THE Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) is back for another round of action over the weekend across all ages. It has been an exciting start to the year for the Under-18 Girls competition, with plenty to take from the first five rounds of play and some sides performing at a seriously high level. With the fixture well and truly underway, it is time for some sides to get their season going with time running out to put together a competitive campaign.

One of the most successful sides to date is the Bullen 1 Girls side, who have been pretty much flawless to start their 2022 season. They have not dropped a game and sit atop the VC Ashe competition, and will be looking to continue that streak against a struggling Broadmeadows side. The latter have been unable to get on the board to kick off the year, but nothing would be better than a win over the ladder-leaders.

Broadmeadows vs Bulleen Boomers 1
Friday, May 6 @ 8:40pm
Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium

Broadmeadows has been unable to fire to start their campaign over the last month, with five losses coming from five outings. They got reasonably close last round, falling to Bulleen 2 by 11 points, and they were pretty unlucky to given they led by four points at the final change. If not for a final quarter collapse, Broadmeadows would be on the board for 2022. There was a lot to take from the game despite the result, and if they can produce more of their first three quarters, then they might be a sneaky chance of pulling off the upset. Scarlett Robinson was one of the major reasons they almost got the win last week with 11 points, so the ball will likely be in her hands quite a bit on Friday night.

The Boomers produced one of the most dominant wins of the last few years against Waverley last round. Bulleen claimed a whopping 66-point win, only conceding 10 points for the match. They have looked an unstoppable force to start the year, and don’t look like slowing down any time soon. The Boomers will come into the game as extremely heavy favourites, but no result is guaranteed, so they will still need to perform to avoid an almighty upset. With three players scoring in the double-digits, Bullen can hurt you through a number of talented scorers.

Across the courts

Friday night will see another 11 matches take place around Victoria across the two divisions, as Round 6 kicks off.

VC Ashe

Gippsland United vs Bulleen 2, 8:40pm, Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium
Waverley vs Sandringham, 9:40pm, Waverley Basketball Stadium
Keilor vs Frankston, 9:40pm, Keilor Stadium
Altona vs Knox, 9:40pm, Altona Sports Centre

VC Watson

Diamond Valley vs Kilsyth, 9:40pm, Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness Centre
Wyndham vs Casey, 9:40pm, Eagle Stadium
Nunawading vs Dandenong, 9:40pm, Nunawading Basketball Centre
Eltham vs Hawthorn, 9:40pm, Eltham High School