{"id":103426,"date":"2024-09-04T13:59:16","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T03:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=103426"},"modified":"2024-09-04T14:05:47","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T04:05:47","slug":"wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WILDCATS Basketball Club is one win away from being crowned Geelong United\u2019s RL Signs Men\u2019s Winter Championship champions, staving off a late charge from Pivot City, 59-60, at AWA Alliance Bank Stadium last night (Tuesday, September 5).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wildcats led by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter, before a string of Pivot City baskets tightened the gap in the final minutes of the Qualifying Final.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pivot City would fall one point short, meaning it now needs to win next week\u2019s Semi-Final to earn a spot in the Grand Final.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wildcats took the early lead, edging their noses in front 14-17 at the first intermission.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wildcats created a bit of separation in the second quarter, outscoring Pivot City 18-20 and holding a 32-37 lead at the main break.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_103428\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-103428\" style=\"width: 530px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-103428 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8147-scaled.jpg?_t=1725422092\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8147-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8147-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8147-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8147-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8147-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8147-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8147-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-103428\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ethan Blythe finished with 27 points.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both sides emerged from half-time with a defensive mindset, with only 16 combined points put up in the third period and Wildcats again extending their advantage to double-digits (36-49).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pivot City led their charge to try to steal the match, outscoring Wildcats 23-11, but the damage was done and the Wildcats earned a week off.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Corey Jones led the way for Wildcats with a team-high 15 points, while William Jones (11 points) and Jackson McDonald (10 points) were the side\u2019s only other players to achieve double-digit totals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Geelong United NBL1 representative Ethan Blythe handled most of Pivot City\u2019s scoring, putting up 27 in the loss. Bellarine Storm guard Max Kos scored 12 points.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wildcats now head to the Men\u2019s Championship Grand Final at AWA Bank Stadium in two weeks\u2019 time on September 17.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pivot City returns to the venue next Tuesday for the Preliminary Final.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Quarter by quarter:<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Pivot City: 14, 32, 26, 59<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Wildcats: 17, 37, 49, 60<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Scoring free-for-all ends in Coasters win<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DEFENCE was a low priority on Tuesday night in the Championship Men\u2019s Elimination Final between Surfcoasters Basketball Club and Lara Giants, as the two clubs scored a combined 243 points in the game.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surfcoasters emerged triumphant in the scorefest, winning the encounter 136-107 and keeping its season alive for another week, led by Spencer Smith\u2019s 33 points.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The affair started off on a neutral pace, as the Coasters attained the quarter-time lead, 23-20.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_103432\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-103432\" style=\"width: 633px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-103432 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8238-scaled.jpg?_t=1725422572\" alt=\"\" width=\"633\" height=\"422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8238-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8238-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8238-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8238-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8238-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8238-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8238-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-103432\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clancy Whelan put in 23 points for Surfcoasters in their win.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scoring frequency then intensified in the second quarter and didn\u2019t let up from there. The Coasters narrowly edged out Lara in points 34-33 to lead by four at half-time (57-53)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The men from Torquay then found their rhythm in the second half on the defensive end, catching the Giants off-guard on the fast break and getting crucial stops.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surfcoasters scored 39 points in the third period and then backed it up with 40 points in the fourth to cap off a 79-54 second half to comfortably end Lara\u2019s season.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smith\u2019s 33 points was a team high for the Coasters with five others achieving totals more than 10 points.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mitchell Smith ended the night with 27 points, Clancy Whelan with 23, William McPherson with 21 Ethan Nicholls with 16 and Vincent Whelan with 14.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_103430\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-103430\" style=\"width: 645px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-103430 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8219-scaled.jpg?_t=1725422531\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8219-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8219-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8219-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8219-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8219-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8219-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8219-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-103430\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lara&#8217;s Jack Burnett finished with 26 points on Tuesday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lara\u2019s Jackson Bentley had a game-high 34 points, while Jack Burnett\u2019s 26 points and Declan Coles\u2019 15 points rounded out the Giants\u2019 top performers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surfcoasters will play Pivot City in next week\u2019s Preliminary Final with the winner to meet Wildcats in the 2024 Grand Final.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lara\u2019s season ends after making the top four with a record of 10 wins and nine losses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WILDCATS Basketball Club is one win away from being crowned Geelong United\u2019s RL Signs Men\u2019s Winter Championship champions, staving off a late charge from Pivot City, 59-60, at AWA Alliance Bank Stadium last night (Tuesday, September 5). Wildcats led by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter, before a string of Pivot City [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":103427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-103426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot - Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WILDCATS Basketball Club is one win away from being crowned Geelong United\u2019s RL Signs Men\u2019s Winter Championship champions, staving off a late charge from Pivot City, 59-60, at AWA Alliance Bank Stadium last night (Tuesday, September 5). Wildcats led by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter, before a string of Pivot City [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-04T03:59:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-04T04:05:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg?_t=1725422747\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Vinnie van Oorschot\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Vinnie van Oorschot\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Vinnie van Oorschot\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c27fba79ad4a3b2b6d12f386207b3fce\"},\"headline\":\"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-04T03:59:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-04T04:05:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":605,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/\",\"name\":\"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot - Geelong Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-04T03:59:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-04T04:05:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2024\\\/09\\\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Nick Owusu with the ball for Wildcats in the Qualifying Final. Photos: VINNIE VAN OORSCHOT\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/sport\\\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"width\":248,\"height\":37,\"caption\":\"Geelong Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c27fba79ad4a3b2b6d12f386207b3fce\",\"name\":\"Vinnie van Oorschot\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9bf2bd698315b4c97194d18e5e04336b6f3c7fd5ca4fae895107ebc833f00692?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9bf2bd698315b4c97194d18e5e04336b6f3c7fd5ca4fae895107ebc833f00692?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9bf2bd698315b4c97194d18e5e04336b6f3c7fd5ca4fae895107ebc833f00692?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Vinnie van Oorschot\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/author\\\/vinnievanoorschot\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot - Geelong Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot - Geelong Times","og_description":"WILDCATS Basketball Club is one win away from being crowned Geelong United\u2019s RL Signs Men\u2019s Winter Championship champions, staving off a late charge from Pivot City, 59-60, at AWA Alliance Bank Stadium last night (Tuesday, September 5). Wildcats led by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter, before a string of Pivot City [...]Read More...","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/","og_site_name":"Geelong Times","article_published_time":"2024-09-04T03:59:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-09-04T04:05:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg?_t=1725422747","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Vinnie van Oorschot","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Vinnie van Oorschot","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/"},"author":{"name":"Vinnie van Oorschot","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c27fba79ad4a3b2b6d12f386207b3fce"},"headline":"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot","datePublished":"2024-09-04T03:59:16+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-04T04:05:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/"},"wordCount":605,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/","name":"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot - Geelong Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2024-09-04T03:59:16+00:00","dateModified":"2024-09-04T04:05:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2024\/09\/IMG_8058-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Nick Owusu with the ball for Wildcats in the Qualifying Final. Photos: VINNIE VAN OORSCHOT"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/sport\/wildcats-survive-pivot-city-charge-to-secure-grand-final-spot\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Wildcats survive Pivot City charge to secure Grand Final spot"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","name":"Geelong Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization","name":"Geelong Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","width":248,"height":37,"caption":"Geelong Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c27fba79ad4a3b2b6d12f386207b3fce","name":"Vinnie van Oorschot","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bf2bd698315b4c97194d18e5e04336b6f3c7fd5ca4fae895107ebc833f00692?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bf2bd698315b4c97194d18e5e04336b6f3c7fd5ca4fae895107ebc833f00692?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bf2bd698315b4c97194d18e5e04336b6f3c7fd5ca4fae895107ebc833f00692?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Vinnie van Oorschot"},"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/author\/vinnievanoorschot\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103426"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=103426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}