It was semi-finals week for Ballan Brumbies, with the under 19 Boys E looking to move into the grand final and defend their crown. Their opponent? A talented and athletic Saints Pirates.<\/p>\n
Jasper Batrouney got the favoured Burmbies underway with a three pointer, however Saints quickly assumed control of the match. Their defense was stifling Ballan\u2019s drive and kick game leading to a series of rushed shots and forced passes from Ballan.<\/p>\n
At the other end of the floor Brumbies light fingered guards were hampered by officiating that was on the tighter side. Noah Young, who picked up three quick fouls, the young man most impacted.<\/p>\n
Rob Fisher and especially Jude Graham were having their way with the Brumbies, scoring almost at will. When the powerful Olawale Obadina muscled his way into a tough basket, Ballan found themselves unexpectedly trailing 18-5. If it wasn\u2019t for Josh Rofe\u2019s ability to be everywhere at once on defense, Ballan may have been in even deeper trouble.<\/p>\n
A late first half rally, led by Tom Parente and Rofe, saw Ballan cut the margin to a far more manageable eight points at the break, trailing Saints 12-20.<\/p>\n
Ballan appeared to change up their defensive philosophy in the second half. Rather than trying to attack Saints ball carriers and create turnovers, they became a little more conservative, challenging the Saints to shoot over them from the perimeter. The approach worked a treat as paint oriented Saints offense dried up to a trickle.<\/p>\n
At the other end, however, Ballan continued to struggle to find the basket. Their vaunted perimeter shooting had largely abandoned them and whilst Ethan Boland was controlling the offensive glass, his bizarre reluctance to shoot was costing the Brumbies potential points in a game where points were increasingly difficult to come by.<\/p>\n
Saints still had to respect those shooters, though. Ballan adapted by upfaking the closing defender and getting into the midrange, a wrinkle that proved successful. Noah Pace hit a gentle floater, Young sliced to the basket and Rofe got a friendly roll on a pull-up jumper.<\/p>\n
With the Brumbies back in the contest, Batrouney took over.<\/p>\n
The classy guard continued Ballan\u2019s mid-range barrage with a pair of baskets before feeding Parente for a layup and Young for a long overdue three pointer as Ballan at long last retook the lead with under three minutes to play.<\/p>\n
Graham quickly gave Saints back the lead before Boland was sent to the free throw line. A good shooter, not that he realises it, the big man calmly nailed both freebies. Batrouney then seemingly sealed the game with a layup of his own with the clock under 10 seconds.<\/p>\n
The drama wasn\u2019t over with yet, though.<\/p>\n
Saints quickly moved the ball up the floor as Graham managed to get free in the corner. His potential game tying three was well short, but a whistle signalled a foul and with it three free throws \u2013 and the chance to send the match to overtime.<\/p>\n
He calmly drilled the first before the next shot bounced out, assuring Ballan of victory and consecutive grand final berths.<\/p>\n
This season, a record 13 Ballan Brumbies sides reached semi-finals, with seven so far (the Under 19 girls were yet to play at deadline) reaching next weekend\u2019s grand finals; another record.<\/p>\n
If Ballan can pick up four championships from those finalists, it will cap the most successful season in the clubs short history.<\/p>\n