Date: Thur, Feb 25, 2010

Hayes and Goodgame Return to A Grade

Ballarat Miners superstar, Eric Hayes and retired 2009 captain Brett Goodgame have returned to the court in the 2010 Ballarat Trophies and Gifts A Grade Men’s competition. Hayes, who resumed playing on Monday night for Celtic Tigers Green, did not have a slow start to his return scoring 21 points and helping his team to their third win of the season. Goodgame was as equally strong finishing with 18 points for Saints.

The game started off slowly with both teams unable to get comfortable on the offensive end. As the scoring got underway both teams eventually began to trade basket for basket. Hayes began to use his strength under the basket alongside teammate Ben New who also made some strong moves to the basket.

Retired Miners captain Brett Goodgame also returned to the court after having a busy start to 2010. Having just been married and begun a new job in the U.S., Goodgame returned to the court to play his final game for Saints before travelling back to California. He was also keen to prove that he has still got what it takes to play in the competition.

The final minutes of the match saw Celtic Tigers Green put their noses in front by a small margin. As time ran out, Saints tried desperately to claw their way back into the game. But Celtic produced some strong defence to seal the win by 5 points. Final score Celtic Tigers Green 66 defeated Saints 61.

Other A Grade Men’s results:
Phoenix 66 def Celtic Tigers Red 55
Sovereign Knights 45 def Mitsy 43

Leading Scorers:
1. Ben New (Celtic Green) 66
2. Chris Boadle (Mitsy) 57
3. Luke Cavanagh (Celtic Red) 55
4. Simon Quiddington (Phoenix) 45
5. Dylan Davidson (Sovereign Knights) 41

Ladder
1. Phoenix
2. Wildcats
3. Celtic Tigers Green
4. Sovereign Knights
5. Celtic Tigers Red
6. Saints

Nothing Can Separate Celtic Red and Exies.

Monday night’s A Grade Women’s competition saw Celtic Tigers Red and Exies Acmy going head to head on Court 1. The two evenly placed sides slugged it out in a game that provided the crowd with some exciting basketball.

The game started with a high level of intensity and finished the same way. Early in the match it was Celtic Red who gained the first advantage. With some strong attack on the basket Celtic produced a four point lead at half time.

Exies refused to give in after the break, scoring some early points to bring the scores even closer. Young guns Ella Burton and Jane Douglas worked hard for Exies and played a big role in bringing their team back into the game.

With less than a minute to go the scores were tied. Both teams worked hard and chased down every loose possession. As the clock ran down neither team was able to create the deciding basket and the game finished with the scores tied 40 – 40. Top scorers – Exies; Burton 12, Douglas 9. Celtic Red; Nestor 11, Cleary 9.

Other A Grade Women’s Results:
Celtic Tigers Green 51 def Phoenix/Wildcats 21
Saints Blue 63 def Saints White 41

Leading Scorer’s:
1. Emma Rues (Celtic Green) 50
2. Chantal Allgood (Saints Blue 45
3. Kelly Richardson (Celtic Green) 43
4. Andrea McMahon (Saints Blue) 42
5. Jane Douglas (Exies Acmy) 40

Ladder:
1. Saints Blue
2. Celtic Tigers Green
3. Exies Acmy
4. Celtic Tigers Red
5. Phoenix/Wildcats
6. Saints White