Surfcoasters in fine form

THE Surfcoast Basketball Club’s VJBL U14 Boys team have knocked off the Corio Bay Stingrays by 11 points (39-28) in an epic showdown at Surf Coast Secondary College on Friday, 25 March.

Forward Merrick O’Neal and guard Angus Taylor scored 17 and 10 points respectively, giving the team a leg up against Corio Bay’s most dominant scorer.

Playing at home after a month of away games was a clear advantage, with local families and supporters alike piling into the Torquay school to support the team.

Assistant coach Greg O’Neal said he was proud of the team’s outstanding effort.

“We’re one of the best defensive teams going around. I love the fact that they’re all local Torquay boys who care for each other and play for each other.

“There are no egos either. The crowd was treated to a really high level of basketball.”

Though the club is thrilled with the accomplishments of their first VJBL team, the inaugural Grand Final of the local U23 Men’s Super League is set to kick off at 7pm tonight (Friday, March 29) at Surf Coast Secondary College.

The first seed, Southside, will play against the fourth seed, Bird Rock, following their upset during the semi-final last week which saw Murphy Clifford sink a buzzer-beating 3-point shot to clinch the game seconds before the siren.

“I was just thinking about how good it would be for the boys and I to go to the granny,” Clifford said. Southside guard Jack Gaspari said the game is going to be “one for the ages”.

“There’s a lot of players on both teams that stand out as individuals, but it’s the way that they both work as a group cohesively. It’s going to be a cracker of a game to watch.”