By Jonty Ralphsmith
The Pakenham Warriors went down in a must-win grand final playoff clash to Gippsland by four points on Saturday night.
The travelling Warriors held a narrow lead for the majority of the first three quarters, but Gippsland remained within touching distance and seized when the game was on the line.
Having gone into the final change leading by two points, Pakenham trailed for a large portion of the last quarter, by as much as seven points, before getting the lead back with just under three minutes left.
The Warriors were up by a point with 99 seconds to go when Gippsland’s Brandon Armstrong converted a pair of free throws.
As Pakenham tried to create play and make things happen in the dying seconds, Joe Davis then conceded a personal foul which saw Gippsland’s lead extend to three points.
A timeout was then called with 32 seconds to go, but Pakenham could not get anything going offensively and another two pairs of free throws extended the final margin.
It was all the usual’s who shone for Pakenham.
Jake Spruhan (eight defensive rebounds), played an important game defensively, while Davis (21 points, nine rebounds), Josh Dow (18 and four) and Ned Weideman (17 and seven) all played more than 36 minutes, and Alistair Parker (15 and 10) brought his typical energy and vitality from the bench.
