Cobras rebound with victory

By Ben Turner
KILSYTH Cobras got their season back on track with a 91-85 victory over the Canberra Gunners.
Led once again by import guard Zach Malvik (28 points) the Cobras led from the opening tip but were made to fight it out until the final siren.
The first quarter was neck and neck with no team able to gain the ascendancy, but after a back cut from Adam Jackson (13 points, 5 rbds, 4 assists), the Cobras manage to take a six point lead into the first break.
The second quarter saw the Cobras jump out of the blocks and build an 11 point lead only to see the Gunners again close the gap and go into the main break down 6.
Cobras big man Joe Werner (10 pts, 14 rbds) was quiet throughout the first half and struggled with foul trouble but came back in the second to record some of his trade mark boards and dunks.
Despite Werner’s effort on the boards the Cobras were outrebounded 40-44 and will need to improve as a team in this area if they are want to continue winning games.
Missing point guard Jon Lee the Cobras transition was limited but the return from injury of Jon Croft added some class to Kilsyth’s half court game.
Croft recorded 11 pts on 5/10 shooting in his return from shoulder surgery and proved to be another crucial component to the Cobras line up.
As is the case with quality sides Canberra kept themselves in the game and continued to plug away to give themselves a chance at victory.
Zlatko Todorovski 28 pts and Jon Holden 20 pts led the way but the young Gunners side missed some important shots down the stretch as the composed Cobras converted at the free throw line.
Coach Grant Wallace will be pleased with his teams form after a disappointed display against Knox last week.
The Cobras shot at 49 per cent from the field 47 per cent from behind the arc and with Jon Lee back in the line up the pieces are starting to come together for Wallace and the team.
The Cobras don’t get much of a rest this week as they get set to take on Frankston in SEABL Big Wednesday Action from 7.30pm at Kilsyth. Frankston (4-2) has been a consistent performer so far in 2008 and this game is sure to come down to a battle of the imports as Werner looks to take on David Gruber and Malvik gets set for Rob Kampman. Big Wednesday Action is sure to see which of these conference rivals is the real deal in 2008.
Meanwhile, Lady Kilsyth Cobras won their third straight game with an 18 point victory over the Frankston Lady Blues. Clare Papavs was again the star stepping up in the absence of Sarah Parsons to finish with 17 pts and 9 boards.
In a slow, half court based game the Lady Cobras were made to work for every basket in this encounter as both teams zoned up for most of the game.
It became a test of which team had the ability to break the opposition zone and it wasn’t until the 4th quarter that the game opened up for the Lady Cobras.
Points off the bench was a key with Brooke Nisi (11 pts) and Caitlin Mulhall (10 points) having their most impressive SEABL games to date.
Nisi in her first season and Mulhall in her second teamed up with fellow second year player Hayley Moffatt (13 pts) to give the Lady Cobras an even scoring spread.
Erica McMenamin led from the front finishing with 7 pts, 7 rbds and 8 assists to lead her young team to another victory. Frankston became very one dimensional and apart from Ofsoski (22 pts) didn’t have enough weapons to worry Kilsyth.
Both teams are set to improve in the coming weeks with the return of Sarah Parsons and Desiree Glaubitz for Kilsyth and Marita Payne and Kylie Jordon for the Lady Blues.
This game will prove to be an important victory for the Lady Cobras as both teams look to find a place in the 2008 SEABL finals.
Kilsyth must now back up against 1st placed and unbeaten Nunawading in another cross town contest tomorrow before travelling to Brisbane to take on South Districts next Saturday night.
The Lady Cobras will be looking to extend the winning streak to 5 and firmly consolidate their spot in the top 4 even before the return on their two stars.