Palmerston Power shows its player depth in its big win v Essington Cannons in Darwin Basketball
PALMERSTON Power continue to benefit from their strength in numbers after beating Essington Cannons 114-62 in Round 4 of the 2021 Darwin Basketball League on Thursday night.
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PALMERSTON Power continue to benefit from their strength in numbers after beating Essington Cannons 114-62 in Round 4 of the 2021 Darwin Basketball League on Thursday night.
Power were quick to fire early, applying plenty of pressure across the court and taking every opportunity available to score.
Recruit Pat Golong (37 points, pictured) was in fine form in the paint, taking advantage of any Cannons mistake. Tom Godwin (23 points, five three-pointers) also impressed in the scoring, netting his three-point opportunities when they came.
Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson (15 points) and Jesse Bell (13 points) also made double figures in a Power side with firepower right across its squad.
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The Power bench played no small role in the victory, with Liam Napier (15 points) and Michael Stewart (six points) bringing plenty of energy on to the court.
Cannons found their runs at times with import Elijah Barbour (22 points) still finding points despite being locked down.
Matteo Materazzo (11 points) and Maverick Falzon (seven points) made some impact off the bench.
And although Palmerston is on a winning run, Golong insisted that his side was not yet comfortable with its playing style.
“We’re not too content given the next three games we have are going to be pretty tough, so while it was a decent effort we’re not yet content,” Golong told the NT News.
“Running our sets on them was the focus while stopping and limiting the shooting opportunities of their guards particularly EB (Barbour).
“We neutralised their main scorers and pushed transition on them.
“Every time they made a mistake we pushed it down and got easy buckets from that.”
Palmerston currently sits at the top of the DBL table after four rounds and is looking like one of the big favourite outfits in the competition.
But tough matches against Ansett, Lightning and Ellas Titans are looming in the coming weeks.
For Golong, he is enjoying life at his new club, having moved from the 2020 Championship winning team Eagles.
“It’s awesome being at Power. I’m loving the team, everyone gets around me,” Golong said.
“I’m loving the support and the family vibes they have here.
“Everyone just gets along and supports each other on and off the court.
“We look at each week at a time but the next three games are against the other top-three sides so we will be looking to try and pick up those wins.”
Meanwhile, Eagles (David Oates, 26 points) pulled ahead in the final quarter to post a 67-54 win over Uni Rebels (Mixon Laurel, 20 points).
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