Big V Division 1 Men win Qualifying final
Geelong has vaulted from championship contender to favourite after a stunning win to open the Big V Division One men’s playoffs.
On the road against the first-placed Sherbrooke Suns in the qualifying, Geelong rocked the Big V with a gutsy 106-97 win.
The win gives Geelong the highest seeding for the knockout semi-final and home-court advantage for the best-of-three grand final if it qualifies.
That grand final bid hangs on this Saturday’s home game against the Southern Peninsula Sharks (The Arena, 7.00pm) with the winner advancing to the championship series.
Geelong will go into the game brimming with confidence after the win over Sherbrooke, which lost only once in the regular season and seemed almost unstoppable.
In fact, the Suns had gone 16 games without a win before Geelong pulled together behind veteran trio Paul Hutchison, Seb Loader and Keith Harrison for a memorable victory.
Leading 77-76 after three periods, Geelong edged out to a 10-point advantage only for Sherbrooke to rally and close the gap to two with 1min 40sec left in the game.
That was where Loader (21 points, 11 rebounds), Hutchison (26 points) and Harrison (23 points) stepped up to close out the game with crucial baskets.
Sherbrooke coach Frank Woodhouse said: ``Geelong showed good poise in the last three minutes to ice the game.’’
It was, for all intents and purposes, Geelong’s best win for the season, leaving coach Lanard Copeland glowing with pride.
``The guys played a great game,’’ Copeland said. ``Great game. We knew we could get them and we did and all credit to the players.
``My guys played their butts off and showed how big their hearts are. When they come to play like that, we’re pretty tough to beat.’’
Even more complementary was the fact regular starters Chris Brown and Ben Suchanek were absent, forcing Geelong to show its depth of talent and desire.
Southern Peninsula qualified for the showdown with Geelong by upsetting Hawthorn Magic, 118-115.
The winner of the Geelong-Southern Peninsula game will play the winner of the Sherbrooke-Sunbury Jets playoff in the grand final series.
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