VJBL Report - Round 12 2009
Under 14 Girls
The Miners under 14 Girls played Diamond Valley 2 at the Minerdome last Friday night.
An extremely slow start from Ballarat enabled Diamond Valley to jump out to a 20 – 4 lead at the first quarter break.
The junior Miners continued to struggle throughout the second quarter trailing by 17 points at the major break.
Diamond Valley extended its pressure and lead in the third and fourth quarters, as Ballarat couldn’t buy a basket. Ballarat eventually went down 65 – 33.
Under 16 Girls
After coming ninth last weekend at the National Classic in Melbourne, the Miners under 16 Girls were ready to play last Friday night against Knox 2 at the Minerdome.
Ballarat put in a strong performance in the first half with Ella Burton, Jane Douglass and Melita Reid all making a solid effort at both ends of the floor.
By half time, Ballarat had pushed the lead out to ten points and looked to have the game in control.
Madison Davis was another who impressed throughout the game, dominating the rebound count and restricting Knox from second and third chances at the offensive end.
Coach Glenn White was able to rotate through his entire bench in the last quarter and the continual improvement of his young players continues to get them across the line.
Ballarat defeated Knox, 49 – 41.
Under 14 Boys
After a two-hour trip to Vermont, the Miners under 14 Boys come up against an athletic and quick Ringwood team in round 12 of the VJBL last Friday.
A slow start from Ballarat enabled Ringwood to jump out to an early lead but Ballarat finally started to find their targets late in the first half, helping themselves to a 5 point adavantage at the major change.
The Miners Tom McMaster and Zac Carthew stepped up against their much taller opponents and showed tremendous courage getting after the loose balls when the game was on the line.
Ballarat in a thrilling finish just got home 27 to Ringwood 24.
Under 16 Boys
The Miners under 16 Boys travelled to Melbourne to face Kilsyth in their round 12 clash of the Victorian Junior Basketball League last Friday night.
Ballarat were undermanned from the beginning with four players out of action due to injury and illness.
Sean Massey and Jack Sullivan continued their good form this season with some outstanding efforts at the offensive end. Massey and Sullivan efforts along with Josh Keys’ defence in the second half helped Ballarat produce their toughest win of the season.
Coach Darren Govan happy with his team’s performance but reflected on an incident just prior to tip off which caused some havoc throughout the game.
“Just prior to tip off tonight, one of our starting five players realised he had forgotten to pack his shorts which left each substitution for the night frantically swapping shorts as they ran on and off the court. Not the ideal way to play basketball but I don’t think he will forget them again.”
Ballarat 67 defeated Kilsyth 52.
Under 18 Boys
The Miners under 18 Boys played away against Lilydale last Friday night in their VJBL round 12 clash.
The Miners under 18 boys were forced into a zone defence for the majority of the game, due to being undermanned and undersized.
Good team discipline in offence allowed some easy baskets and with Will Naber coming off the bench and providing some great defensive stops, we were well and truly in the game at half time.
In the third quarter Kilsyth went on a scoring run and Ballarat struggled to keep up with the extended pressure and tempo off the game.
Miners coach Daniel Sutton reasonably happy with his team’s effort.
“With our undersized team and three players on debut, restricting Kilsyth to only 42 points for the match was great. If we can get a few players back from injuries in coming weeks, we still have every chance of pushing ourselves up the ladder and well and truly into finals contention.”
Ballarat 32 lost to Lilydale 42.
Next weeks games
Under 18 Boys vs Sandringham 9:20pm HOME
Under 16 Boys vs Sandringham 8:20pm HOME
Under 14 Boys vs Warrandyte 8:20pm HOME
Under 16 Girls vs Eltham 8:20pm Away
Under 14 Girls vs Eltham 7pm Away
For further information contact Sarah Monck on 5338 1220 or sarah.monck@ballaratbasketball.com
