New home court is magic

Added 13 April 2007

Michael Rogers

HAWTHORN Magic christened its new home at Boroondara Sports Complex in fine fashion last weekend with a pair of wins.

The Big V Division 1 men cruised to a 26-point win against Whittlesea, 108-82, last Saturday while the women proved they, too, were up to Division 1 class with a 60-52 win against Diamond Valley.

In the men's clash, guard Jay Allen shot the lights out in the first half, nailing five of eight three-pointers to finish with 24 points and seven assists.

Seb Belfrage (16 points, eight rebounds) continued his development as a senior player, while Matt Slaven, Boyd Smart and Tom Forde all hit double-figures.

The win took the Magic men's record to 1-1 after a first-round loss at Mildura.

Earlier in the night, Anna de Araugo enhanced her reputation as one of the league's premier rebounders, hauling down 19 boards against Diamond Valley.

She scored just eight points but, with strong contributions from Hannah Lowe (13 points), Ashleigh Fennell (12) and Bianca Lambert (11), the Magic proved too good for the visitors.

Like the men, the women bounced back strongly from a narrow first-round loss to Mildura, much to the delight of Hawthorn Basketball Association's Gary Macdonald.

"It was a terrific result. First night up at BSC and both teams performed really well,'' he said.

Macdonald said team stability and high-quality coaching provided the foundations for the club's tilt at the Division 1 premiership double this season.

"We've got Glenn Rees at the helm again with the men and Andrew Nightingale is doing a great job with the girls,'' he said.

"If you look at the teams, the changes have been fairly subtle and that makes it easier to build on the year before.

"There's also a lot more stability with the coaches and assistant-coaches.

"These guys are happy and the players are really enjoying themselves.''