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RAMS WARY
OF GIANT ATTACK
9 MAY 2001
By Corey Brown and Piet Van Hasselt
The
WestpacTrust Canterbury Rams have their first
home game of the 2001 National Basketball League
(NBL) this Friday night at the WestpacTrust
Centre, where they will be up against last year’s
finalists, the ASB Bank Nelson Giants.
Friday’s match is not the first encounter
between the two South Island sides this year.
Nelson and Canterbury played regularly in the
pre-season (five games) with the Rams victorious
in the last two matches just three weeks ago in
Nelson.
The Rams began their 2001 season campaign last
weekend with a pair of narrow away losses to the
Property Broker Jets 93-92, and Saints 112-102.
However, the team adjusted to the new rule
changes by displaying an up-tempo brand of
basketball with fast breaking offence and
full-court pressure defence.
American import John Whorton made valuable
contributions in both games and was the Rams
leading point scorer with 31 and 30 respectively.
He also led the way in the rebound count
averaging 10.5 per game.
The dynamic guard line of Carlo Varricchio and
Rams Captain, Dave Langrell, ably assisted
Whorton and also scored freely. Langrell posted
10 points and 7 rebounds against the Jets and 12
more versus the Saints. Varricchio had a stellar
performance in the Saints game - just shy of a
triple-double with 13 points, 9 assists and 7
rebounds.
Nelson come to Christchurch with one win over the
Otago Nuggets last weekend at home, retaining the
Burger King Cup. After the shock withdrawal of
Tony Rampton just prior to the season, the Giants
have had to call on the experience of
high-scoring Phil Jones and Captain Judd Flavell,
Tall Black squad members. Last week saw the debut
of 2.01m American Keith Brooks as he injected
enthusiasm and aggression to the Giants forward
line-up.
A large crowd of raucous “Rams Fans”
are expected on the night to maintain Canterbury’s
dominance in spectator attendance in the NBL.
Friday’s match also marks Rams Coach Matthew
Ruscoe’s birthday, with the team hoping to
present him with a home victory.
The game tip-off is on Friday night at 7:00 pm at
the WestpacTrust Centre. The curtain-raiser will
be a North Canterbury Challenge between Kaiapoi
and Rangiora Junior teams, starting at 4:45pm.
Tickets are on sale now at all Ticketek outlets.
The 2001 Team Guide, comprising 20 pages full of
Rams information, will be on sale at the game for
only $2.
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