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RAMS
HEAD SOUTH IN SEARCH OF SECOND WIN
16 MAY 2001
by Corey Brown and Piet Van Hasselt
The
WestpacTrust Canterbury Rams travel to Dunedin
this weekend to take on Southern rivals the Otago
Nuggets on Saturday night, in round three of the
National Basketball League.
In what is still the early stages of the 2001
season, Canterbury will be in search of a second
successive win to go with last Friday’s
remarkable come-from-behind triumph against the
Nelson Giants.
The Rams will be looking to capitalise against
the Nuggets, and eliminate the errors that
troubled them in the first three quarters of the
Giants match. American Import John ‘Pope’
Whorton will again play a key role against the
undersized Otago front-line. The physical duo of
Jon Disher and Tim ‘Energizer Bunny’
Edmonds look certain to see more action after
their impressive fourth quarter performances last
Friday. One of the key match-ups of the night
will be between the two starting point guards:
Rams ‘lightning-quick’ Carlo Varricchio
and ‘live-wire’ Hayden Allen for the
Nuggets.
Otago languish at the bottom of the NBL table
having lost a tough away double-header and a
physical clash against Nelson in the opening
rounds. The under-strength side is without key
players this season including Stacey Lambert
(with the Jets) and Tall Black Rob Hickey. They
appear to be treating this year as a rebuilding
season and are giving inexperienced players
plenty of court time.
Canterbury will not be underestimating the
Nuggets as they possess a ‘never-say-die’
attitude, spurred on by hustling captain Andrew
Parke and team veteran Murray Clarke. Clarke has
been recording career high numbers this season
averaging 20 points and just over six rebounds
per game.
The Rams and Nuggets met twice in the preseason,
with Canterbury comprehensively winning the last
encounter at the Easter Tournament in
Christchurch.
The game tip-off on Saturday night is 7pm at
Dunedin Stadium. The next home game for the Rams
is on Sunday 27 May at 2pm against Blockbuster
Auckland.
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