South West Slammers’ men’s side still winless despite brilliant performance from import Calvin Whipple

A brilliant performance from import Calvin Whipple was not enough to propel the South West Slammers’ men’s side to their first win of the 2025 NBL1 West season, coming in a 12-point loss to Lakeside Lightning at Lakeside Recreation Centre on Saturday. After a slow start to his first season with the club, Whipple was moved to the bench by coach Jason Chalk for the game, being replaced in the starting five by Jack Flynn. And the American relished the responsibility which came with leading the bench unit, pouring in a season-high 34 points, all but four of which came on the 10 three-pointers he connected on from 15 attempts. But his heroics were not enough to see his side, who were on the wrong end of a 103-91 result, over the line. With more than a quarter of the season now completed, the Slammers sit on the bottom of the ladder and they are the competition’s only winless side after Cockburn defeated Perth on Saturday. In the pre-season, Chalk set his side a goal of making the playoffs, but a sixth straight defeat means they already find themselves three wins adrift of a top eight spot. Co-captain Devan Craig (18 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and Whipple’s compatriot Jamal Poplar (14 points, 12 rebounds, four assists) were the other Slammers to score in double digits on the night, continuing a pair of strong seasons. On a strange offensive night, a Whipple-led display of brilliant outside shooting helped the Slammers make 18 of their 37 attempts from beyond the arc, with Craig and veteran Cory Richardson also making a pair of three-pointers apiece. But they found the going much tougher closer to the basket, where their 46 two-point field goal attempts yielded only 13 makes. Ahead by five points at the first break, the hosts seized control of the contest in a 33-15 second term which boosted their lead at the main interval out to 23 points. Whipple’s offensive explosion which saw him make eight of his three-pointers in the game’s closing 13 minutes — including five in the final term — helped to narrow the margin but the Lightning did enough in the closing stages to ensure it was never closer than nine points. The visitors did not have many answers for Lakeside star and former Perth Wildcat Corey Shervill, who produced a 28-point, 14-rebound, four-assist stat-line.