Olympians snap losing streak as top two continue form in latest Geraldton basketball action

There were no surprises in the latest round of the Geraldton Basketball Association as the top three teams posted wins to solidify their positions on the ladder. The hot-and-cold Olympians faced off against Trades on Tuesday night in an effort to end their three-game losing streak. After looking like the best of the rest for much of the season Olympians have fallen away in recent weeks, with lapses in concentration costing them big, particularly last week against the Hawks. It saw them fall out of the top three for the first time this season but the struggling Trades provided an opportunity for a reset. They did it comfortably on the back of power forward Johny Narkle’s 34 points — his second-best performance of the year — in the 102-85 victory. Trades are the lowest-scoring team in the competition, averaging 63 points a game, while the Olympians average 81, and would have been relying on their defensive work to keep them to a score they could manage. But Olympians jumped to an early lead, with Narkle and Liam Bennett forming the axis of attack to create a 10-point lead in the opening half. Trades were just about hanging on thanks to Jake Baker, who was turning in his best game of the season on his way to 16 points. Olympians had a bench to match Trades, meaning the attritional style of play they have adopted in recent weeks was less effective. Narkle continued to be deadly from range, hitting seven three-pointers in total, while Liam Bennett worked the paint to post 20 points for just the second time this season. Trades captain Joseph Iaria had a big game in the second half with 22 points as the game turned into a shootout, but with the Olympians’ early lead Trades could never eat into the deficit, despite posting their highest score of the season. Iaria (22), Baker (16), Lachlan Morphew (12), Jackson Patten (11) and Jayden Valenti (11) all posted double digits but it wasn’t enough against the firepower of Narkle (34), Bennett (20), Quinton Narkle (14) and Isaac Smith (12) as Olympians moved back into third on the ladder. In the Wednesday fixtures, Pumas were made to work for their 64-59 win over Stateside. While it was a clash between top and bottom on the ladder, the Scorpions were buoyant coming off their first win of the season last week and gave the Hawks a run for their money a week prior. But Pumas were on a three-game winning streak and have the best defence in the league, conceding an average of 59 points per game. It was a back-and-forth contest, with both teams putting in strong defensive work, but Liam Hunt was the difference with a game-high 23 points. The Scorpions were hanging on to the Pumas but lost their best offensive weapon when Tristan Jacques fouled out with just eight points to his name. Kobe Simpson (12), Stuart Egan (10) and Jack Stone (10) fought hard but it wasn’t quite enough as Hunt, along with Tomas Dobson (12), William Galvin (11) and Farren Parfitt (10), kept the Scorpions at bay. In the final game of the round, the Hawks were too strong for Chapman Valley, recording a 90-73 victory. The Warriors were coming off their worst offensive game of the year after posting a paltry 38 points against the Pumas. They were better here, led by Llewyn Valli’s 24 points with good support from Dylan Myers (15) and Mathew Wundenberg (13). But they couldn’t match the Hawks from deep who drained 19 three-pointers to the Warriors’ five, which was the difference on the night. Robert Greichen was fresh off a strong performance at the under-17s State championships and led the way with 22 points. Theo Bennett (18) and Jeremy Mitchell (17) both hit five three-pointers in what was their best games of the season.