Date: Tue, Feb 02, 2010

Ballarat gets a good start to 2010 VJBL Competition

Friday night was the return of the 2009-2010 VJBL competition for Ballarat junior basketball players. Six Ballarat teams have been competing in the grading phases of the competition since September last year in a bid to qualify for a chance to play against Victoria’s finest.

Four of the six teams have already qualified for the Championship Division which will play host to teams from all over the state. This marquee competition will provide Ballarat junior players with the measure of their progress against the best metropolitan clubs. The under 14, under 16 and under 18 girls along with the under 18 boys have all secured spots in this division with strong performances in 2009. The under 14 and 16 boys are yet to finalise their grading phases.

Unfortunately the under 16 boys cannot qualify for the top division, however they are still eligible to cement a spot in the second tier competition. After suffering a 12 point loss to a very aggressive Eltham 2 team, the boys now have two “must win” games over the next two weeks. Coach Darren Thomas attributed the loss to the boys being unable to match the “hunger for the ball” that Eltham displayed in the second half. The team’s focus is now on working hard for the next two weeks to ensure that they qualify for VJBL Division 1.

The under 14 boys however can still join the other four Ballarat teams to represent the program in the Championship division, and a good win over Craigieburn on Friday  night helped their campaign. The boys travelled to their opposition’s home court and recorded a nine point win. This makes for a terrific start to their efforts in qualifying for the top division.  However Coach Travis Hewish said that the team “needs to play four quarters of good basketball against the stronger opposition that they will come up against in the coming weeks”.

In other games played on Friday night the under 14 girls came up against Frankston at the Minerdome. After the first quarter the game had taken on a very scrappy tone with both teams struggling to make a definitive statement at either end of the court. Coach Jill Appleton gave all ten players a good opportunity to play their part with all girls getting good court time.  At the half time break Ballarat held a slender one point lead. The second half saw much of the same kind of basketball played. With only seconds left in the game Ballarat were unable to retain the one point lead that they had held for most of the half, as Frankston hit a game winning shot leaving Ballarat no time to respond. The final score Ballarat 35 – Frankston 36.

The under 16 and under 18 girls both managed solid wins over their oppositions. The under 16 girls took on Melbourne and a good team effort form all ten players saw them walk away winners 53 – 46. Scorers for Ballarat were Hills with 11 points and Burton and Wehrung with 10 points.

The under 18 girls also produced a good team effort, defeating Nunawading by sixteen points. With coach Eric Hayes unavailable it was a terrific effort by all the girls to come together as a team. Acting Head Coach Sarah Monck said the girls all played a great role in the win. In particular it was Maddy Davis and Jane Douglas who led the team by example. The final score Ballarat 52 Nunawading 36.

The under 18 boys travelled away to take on a very strong Sandringham team. Unfortunately the boys were unable to match their opposition, going down by 21 points. The final score 56 – 35.

Next week’s games:
14 boys – Ballarat v Kilsyth @ Home
14 girls – Ballarat v Bulleen @ Melton
16 boys – Ballarat v Keilor @ Home
16 girls – Ballarat v Craigieburn @ Melton
18 boys – Ballarat v McKinnon @ Home
18 girls – Ballarat v Kilsyth @ Coburg

Any questions please contact:

Michael Agnew
Media Officer
P. 5338 1220
M. 0448 343 807
E. Michael.agnew@ballaratbasketball.com