveridge is confident the side is better-placed to handle challenges than 12 months ago.
“After last year’s disappointments, I think we’ve really matured in that area,” Beveridge said.
“When we get pushed, and other teams get momentum, we fight back and stick together is really good to see.”
The Warriors face McKinnon at GESAC on Saturday at 7pm, the only team to beat them twice this season, for a place in the final in two weeks.
