Geraldton Buccaneers make a statement in 61-point thrashing of South West Slammers

The Geraldton Buccaneers made a statement as they opened their 2023 account with a 61-point thumping of the South West Slammers in front of a raucous home crowd at Activewest Stadium on Saturday night.

It was always billed as a mismatch between the best and worst teams of last season and the Buccs left no quarter as stars new and old put the Slammers to the sword.

Despite only arriving on Wednesday and having just one training session, Zac Gattorna wasted no time in getting some poster-worthy highlights with some massive dunks and storming drives to the rim on his way to 17 points.

But the most pleasing sign for Buccs fans was the return of captain Aaron Ralph who made his long-awaited return from injury leading the way with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Malik Meunier scored the Buccs’ first points of 2023 with a corner three as the teams traded baskets in the early stages as both sides worked their way into the game.

But it wasn’t long before Geraldton found their groove as they were just far too quick for the Slammers running in lay-ups and tip-ins before Gattorna slammed down his first dunk.

It was already 34-15 by the end of the first quarter with it clear it was going to be a long night for the Slammers.

But they would have hoped for better than just 16 points across the next two quarters as the Buccs extended the lead beyond 50 points.

They couldn’t keep their hands on the ball committing 26 turnovers as Ralph, Gattorna and Malik dominated the paint with Johny Narkle supporting them with his field shooting.

One area that could improve is in the three-point department with the Buccs shooting below 30 per cent but it mattered little against such an outclassed opponent.

The Slammers, who travelled back to Bunbury immediately after the match by bus, will no doubt do plenty of soul-searching following their harrowing performance, with Manyiel Wugol playing a lone hand with 17 points.

Johny Narkle added 18 points and six steals, Malik Meunier 12 points and 10 assists, Shaun Stewart 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Liam Hunt 10 points and eight boards along with Gattorna’s and Ralph’s contributions.

Coach Dayle Joseph was pleased with the win but knows tougher challenges lie ahead.

“You’ve got to be pretty happy with a performance like that, we tried to play a bit faster than last year and it was good to get a good run-through with everyone,” he said.

“We can’t get too ahead of ourselves, the Slammers are struggling for numbers and there were a couple of guys who we thought would come up that didn’t, so they certainly weren’t at their best.”

The Buccs will now face the Perth Redbacks this weekend in a special ‘home’ game at the Karratha Leisureplex.