IN an anticipated matchup in the Big V Men’s competition, the Sunbury Jets proved too good in their game against the Hume Broncos on Sunday afternoon. The two sides locked horns at Boardman Stadium, and the clash was set to have a fair say on the shape of the standings as both sides came into the round stationed inside the top-four. With the Jets in top spot, the home side entered the matchup as favourites, but faced a worthy opponent.

There was plenty of hype around the battle, and it certainly delivered. The game started in hard-fought fashion, with no clear dominant side announced early. Sunbury broke away in the second term and when the Broncos fought back in a low-scoring final period, it looked as if the game could go either way. However, the damage was done by this stage, and the Jets cruised home to a 10-point victory. The result sees the Jets remain at the top of the table, a couple of wins clear of the next side with a record of 13 wins and one loss. On the other hand, the Jets remained in third spot, but are now in more danger of dropping down a spot or two.

Sunbury Jets (88) def. Hume Broncos (78)

The Jets burst out of the gates, dominating the opposition and scoring seven unanswered points to open up the contest. As expected, Ishmael Sanders was right amongst the action on the scoring front, nailing the first three of the game as Sunbury looked to get out to an early lead. However, the Broncos did a good job of clawing their way back into the contest, and at the first break of play, it was just a two-point advantage in favour of the Jets. Quarter number two was more of what we expected, as Sunbury got rolling at both ends of the court. They outscored the opposition 26-17 in this time, and managed to burst out to a double-digit lead by the time the main break rolled around, with momentum moving one way.

The second half kicked off with some high-scoring action, as the Broncos managed to just about match the offensive output of the opposition, making it an exciting game. However, their defensive work did not lift, and they conceded another 30 points to the Jets. Despite some promising work with ball in hand, Hume saw the deficit increase by three points heading into the final term. The final 10 minutes of play, scoring dropped off in a big way, with a combined 20 points scored for the quarter. 12 of them belonged to the Broncos, as they looked to cause a bit of an upset, but fell short of that goal as their own offence stalled.

Sanders continued his ripping form on the offensive end, finishing with a game-high 36 points (12/25 FG) and seven rebounds. He has been as good as anyone with ball in hand this season and that trend resumed on Sunday. Hume’s Chris Elder fought hard as he has done all year, pouring in 19 points and always looking to get the offence rolling.