CASEY Cavaliers are within striking distance of a top two spot in the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) Under 18 Boys Championship division, and will host Geelong United tomorrow night in a bid to keep in touch with those sides. Knox Raiders are far and away the standout side on 39 points, but Nunawading Spectres (33) and Bulleen Boomers (31) are in the same region as the Cavaliers (31) who after two wins from four games in the Championship division, will hope to topple the 1-3 United outfit.

Casey is coming off an 18-point loss to Melbourne Tigers at home last week in the first game back from the holiday break. Prior to the break, the Cavaliers went down to Nunawading Spectres by 14 points after starting promisingly with wins over Frankston (18 points) and Keilor (16) in the opening two Championship rounds. By comparison, Geelong United suffered losses to Bulleen Boomers (two points) and Nunawading (14) to start the season, before cracking through for a 17-point win on the road against the Tigers before the break. Last week they pushed Ballarat Miners all the way but fell four points short.

Casey Cavaliers have an even spread of scorers, with Lachlan Coverdale averaging 12 points in the Championship division, scoring double-figure points in his first three games, whilst still managing nine points in the loss to Melbourne Tigers last week. Cedric Rault managed a team-high 22 points in the loss to Nunawading, and has maintained a 12.5-point average across his four games for the Cavaliers. Ethan Bolton only managed the four points against Nunawading, but reached double-figure points in his other two games against Keilor and Melbourne to average 8.3 points per game in the Championship division.

In Geelong United’s sole Championship win over the Tigers, they had four players record double-figure points. Bailey Bruce (22 points), Leo Burgess (15), Jack Connolly (12) and Jack Bird (11) all put Melbourne to the sword, so have the potential to do a lot of damage on the scoring front. Bruce is the top scorer, only held to below 20 points last week with 12, after putting up scores of 21, 20 and 22 in this first three outings. The talented shooter is averaging 18.9 points per game. Burgess has only played the three games, but has been consistent, averaging 14 points per game, while Connolly has put up 14.3 points per game, but was quieter last week with just the five.

In other games, Sandringham has been scheduled to do the double, with the clash against Nunawading tomorrow night, and a to-be-determined fixture against Frankston. In other games, the Tigers tackle the Boomers, while the top of the table Raiders take on the Thunder.

VJBL UNDER 18 BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURE: ROUND 5

Sandringham Sabres vs. Nunawading Spectres
Melbourne Tigers vs. Bulleen Boomers
Casey Cavaliers vs. Geelong United
Knox Raiders vs. Keilor Thunder
Frankston Blues vs. Sandringham Sabres (TBC)

Bye: Ballarat Miners