June 7, 2015

Photo:  Tania Dhu hit a game high 28pts against the Eagles as the Tracy Village Jets advanced into the Grand Final to be played next Saturday.

Challenge Season

Darwin Basketball Association League Results – Friday 5 June 2015

Semi-finals

League Women – Tracy Village Jets v Eagles

The Tracy Village Jets juggernaut kept on rolling as they pushed aside the Eagles 93-53 in the major semi-final at the Darwin Basketball Stadium on Friday night. A spirited first quarter by the Eagles put them into a 25-21 lead before the Bombers opened up the flood gates in the next two quarters to leave the Birds floundering in their wake. The Jets outscored the Eagles 52-13 during the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters behind the firepower of Tania Dhu (11.5ppg), Sam Rioli (13ppg) and Tikesa Docherty-Cole (14.2ppg) who were bombarding the hoop from all angles. Dhu finished up with a game high 28 (including 8 treys), Rioli 24 and Docherty-Cole 23. The Eagles were led by veteran Trish Graham (12.9ppg) who hit 20 while Alysha-Marie Williams (6ppg) added 17. The victory by the Jets was their 26^th in a row including 5 from the Championship season last year. The Grand Final appearance by the Jets will be their fifth in a row for the DBA Challenge Seasons…and they have won the previous four.

Uni Rebels v Ansett

The Uni Rebels had to stay focused to get past the upset minded Ansett side 54-44. The Blues just wouldn’t go away and it took a huge effort from the Rebels to charge home in the last quarter for the win. They now advance to a Preliminary final showdown with archrivals Eagles next Friday. This game was nip and tuck all the way until the Rebels charged home in the last quarter on a 15-7 run for the win. The Blues had kept it close for three quarters (they only trailed 39-37 with a quarter to go), but the last quarter surge led by Shaan Mitchell and Danielle Ponter of the Rebels sealed the fate of Ansett for another season. Ponter (11.1ppg) led the Rebels with 15, Ambah Kowcun (12.8ppg) hit 11 and Mitchell finished up with 10. Clancy Dorman (10.9ppg) and Tamiyah Perkins had 10 each.

Ladder:                                                            Tracy Village Jets 21-0, Eagles 13-8, Uni Rebels 12-8-1, Ansett 6-15, Lightning 6-14 & Razzle 4-16

Next Friday – Preliminary Final:                  Eagles v Uni Rebels 6:30pm

 

League Men – Uni Rebels v Eagles

Another close finish between the minor premier Uni Rebels and Eagles provided plenty of excitement for spectators in Friday night’s major semi-final. The game went into Overtime and the Rebels won the match 88-84, but only after some highlight footage from Rebel Tyler Jefferson as time wound down on the close fought affair. At the end of regulation time it was all tied up at 77 apiece. In the OT the Rebels held just a two point advantage with about 30 seconds left to play when Jefferson capped off his best game of the season with a basket from deep in a corner with two defenders hanging all over him. The shot put the Rebels up by four and the Birds ran out of time to catch up. Jefferson (26.1ppg) led all scorers with 39 (including 5 treys), Lance Schmidt had 16 and Bradley Jachmann hit 14. For the Birds Reece Turner (15.2ppg) led from the point with 23, Jesse Williams-Hook (14.6ppg) had 17, Deola Folarin 16 and Henry Bui 14. So the Rebels go straight into the Grand Final which they will be defending champs from last year and the Eagles square up against the Tracy Village Jets in next Friday’s Preliminary Final.

Tracy Village Jets v Lightning

In the ‘knock-out’ semi-final between the Tracy Village Jets and the Lightning the Bombers came out on top 91-79 to get them into a match-up with the Eagles next Friday in the Preliminary Final. Only six points separated the sides at half time with the Bombers leading 49-43, but they then used one of their patented third quarter sorties to add a few more points to the buffer with a 20-14 run that put them up by a dozen points with only the fourth quarter to play. They held on despite the challenge of the Lightning to book at least one more game in the playoffs. Travis Ellis (23.5ppg) was on fire for the Bombers and his accuracy from outside the arc seems to have returned to his array of shots. Ellis hit eight treys in his game high total of 35 with Jett Sukcharoen adding 17, Michael MacLean 15 @ 17.6ppg and Jake Geer 11. For the Lightning Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson (17.1ppg) dropped in 26, Henry Fuge 14 and Cameron Bailey & Craig Martin 12 each.

Next Friday – Preliminary Final:               Eagles v Tracy Village Jets 8:00pm

Ladder:           UniRebels 17-4, Tracy Village Jets 14-7, Eagles 13-8, Lightning 12-9, Razzle 4-16 & Ansett 2-17-1