Ellas Titans and Palmerston Power announce themselves as sides to watch with early season showings

ELLAS Titans and Palmerston Power announced themselves as sides to watch in the 2021 Darwin Basketball season with both sides putting in dominant displays in Round 2.

Deola D’Brown had a big game against his former club Essington, finishing with 39 points. Picture: Leslie Robinson Photography

ELLAS Titans and Palmerston Power announced themselves as sides to watch in the 2021 Darwin Basketball season, with both sides putting in dominant displays in Round 2.

Titans look to have bounced back from a disappointing 2020 campaign packing plenty of star power and a rejuvenated culture.

Newcomer Raymond Jarrett played with plenty of enthusiasm against his former club Essington Cannons, netting 38 points contributing heavily to the 129-61 score.

Ellas stalwarts Deola D’Brown (39 points) and Ben Streeter (15 points) kept the scoreboard moving, adding plenty of flair through slam dunks and three pointers.

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A young Cannons outfit stayed in contention for the best part of three quarters, with Elijah Barbour (24 points) and Travis Ellis (11 points) scoring.

But the defensive efforts of David Reid limited the shooting opportunities of Barbour as the game wore on.

The performance was particularly pleasing for new coach Josh Streeter, who was proud of how quickly his side gelled.

“I’ve played with these guys over the past few years so I know their skills and weaknesses so it’s about bringing out the best in them,” Streeter said.

“We are big into family at Titans and want to bring that culture back to the club that was lacking a bit last season.

“The boys put in really well out there doing their jobs well and stepping up where we needed them to so it was a pleasing performance.”

D’Brown was also pleased with the showing feeling the club culture was hitting a new high.

“It’s great to get the win and just seeing how much we have come together as a group under our new coach Josh,” D’Brown said.

“The whole dimension of the team has changed this year and that’s showing out there on the court and I hope that continues for the whole season.

“To be able to have a load of guys come in and be able to gel together in such a short time and adding RJ has taken us to another level.”

Palmerston Power also showed their pedigree with their wealth of players seeing the outfit climb to a heavy 119-32 win over a hapless Uni Rebels.

The scoring of Pat Golong (24 points) and leadership across the court from Jesse Bell, Tom Godwin and Christian Williams saw Power to an assured win.

David Miles (17 points) was proud that his side’s pre-season efforts had translated onto the court in the early games of the season.

“We’ve been working really hard in pre-season to get us to where we are and our leaders are really pushing us,” Miles said.

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“We’re just sticking to our structure and plan, trusting the system even though these aren’t close games we’re making sure we stay consistent in our structure.”