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Match Report by Jed Forson
Patrick Whelan, the MVP of our season opener, had another game-winning performance against the same opponent, scoring 13 straight points including three straight from beyond the arc.
The Gladiators came into game three of the SBC Trophy in third place with a 1-1 record following Friday night’s tough loss to group leaders Newcastle.
Manchester, started the season with two defeats and were looking to avenge the season-opening blowout defeat to the Gladiators.
There were three changes for the Gladiators after the defeat to Newcastle with Isaiah Hill, Toto Fagbenle and Tanner Stuckman all moving to the bench and Trevond Barnes, Kyle Jimenez and Patrick Whelan joining the starting five alongside Fraser Malcolm and Fahro Alihodzic.
The game started where Friday left with the Gladiators sluggish in the first quarter and the turnover issues still present.
Manchester- who struggled with shooting in the first game- started strong from the perimeter. On the other hand, the three which was the Gladiators best weapon in the prior game seemed to be missing, however they were getting to the free throw line.
The starters who were moved to the bench did not take it personally, bringing strong scoring contributions early on: 17 of the gladiators’ 23 points in the first quarter were from the bench.
In the second it was much of the same with turnovers keeping Manchester in the game along with some lapses in transition defence from Caledonia. Despite these issues, the game was tied going into the half.
In the third, both defences came out strong from the half-time interval. The Gladiators offence in particular stagnated after hitting some early threes. They were held to just 16 points and entered the fourth quarter down by five.
Then Patrick Whelan entered.
After a quick three from Manchester to bring the lead to eight, Patrick hit threes on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to two.
He then scored a layup and a midrange jumper- with a Manchester bucket sandwiched in between- to tie the game and hit another three-pointer to complete the comeback and put the Gladiators up by three, forcing Manchester into a timeout to try to extinguish the fire.
The two teams exchanged threes and free throws as the lead hovered around three heading into the last minute of the game.
The Gladiators defence which truly kicked into gear holding Manchester to just 19 points were able to see out the game and head home with the win.
MVP of the game is an obvious one with Whelan’s heroics but honourable mention goes to Tanner Stuckman with 14 points and 8 rebounds and Trevond Barnes with 15 points and 3 stocks.
The Gladiators turn their attention to the Europe Cup with a game in Germany versus Ludwigsburg on Tuesday.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STATS FROM THE GAME.
