An inability to defend the opposition’s three-point shot has contributed to both of the Hoop City Geelong United Supercats’ weekend losses.
In Saturday night’s 97-79 loss to Knox, the Raiders went 12-25 (48 per cent) from beyond the arc.
On Sunday, as United gave up a 10-point lead in the final period before losing in overtime to Keilor 106-104, the Thunder were an even more impressive 15-29 (52 per cent).
“I thought we did a really good job on their dribble handoffs and a better job on their onball screens,” coach Grant Wallace said of Sunday’s performance.
“But, they’re all shooters.
“Gabe (Hadley) was able to counter that a little bit, (but) George (Blagojevic) was 0-8 (field goal shooting) at halftime.
“Nick (Velasquez) stepped in a little bit as well, but we need that consistency from our end so we can counter it (the opposition’s shooting).
“We’re missing that badly.”
All five starters scored in double-figures against Keilor, led by 29 from Hadley and 22 from Blagojevic.
However, United’s bench produced just five points compared to the Thunder’s 48, with Kuany Kuany (28 points) and Cirkook Riak (18 points) going 9-16 from three-point land.
“We didn’t get support from our bench,” Wallace said.
“And when I went to the bench, it dropped a little bit, and that hurt us down the stretch.
“When you go to overtime, and you’ve made one sub for the whole quarter, it makes it hard.”
Entering the weekend slightly ahead of the win-loss ledger at 6-5, Geelong United now finds itself outside the top eight at 6-7 with a challenging finish to the season.
Following the King’s Birthday break, United hosts Dandenong before rounding out the regular season with four consecutive double-headers, including a trip to Mt Gambier on June 23.
For tickets to the matchup with Dandenong, click this link bit.ly/3JspNN5
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