Ballan Brumbies Basketball

Three of the club’s six grand finalists came home with a championship, with one still to play this week.

All three championship winners played tight, tense matches befitting the occasion, though it’s tough to go past the Under 16 Boys D as the feature match this week.

After an upset win in the semi-final, Ballan were facing top of the table Drummo Dragons.

The match was a cagey, defensive affair to begin with, belying the attacking nature of both squads. The flow of the game wasn’t helped by a spate of whistles. Drummo wing Jacob Quirk and Ballan defensive ace Cambrai Hodge both found themselves in foul trouble, though the deeper Drummo team found it easier to cover their man given Ballan’s only other centre, Joe Seketa, was playing on an injured ankle.

For their part, Ballan was slowly finding some rhythm. Sharpshooting Noah Cardona was cold from the outside but started to find some success in the mid-range, whilst Will Lewis’ bullocking drives to the hoop were reaping benefits. The first half closed with Drummo leading 11-8.

Both teams rediscovered their verve in the second half.

Ballan made a change to their defensive shape and Drummo started to regain their composure. With under two minutes to play and Ballan trailing by three, Mitchell found Noah Cardona in the corner for a long overdue three to tie the game. With no more scores, the Grand Final was headed to overtime.

The tree minute overtime could not have started worse for the Brumbies when Lewis and then Hodge both picked up their 5th fouls inside the opening 45 seconds, leaving Ballan to play a player short for the rest of the game.

The Brumbies needed heroes at both ends of the floor. Defensively, Mitchell intercepted a pass and on the ensuing possession Seketa let fly with a deep three. It was a classic ‘no, no, YES!’ moment as Seketa’s trey banked in.

The Brumbies boys securing a famous 33-32 win in overtime.

RESULTS – Grand Finals
Under 8 Boys
Ballan 13 lost Excies Acmy 14
Under 10 Boys
Ballan E 4 lost Saints Nets 49
Under 14 Boys
Ballan E 37 lost Celtic Tigers 44
Under 14 Girls
Ballan B 24 lost Saints Spirit 38
Ballan E 27 def Excies Acmy 17
Under 16 Boys
Ballan D 33 def Drummo Dragons 32
Ballan G White 38 def Phoenix Rush 33