ARMIDALE Basketball recently held the Grand Finals for the 2013 Winter Trophy Competition with some great basketball on display.
In a hard-fought Men’s A Grade basketball grand final, last year’s Grand Finalists, Nadus, held off a late surge by The Who to win 59 to 50. Nadus got on the scoreboard early with outside shooting from Kony Madid (12 points) and Seamus Druitt. At the other end The Who were finding it hard to score inside against good defence and strong rebounding.
Nadus led 20-18 at half-time and stretched that out in the second half when the Maluach brothers dominated scoring – Makuach finishing with 17 points and Matur 16, including three 3-pointers – while Druitt continued to evade the defence and finished with 14 points.
Lachie Malcolm led The Who’s scorers with 15 points, while Liam Porter fought hard all game to finish with 12. It was a stirring game of skill and passion and both teams could hold their heads up at the end.
It might also be the last time Armidale sees Makuach in action for a while, as he heads to school in Sydney next term.
In the Men’s A Reserve Grand Final, the Under-18 Lions may have been hoping their youth and fast-breaking game would be enough to account for Rossbuild, with their share of knee strappings! But in a surprising result, the canny and well-organised Rossbuild were always in control, running out winners 58-33.
Rossbuild varied the point of attack and had skilful finishers around the basket, while also finding enough runners to score some easy baskets on the break. Major scorers were Trent Donaldson (17), Josh Pearson (15) and Chris Pittman (9), while for the Lions Will Pankhurst had his usual tireless game to finish with 16, while Sam Struck and Bernie Shaeffer-Model each added eight. A deserved win to Rossbuild, and a learning experience for the Lions.
In the Men’s B Grade Grand Final, Ballistics great defence paved the way for a 35-25 win over Bulls, with alert intercepts and steals leading to easy baskets at the other end. Ballistics speed and elusive inside game had Bulls in foul trouble early in the second half, but they continued to fight hard and keep the score close until reduced to four men late in the game.
For Ballistics, ‘Poppy’ Maluach led all scorers with 13 points, and Elijah Rasiga had a good all-round game to finish with 12. Matt Lockyer led Bulls scorers with 10 points, while Kim Wangchuk added nine.
Sistas have claimed the ABA Women’s A Grade basketball crown by winning two of the three match finals series against Fiikl. The first game was a close game, Sistas winning 30-26 with Karen Brown and Sue Watson putting in solid performances for Fiikl while Tieri Doyle and Janaya Lockwood were key players for Sistas. In the decider, Sistas ran out winners 36-20, after leading 21-6 at half time. For Sistas, Janaya Lockwood led all scorers with a massive 19 points, while Tieri Doyle added nine. For Fiikl, Alice Hone scored eight points and Karen Browne five.
In the Women’s B Grand Final, Funkhair’s willingness to move the ball around and find the open player gave them good shots, allowing them to lead by a point at half time. At the other end Green Machine’s shots weren’t falling, while Funkhair’s good zone defence was snaring all the rebounds, denying second chances. In the second half Green Machine couldn’t ‘buy a basket’ while Funkhair stuck to what was working and hung onto a narrow 24-21 win. For Funkhair, Mel Darmanin had 10 points, with Trish and Kim Battin sharing another 10. For Green Machine, Laura Carey scored nine points while Britt Cundy added eight.
In the Women’s C Grade Grand Final a depleted Action Apples came up against some serious talent in the skilled Hooperstars, who were always looking for the chance to run the fast break, and finished well close to the basket. At the other end, Action Apples had one of those nights when there seemed to be a lid on the basket, but Hooperstars was part of the reason with their active defence. With a big half-time lead, Hooperstars showed no mercy in the second half, running out winners, 47-4. Action Apples lacked nothing in effort and spirit, and better shooting technique will add much to their enjoyment of the game. For Hooperstars, the elusive Walkers Alison with 16 points and Taryn with 13 did the most damage, while Laura Sweeney scored all Action Apples’ points.
In Year Nine and 10 Girls’, all the skills and passion of basketball were on show in a low scoring grand final, and it was a surprise that the final score was not as close as the game appeared. While PLC Blue ended up winners 14-2 after leading 8-0 at half time, NEGS Heat lost nothing in teamwork and effort. These are the things we love to see in basketball, and there are many in both teams who could go further in the sport. For PLC Blue, Ellie Lambell had six points while four other girls had two each, while Anthea Powell scored for NEGS’ Heat.
In the Year Seven and Eight Boys’ Grand Final, Armidale High converted a modest 23-16 half-time lead into a 55-31 win over Duval Chaos, through teamwork and good shooting by Elijah Rasiga (27 points) and Hamish Worthing (21). While the final score looked comfortable, there was less difference in the efforts of the teams. For Duval, Abe Dwyer Westhorpe scored 12 point while Oliver Bridge added 10.
In a tense and rousing Year Seven and Eight Girls’ Grand Final, NEGS Cubs appeared to have their opponents Wolves under control, leading 14-7 at half time through superior teamwork, rebounding and shooting. This continued well into the second half, when Rachel Cuskelly (13 points) started pulling down rebounds and finding a way to the basket, and Wolves staged one of those heart-stopping comebacks that make basketball so exciting. At the final siren Wolves were ahead 21-20. Another minute could have seen a different result, but both teams knew they had given their all. For NEGS Cubs, Bridget Sutton top-scored with 12 points.
