Dickel Dodges The Drop
Tagged in: Kiwis Abroad, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns
Former Tall Blacks point guard Mark Dickel made a significant contribution in a win that could save his team from relegation in Greece.
“Sparky” Dickel had his most productive game since joining AS Trikala after the Christmas break, scoring 12 points and adding four assists and two rebounds in 31 minutes in a crucial 73-61 home win over Egaleo on Thursday in round 25 of the Greek A1 league.
The win bumped Trikala, who earned promotion to Greece’s top league after winning the A2 league last season, ahead of Egaleo into 12th from 14 teams, with both teams tied at 6-19.
Dickel shot 3-of-4 from the field, including making two of his three long-range attempts, and made 4-of-6 from the foul-line in a game where a loss would have consigned the central Greece club to the drop.
Trikala need to beat third-placed Aris on the road in the final round of the regular season on Saturday or hope Egaleo lose to fifth-placed Panellinios to remain in the top flight as the bottom two teams get relegated to the A2.
In Spain, Tall Blacks centre Craig Bradshaw aided his team, Grupo Begar Leon, in pulling back into the playoff mix with a winning LEB Gold double-header last week.
Bradshaw had seven points (3/8 FG, 1/3 3pt, 0/5 FT), two rebounds, an assist and block in 21 minutes in a 79-70 road win over Alicante on Thursday in round 29, followed by three points (1/4 FG, 0/1 3pt, 1/2 FT) and a board in 13 minutes in a 79-67 home win over Club Melilla Baloncesto on Sunday.
Leon jumped from 10th to eighth in the LEB Gold, at 16-14, with four rounds remaining. The LEB Gold’s top team gains automatic qualification to Spain’s top league, the ACB, while the next eight teams battle in the playoffs for the second promotion spot.
Already in the playoffs in Romania, Wellington Saints forward Leon Henry had his most productive game in months for former Tall Blacks coach Tab Baldwin’s Cluj-Napoca in game one of their Divizia A quarterfinals series against CSU Atlassib Sibiu.
Henry dropped 10 points (4/7 FG, 2/5 3pt) and collected four rebounds in 16 minutes in the 96-91 game one road loss to their Transylvanian rivals on Friday. Game two is scheduled for Thursday in Cluj-Napoca.
Harbour Heat forward BJ Anthony also posted 10 points (3/11 FG, 4/7 FT) with seven boards and an assist in 22 minutes in Herzoge Wolfenbuttel’s 88-80 road loss to RSV Eintracht Stahnsdorf on Sunday in round 29 of the Bundesliga D2-Pro B on Sunday, leaving them second at 21-8.
Across the Ditch, two Tall Ferns, Toni Edmondson and Lisa Wallbutton, produced big double-doubles as the Albury Wodonga Lady Bandits, coached by Tall Ferns video technician Ken Hamilton, rolled to a 77-64 home win over the Ballarat Lady Miners in round six of the SEABL on Saturday.
Edmondson rained in 28 points (11/17 FG, 2/3 3pt, 4/5 FT), with 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals in 40 minutes, while Wallbutton had 19 points (9/19 FG, 0/5 3pt, 1/2 FT), 16 boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 37 minutes as the Lady Bandits improved to seventh at 2-3.
In Adelaide, Tall Ferns point guard Angela Marino scored 24 points in her Sturt Sabres debut this season, helping the defending Central ABL champs to a 68-59 home win over the Woodville Warriors in round five on Saturday.
Former Waikato junior Te Puao Silver scored four points (2/7 FG, 0/1 3pt), with two rebounds, an assist and steal in 23 minutes in the Melbourne Tigers 93-86 home win over Waverley in round four of the Big V Youth League on Saturday, keeping the Tiger Cubs unbeaten at 5-0.
