VJBL Report - Round 14 2009
Under 14 Girls
The Ballarat Miners under 14 Girls played host to Frankston Blues last Friday night in Round 14 of the Victorian Junior Basketball League.
Frankston got off to a quick start as Ballarat struggled to find their feet at the offensive end of the floor. Ballarat down 8 – 12 at quarter time.
Both teams played some outstanding defence in the second quarter lifting the pressure and restricting each other to 3 points.
A slow start to the third quarter by Ballarat, combined with some great team work from Frankston, allowed the Blues to extend their margin to 13. To Ballarats credit they managed to lift their defence and reduce the margin to 6-points heading into the final break.
Unfortunately for the Miners they couldn’t close the gap on the scoreboard with Frankston producing an 11 point win and handing Ballarat its third loss for the season.
Frankston 42 defeated Ballarat 31.
Under 16 Girls
The Ballarat Miners under 16 Girls also played at home last Friday night in their round 14 VJBL clash against Altona.
After a very slow start from Ballarat, Ella Burton and Madi Davis finally got the scoreboard ticking over and helped Ballarat lead 12 to 4 at quarter time.
The Miners came out strong in the second quarter with Emma White managing 8 points in the last few minutes to extend Ballarats lead to 11 at the major break.
After halftime everything went Ballarats way as Altona couldn’t keep up with the Miners work rate. Burton finishing with 20 points for Ballarat, after dominating the third quarter.
A solid team effort helped set up the win as Ballarat beat Altona 73 – 33.
Under 14 Boys
The Ballarat Miners under 14 boys headed to Geelong to take on top of the ladder team Corio last Friday night.
Ballarat set them selves a task in the opening half as Corio jumped out of the blocks in the first few minutes of the game and opened up a 10 to zero lead.
James Simpson and Ben Martin eventually combined well for the Miners as they sparked Ballarats offence and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Still behind at half time Ballarat needed something special in the second half to have a chance of a come from behind victory.
Finding their way through Corio’s zone defence was the key and once Ballarat managed to figure that out they produced a solid last half and pinched the game from the ladder leaders 37 – 31.
Under 16 Boys
The Ballarat Miners under 16 Boys travelled to Geelong with the under 14 boys last Friday night as they took on the Geelong Supercats.
Ballarat started the game in their usual fashion, stamping their authority on the scoreboard and blowing Geelong away in the first quarter 22 – 8.
Not allowing Geelong back in the game was the biggest highlight for Coach Darren Govan and with guards Sean Massey and Anthony Fisher dominating both ends of the floor Geelong never stood a chance.
Ballarat remain third on the ladder as they cruised to a 23 point win, their 9th for the season, but more importantly helping them to be two games clear heading into the school holiday break.
Under 18 Boys
Ballarat Miners under 18 Boys travelled to Melbourne for their Round 14 clash against Dandenong.
Ballarat struggled in the first quarter as Dandenong’s zone defence was producing headaches for Coach Daniel Sutton.
The Miners continued to struggle throughout the second and third quarters with Dandenong using its strength and ball movement to set up a handy three quarter time lead.
Ash Constable was the shinning light for Ballarat as his defence was almost flawless against a much stronger Dandenong outfit.
Dandenong continued to dominate throughout the last quarter as Ballarat eventually ran out of legs and Dandenong produced a solid win 75 to Ballarat 27.
VJBL will break for School Holidays returning to the court on Friday 17th July.
For further information contact Sarah Monck on 5338 1220 or sarah.monck@ballaratbasketball.com
