Youth League One Men
Coburg Giants vs Sherbrooke Suns
Sunday 24th July 1.00pm at Coburg Basketball Stadium
In the first elimination final for the weekend, we see the 4th placed Coburg Giants host the 5th placed Sherbrooke Suns in what promises to be an absolute blockbuster. These teams have faced off twice throughout the season with Coburg taking the chocolates by double figures in both encounters.
In their Round 9 game, it was Coburg centre Rex Page who absolutely dominated the paint with an efficient 42 points going at 71% from the field, this combined with 18 rebounds proved to be the difference between the two sides. He received great support from Jaden Lai with 17 points and Damian Watson who had a well-rounded game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. During this encounter it was Sherbrooke star player Jacob Bourke-Doggett who kept them competitive with 26 points and 7 rebounds. Sherbrooke coach, Scott Gunther, will be hoping to get a similar output from his star this weekend with support from Dylan Johnstone and Bailey Ross.
In what is an unusual situation, both teams are entering the finals series slightly out of form with Coburg dropping their last two games of the regular season and Sherbrooke currently on a 4-game slide. We expect both teams to be primed and ready for this knockout final and turn their recent form around.
Statistical Leaders |
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Coburg |
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Sherbrooke |
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Rex Page |
20.24ppg |
Points Per Game |
Jacob Bourke-Doggett |
15.5ppg |
Rex Page |
12.76rpg |
Rebounds Per Game |
James Manson |
7.17rpg |
Matthew Hart |
3.26apg |
Assists Per Game |
Jacob Bourke-Doggett |
2.59apg |
Frankston Blues vs Collingwood All Stars
Sunday 24th July 2.30pm at Frankston Basketball Stadium
The Frankston Blues will welcome the Collingwood All Stars to Frankston Basketball Stadium on Sunday afternoon in a 3rd vs 6th battle. These teams have faced off twice already this season with Frankston scoring two big wins in those encounters, the most recent being a 22-point margin in Round 14.
When these two teams last played it was the Vincent Monaghan show, as he put up 27 points to go with his 4 rebounds. He was well supported by Ben Perry and Denver Lund who both displayed very well-rounded performances. For Collingwood, it was experienced guard Lachie Earl who kept the scoreboard ticking over with 16 points, including 4 3-pointers. The All Stars will be needing sharpshooter Lachlan Maddern to get hot from deep to provide support for regular scoring threats Jakub Lloyd, 12.9ppg, and Rieth Wetnhiak, 12.18ppg to try and reverse the result from the last time these two met.
Frankston enters this game as heavy favourites, currently on a 4-game win streak whilst Collingwood has been searching for consistency for much of the season. The All Stars attempt and make the most 3-point shots per game in the competition, are they going to get hot this week and cause the upset?
Statistical Leaders |
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Frankston |
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Collingwood |
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Ben Perry |
17.09ppg |
Points Per Game |
Lachlan Maddern |
13.33ppg |
Denver Lund |
7rpg |
Rebounds Per Game |
Rieth Wetnhiak |
7.64rpg |
Ben Perry |
4.95apg |
Assists Per Game |
Lachie Earl |
2.06apg |
Youth League One Women
Wyndham Basketball vs Craigieburn Eagles
Saturday 23rd July 7.00pm at Eagle Stadium
You want to be at Eagle Stadium for this one on Saturday night as 3rd placed Wyndham hosts 6th placed Craigieburn. These two have split their season series 1 each across the season. In Round 7, it was Wyndham who earned the win by 7 points, and in their second match-up of the season, in round 13, it was Craigieburn who got the win by 6 points.
On paper, it is Wyndham who is one of the most in-form teams in the competition, second only to Frankston; whilst Craigieburn is entering the final series having lost 2 of their last 3 games. Wyndham will be very aware of the Craigieburn dynamic duo of Carley Cranston and Heaven-Lee Valenti-Fakalata who are averaging 23.63ppg and 17.74 points per game respectively and will be searching for ways to slow them down. Wyndham possesses a much more balanced attack on offence with 5 players averaging over 10ppg, led by the sharpshooting Holly Dolny and Lucy Oakford.
It seems that the only thing that can separate these teams in this clash is their ladder position. Can Wyndham look to expose the league’s worst rebounding team? Will Carley Cranston have another monster game? Are Wyndham’s 3-point shooters going to be the difference? These are all questions that will be answered in what is going to be a blockbuster battle this Saturday night.
Statistical Leaders |
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Wyndham |
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Craigieburn |
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Holly Dolny |
16.85ppg |
Points Per Game |
Carley Cranston |
23.63ppg |
Ayuen Akot |
11.82rpg |
Rebounds Per Game |
Chideraa Obani |
7.15rpg |
Mackenzie Drew |
2.18apg |
Assists Per Game |
Destiny Valenti-Fakalata |
3.82apg |
McKinnon Cougars vs Pakenham Warriors
Sunday 24th July 2.00pm at GESAC
The McKinnon Cougars will welcome the Pakenham Warriors to GESAC on Sunday afternoon in a 4th vs 5th battle. Pakenham has the slight advantage when you take into consideration their in-season results, with a huge 26-point win against the Cougars in round 10 compared to a 5-point loss in Round 6.
In the Round 10 game that Pakenham won, it was the distribution of scoring that hurt McKinnon, with Pakenham having 6 players scoring double figures, led by Alahna Arnason with 14 points to go along with her 11 rebounds. Pakenham will be leaning on her again in this match-up whilst hoping the support from Rhiannon Gallagher and Tyla Scorah is also there. For McKinnon to get the win in this one they will be needing big games from Arden Bailey, Hannah McGillen and Romy Price. Those three girls combined with their overall impressive team depth could be enough to see them have success.
Pakenham is comfortably leading the league in free throw attempts per game, McKinnon will need to keep them off the free throw line to ensure they don’t give away points. This game is certain to be a close one and is almost too close to call.
Statistical Leaders |
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McKinnon |
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Pakenham |
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Kayla Welsh |
10.4ppg |
Points Per Game |
Rhiannon Gallagher |
13.32ppg |
Kayla Welsh |
9rpg |
Rebounds Per Game |
Alahna Anarson |
10.27rpg |
Cecilia Gates |
4.05apg |
Assists Per Game |
Ebony Sans |
2.4apg |