VJBL Report - Round 5 2009
Under 16 Boys
The Ballarat Miners under 16 boys’ team had a convincing win over Geelong in Round 5 of the Victorian Junior Basketball League on Friday night.
The Miners, sitting third on the ladder, went into the game full of confidence while bottom of the ladder team Geelong were still looking for their first win of the season.
Sean Massey and Anthony Fisher continued their consistent seasons both finishing with a game high 21 points each.
Both teams started the game well with Geelong taking it right up to the Miners in the first half.
Ballarat lifted the tempo in the second half, through some solid plays from Josh Keys and Geelong just couldn’t keep in touch. The greater depth and talent of the Miners saw them run away to a 70-46 victory.
Under 18 Boys
The Ballarat Miners under 18 boys’ team headed into their Round 5 matchup against Frankston, looking for redemption after a disappointing result last week.
Frankston started the match better than the Miners setting up a 10-point advantage at the first break.
Jack Bennet and Ryan Erkamps stepped up the intensity in the second quarter providing excellent run and energy coming off the bench for the Miners.
Ballarat dragged the margin back to 2 points by half time.
The third quarter saw the Miners extend their lead to a comfortable 14 points, after some solid defence from Jarrod Fryar and Dan Wehrung.
Coach Daniel Sutton was satisfied with the way his team went about the win.
“ I asked two things of the boys before the game. One; to focus on talking in defence and two; to create opportunities for each other in offence. They managed to do both these things for the majority of the match which is a good sign for us” Sutton said
Under 14 Boys
The Ballarat Miners under 14 boys’ didn’t get off to a good start against their opposition Corio Bay.
Ballarat tried hard throughout the half but Corio Bays use of screens and an up tempo defence rattled the home team which was struggling to find any rhythm.
Corio continued to dominate the second half hitting some big shots and working extremely hard on the rebounds to take Ballarat out of the game.
Despite improvement as the game went on Ballarat’s poor first half cost them the game 28-44.
Under 16 Girls
The Ballarat Miners under 16 Girls team travelled to Melbourne to face the Altona Gators in their Round 5 matchup.
The Miners girls performed below par in the opening minutes, struggling against a more determined Altona outfit.
Jane Douglass kept her team in the game helping to set up a 3-point advantage at the half time break.
Nothing was going the Miners way in the third quarter as they continued to miss easy baskets under the ring, however Altona were also finding it hard to get a basket recording just 4 points in 15 minutes of play.
The last quarter saw Ballarat obtain a handy lead and hold on for a 9-point win 49-40.
Under 14 Girls
The Ballarat Miners under 14 girls faced a determined Frankston team who was looking to end Ballarats undefeated start to the season.
A game that was dominated by physicality and strength had Ballarat under pressure at the beginning of the game.
Kasey Burton helped the Miners to settle and with some great outside shooting and some solid defence Ballarat took the lead and all the momentum going into half time.
A slow and sloppy third quarter combined with some great plays from Frankston saw the margin blow out to just under 20 points by the three-quarter-time siren.
The Miners wouldn’t give up with a spirited comeback in the last quarter reducing the margin to 4 points but Frankston responded in the dying minutes and handed Ballarat its first loss of the season 56-43.
Next Games - Round 6
Under 14 Boys vs Whittlesea AWAY
Under 16 Boys vs Melbourne AWAY
Under 18 Boys vs Melbourne AWAY
Under 14 Girls vs Diamond Valley HOME 8:20pm
Under 16 Girls vs Diamond Valley HOME 8:20pm
Full Ladders and Draws available at www.vjbl.com.au
For further information please contact Sarah Monck on 5338 1220
