THE FRANKSTON Blues have advanced to the 2025 Big V Youth Championship Men’s Grand Final after defeating the Casey Cavaliers by 12 points in an impressive road victory at Casey Stadium when the two sides clashed over the weekend.

After losing their qualifying clash against the Knox Raiders, the Blues were forced to take the long route to the preliminary finals, facing the Sandringham Sabres and claiming a massive 37-point win to enter the penultimate matchup in strong form. On the other hand, Casey had defeated the Kilsyth Cobras in the first week of finals, enjoying a week off ahead of its clash against the Blues and entering the game fresh.

Despite being in enemy territory and losing their first postseason clash, the Blues managed to move one step closer to the championship, defeating the Cavaliers by 12 points and locking in a spot in the Grand Final against the Kilsyth Cobras.

Casey Cavaliers (79) def. by Frankston Blues (91)

The Cavaliers made the most of home court advantage in the opening minutes of the contest, scoring seven of the first nine points and looking the stronger team early in the piece. Ethan Bolton was leading the way with a dunk and three-pointer, before Corey Hastings and the Blues responded, taking the lead to set up some exciting back and forth action for the remainder of the term, with Casey holding a one-point buffer at the first change.

The second frame was a scrappy affair, with offence from both sides slowing down in the opening minutes of the quarter. However, the Blues managed to get their noses in front with some impressive makes inside the paint, while the Cavaliers could not buy a basket for most of the quarter, which allowed the opposition to build a lead. Lachlan Kanngiesser‘s and-one layup put Frankston up by seven at the main break and in control of the match with a half to play.

The margin stretched out to double-digits coming out of half-time, with the Blues not allowing the Cavaliers to get any closer than six points in an impressive display of offensive consistency. Every Frankston run was answered down the other end, as the Blues continued to find reliable avenues to scoring inside the paint. Frankston led by 15 points at three quarter time, with the home side finding themselves on the canvas at the final change.

The Cavaliers did have one last charge in the tank during the final quarter, cutting the margin back to 10 points with four minutes to go, giving themselves a slight chance. However, that was as close as the home side ended up getting, with time proving the winner as the Blues managed to hold on and book a spot in the decider.

It was a terrific team performance from the Blues in the prelim, with five players reaching double-digits in the points column, with Kanngiesser leading the way. He was terrific with 19 points, while Hastings (15 points), skipper Maddox Parsons (11 points), Blake Jackson (10 points) and Zade Nugent (10 points) were all vital in the result.

Despite the result, Jusitin Ochaya was excellent with a game-high 23 points on 9/19 shooting from the field, while Heath McPherson (12 points) and Phoenix Windsor (13 points) also tried to spark something on the offensive end.

ACROSS THE COURTS

The other preliminary final to take place over the weekend saw the Kilsyth Cobras prove too good for the Knox Raiders, claiming a 14-point win at State Basketball Centre on Sunday afternoon. In that clash, Isaac Ghosn was immense, putting up a massive performance on the big stage to finish with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead his side to a grand final berth against the Blues at Kilsyth Basketball Centre on Saturday night.