16th July 2026
Author: Maree DeGeorge
Southern Peninsula stuns D2M league leaders, Melbourne University remains locked in and Blackburn continues its rise.
With the race towards the Big V finals entering its final stages, another weekend of senior competition delivered plenty of talking points, from statement victories to unbeaten campaigns and teams building momentum at exactly the right time of the season.
Southern Peninsula produced one of the biggest results of the year by handing D2M ladder leader Sherbrooke its first loss of the season, while Melbourne University maintained its perfect Division One Women record to remain unbeaten and Blackburn continued its impressive rise towards the finals.
Southern Peninsula delivers statement win
Sherbrooke entered the weekend unbeaten at 15-0 and hadn't tasted defeat since last season's Grand Final, making Southern Peninsula's victory one of the most significant results of the Division Two Senior Men's season.
Despite the result, Sherbrooke remains the benchmark of the competition under coach Ryan Rooney. The ladder leaders have set the standard throughout the season and continue to shape as one of the championship favourites heading towards finals.
"Games against Southern Peninsula have become some of our best contests over the last few seasons," Rooney said.
"The Div 2 Men's competition has been very competitive this season, while we won the first 15 many of those games have been incredibly closely fought contests. The result against Southern Pen is a very timely reminder to our team about what can happen if we don't stay switched on and execute for the full four quarters. Huge respect to the sharks for digging deep and holding off our fightback in the 4th quarter."
"From my perspective, a loss like this offers a lot more lessons to the squad than a successful fightback, so I'm looking forward to how we respond to this experience, especially this close to finals," Rooney said.
For the Sharks, the result wasn't simply about ending Sherbrooke's unbeaten run, it was validation of the progress they have made throughout the season.
"It's a really positive bookmark in our journey," Coach Scott Ramsey said.
"We've been a work in progress all season and have continued to search for those little improvements each week to get closer to our potential. This was another step towards finding what our ceiling can be."
Ramsey said overcoming the competition's top side required complete commitment for all four quarters.
"Sherbrooke have set the benchmark all season and they're league leaders for good reason," he said.
"We knew if we didn't bring the necessary effort to every possession and do all the little things we'd worked on, we weren't going to give ourselves the opportunity to compete late in the game."
Ramsey also praised import Charles Elzie III, whose influence has extended well beyond the scoreboard.
"From the moment we identified Charles as someone who could join our program, we knew he was a proven winner," Ramsey said.
"Once you get to know him, you realise there's a much deeper connection between his success and his work ethic. He's had a profound impact on our ability to compete every single week.
"Offensively and defensively he's a challenge for every opponent he comes across, but it's his professionalism, competitiveness and leadership that have really lifted our group. He raises the standard of everyone around him."
For Elzie, one of the biggest areas of growth throughout the season has been the way the group has come together.
"As the season has gone on, we've become more connected as a group," Elzie said.
"Everyone understands how we want to play and we've built trust in each other. When you stop worrying about individual performances and just focus on making the next right basketball play, everything starts to flow a lot better."
Ramsey also praised the return of Fraser Spencer and the impact he made in his first game back.
"Fraser's impact is hard to measure," he said.
"The standards he sets for himself, his physicality, defensive presence and the connection he has with his teammates all have a huge influence on our group."
Elzie echoed these sentiments. "Getting Fraser back was huge for us," he said.
"He makes everyone around him better. He brings toughness, leadership and a real presence to both ends of the floor. Having him back gave the whole group a lift," Elzie said.
According to Elzie, the result simply reinforced what the group had believed throughout the season.
"There was definitely a sense of relief after the final buzzer," he said.
"We've believed all season that when we play the right way, we're capable of finding a way to win. We haven't always been able to finish games the way we have wanted over the last few weeks, but our belief in each other has never changed.
"To do it against a team like Sherbrooke, who's been the benchmark all season, made it even more rewarding."
Even against one of the competition's best teams, Elzie said his own focus never changed.
"I wanted to take the emotion out of it and just make the right basketball play and decision every time I had the ball," he said.
"When you're playing a team like Sherbrooke it's easy to get caught up in the moment, but for me it was about trusting what we'd worked on during the week, trusting my teammates and making good decisions over and over again.
"If you can do that consistently, possession after possession and quarter after quarter, you give yourself every chance to win. That's what winning basketball looks like."
While pleased with the breakthrough result, Elzie believes it should simply become another step forward.
"This win gives us confidence, but it doesn't change what we've been building all year," he said.
"We've still got work to do, but we've seen what we're capable of when we stay connected and play our brand of basketball. That's definitely something we want to keep building on heading into finals."
Ramsey hopes the result provides confidence heading into the closing weeks of the regular season.
"Hopefully a result like this gives our group belief," he said.
"The boys can see that the work they've been putting in matters, and that's really rewarding. There's nothing quite like seeing that effort rewarded with a win."
Melbourne University remains locked in
Melbourne University continued its outstanding Division One Womens campaign, extending its unbeaten record to 15-0 and further strengthening its position as one of the competition's benchmark teams.
The ladder leaders have combined disciplined defence with a genuine team-first approach, with different players continuing to step up throughout the season.
While import Ai Yamada has been an important contributor, Melbourne University's greatest strength has been its depth. Lana Hollingsworth, Olivia Virt, Amelia Smith and Meera Coburn have all played significant roles throughout the season, ensuring the ladder leaders continue to find different players making an impact each week.
Virt said the group's unbeaten campaign had been built on a collective commitment to improving every time they stepped on the floor.
"We're a super dedicated team. Everyone turns up to every training pushing each other to be our best, and that includes our coaches," Virt said.
"Everyone is invested and we're all working towards the same goal we set at the start of the season."
One of Melbourne University's biggest strengths has been its depth, with different players stepping up whenever called upon.
"We pride ourselves on our depth across the whole team," she said.
"Teams can't just shut down one player because they have to respect everyone who steps onto the court. We have so much trust and faith in one another, and that gives everyone the confidence to step up when they're needed."
Despite carrying an unbeaten record into every game, Virt said the focus remained firmly on the team's own standards and the bigger picture.
"We're definitely aware we have a target on our backs because every team wants to be the first to beat us," she said.
"We're proud of what we've achieved so far, but the job isn't done. Winning a championship has been our goal since pre-season and that's what we're completely focused on."
Blackburn’s culture drives winning run
Blackburn continued its outstanding run of form at the weekend, extending its winning streak to 10 consecutive games and strengthening its position as one of the Division One Men's genuine championship contenders.
While the results have been impressive, coach Shaun Coghlan believes the foundation of the Vikings' success has been built long before this winning run. With around three-quarters of the squad having come through Blackburn's junior program, the Vikings have developed a culture built on connection, accountability and putting the team first.
"Around three-quarters of our group came through Blackburn as juniors, so there's a real pride in representing the club," Coghlan said.
"They've helped create a really strong culture both on and off the court. Everyone understands their role and is willing to sacrifice individual success for the benefit of the team."
That culture has been reinforced by a strong defensive identity and the work of Coghlan's coaching staff, with assistants Matt, Jacob and Liam helping establish the standards and preparation that have underpinned the Vikings’ success throughout the season.
The return of Blackburn junior Jake Heath from Waverley's NBL1 program has also added valuable experience and leadership to the group.
"Jake brings experience, composure, a high basketball IQ and a genuine team-first attitude," Coghlan said.
"He's provided outstanding leadership since returning."
Coghlan said one of the team's greatest strengths had been its depth, with different players continuing to make important contributions throughout the winning run.
"We've had different players step up in different games throughout this run," he said.
"That depth gives us confidence because we're not relying on one player to carry us."
Despite the impressive form, Coghlan said the focus remained firmly on continual improvement rather than looking too far ahead.
"We're taking it one week at a time," he said.
"Finals are a different level of basketball, so we're continuing to focus on our defence, preparing thoroughly and learning how to adapt to different opponents."
With finals fast approaching, last weekend was another reminder that every result matters in the race for this year's Big V championships.
-Ends-
For Media Enquiries:
Maree DeGeorge
Media & Communications Specialist
Basketball Victoria
P: 0499 851 266
E: maree.degeorge@basketballvictoria.com.au
