THE Penrith Panthers have made an excellent start to their long-awaited return to the Waratah Championship League (WCL) competition, winning all three of their pre-season games at the annual Bruins Classic.
The Panthers have been pilloried in some basketball circles over their return to the higher division but set about silencing their critics in style over the weekend, defeating two opponents from the Waratah Championship League (WCL) division and one from State League to show they will be up to the challenge in 2012.
Stand-in head coach Peter Dawson extracted a sterling effort from his squad on both days of the tournament, with the Panthers surviving a tough first-up clash with the Hills District Hornets.
The Panthers overcame shaky legs at the end of that game for a nail-biting 68-66 win, then followed up on Sunday with a 67-60 win over Bankstown Bruins State League, followed by a 79-75 victory over the Sutherland Sharks WCL men.
Seasoned campaigners Steve Gavrilovic, Josh Morehead and Bruce Wells all came through with shining colours, as expected, whilst last year’s rookie combination of Emlyn Dodd and Louis Brandt also showed they will be up to standard in the higher division.
Penrith’s Youth League men also made a positive start to their season, falling 60-58 to the Bruins on Saturday before grabbing an 82-76 win over the Parramatta Wildcats in the final game of the day.
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