November 9, 2014

Photo:  Eagle Louis 'Louie' Ilton helping the men's GF aspirations hit 15 in win over Lightning.

Championship Season

Darwin Basketball Association League Results from Saturday 8 November 2014

League Women – Tracy Village Jets v Ansett

The playoff favourite Tracy Village Jets quashed any ideas Ansett may have had of ‘upset’ by unceremoniously dumping the Blues 73-59. The Bombers outscored the Blues in every quarter bar the last one and by that time the margin between the two was too great for the Blues to overcome. By the end of three quarter time the Bombers had a 24 point lead thanks to the accurate shooting from court captain Sam Rioli, Tania Dhu and Abby Cubillo. The Blues put in a bit of an effort in the last quarter but it was too little too late. Sam Drescher (16.3ppg) led the Blues with a team high 22 followed by Ashton Eaton (24.6ppg) with 17. Rioli (16ppg) took game scoring honours with 25, Dhu (9ppg) backed her up with 21 and Cubillo (24ppg) was relatively quiet with 11.

Eagles v Lightning

The Eagles tuned up for the playoffs at the expense of the Lightning with an 81-27 thumping for their second win in a row. The Birds were relentless on defense, holding the Lightning to just 14 points in the first half before unleashing a second half blitz that saw them put up 51 points to just 13. Kimberly Brown (13.5ppg) hit a season high 29 points Lillian Williams (11ppg) added 14 and Michelle Friel 11 @ 12ppg. The lone stand out for the Lightning was Cindy Bulich (7.5ppg) who tallied a team and season high 24 (17 in the last quarter). With one more game remaining in the minor rounds the Birds have the unenviable task of facing up to the league leading Jets twice, needing to win the second meeting (major semi-final) to go straight into the grand final.

Ladder after Round 19:                                Tracy Village Jets 17-1, Eagles 10-8, Ansett 6-14, Lightning 4-14 – Ladder includes forfeits

Next Friday Round 21:                                  Ansett v Lightning 6:15pm & Eagles v Tracy Village Jets 7:45pm

League Men – Eagles v Lightning

The new league leaders, the Eagles, sent the Lightning packing with a comprehensive 101-69 victory to put them one game ahead of Ansett and the Rebels on the ladder with just one game remaining in the minor rounds. The Lightning made a game of it for one half before succumbing to the firepower of Chris Hart, James Silvie and Reece Turner in the second half. The trio combined for well over half of the Eagles 63 second half points while the team held the Lightning to just 33. Hart (26.5ppg) finished with a game high 37, Turner 20, Silvie 18 @ 27.1ppg and Louis Ilton 15. Cameron Bailey (14.6ppg) put up 20 for the Lightning with Craig Martin (17.5ppg) chipping in with 15 and Tom Godwin 12.  

Ansett v Uni Rebels

Ansett handed the Uni Rebels their second consecutive loss with a convincing 105-76 victory that sent the Rebels back into third place on the ladder. The main architect of the loss was Donte Nicholas (36.6ppg) who set a game high scoring record for this season with 51 points. The Blues won every quarter against a team that had been almost unbeatable throughout the competition. John King returned from injury for the Rebels to team up with Tim Morris in one of the most formidable duos this competition has seen for many years, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the output by Nicholas and team mates Matteo Rowse 23 points @ 16ppg (including 7 treys) and Jake Feeney 15 (all in the second half). The teams are locked into second place on the ladder the Blues have the better percentage points at the moment so the ‘double chance’ spot on the ladder won’t be decided until next Friday.  

Tracy Village Jets v Razzle

The Tracy Village Jets won 20-0 on a forfeit from the Razzle who failed to field a team.

Ladder after Round 18:                                 Eagles 12-4, Ansett & Uni Rebels 11-6, Lightning 8-9, Tracy Village Jets 9-8, Palmerston Power 6-11, & Razzle 2-15 – Ladder includes forfeits

Next Friday Round 21:                                  Lightning v Uni Rebels 6:15pm, Eagles v Razzle 7:45pm & Ansett v Palmerston Power 9:00pm. Tracy Village Jets have the bye