THE KNOX Raiders are the kings of the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) Under-18 Boys VC Championship for 2025, having defeated the Sunbury Jets by 12 points in Saturday night’s decider.

It was the perfect way to cap off a dominant second half of the fixture from the Raiders, who went unbeaten since the regrading midway through the year, despite a slip up in the first week of finals. Knox was the favoured side coming into the clash, although the Jets were certainly capable of causing an upset.

Although Sunbury was the better side in the early stages of the decider, the Raiders took control after quarter time and dominated the remainder of the match, storming home to a solid win when it mattered most.

Sunbury Jets (63) def. by Knox Raiders (75)

Both sides came out firing on the offensive end in the first quarter, with momentum changing hands in the opening five minutes of the match. However, the Jets closed out the quarter with some strong work on both ends of the floor, heading into quarter time on a 10-4 run to lead by six points at the first change in a promising start from Sunbury.

The contest got much more physical in the second frame, which slowed down scoring and saw most of the offence produced at the charity stripe. A three-point bomb to Nate Langmaid gave the Raiders the lead after a slow start to the match, and Knox began to find ascendancy scoring inside. Jarvis Neal put the Raiders up by five points at the main break, as they showed exactly why they finished atop the standings.

It was a scrappy affair in the third frame, with scoring coming to a grinding halt in the first few minutes of the second half. Neither side could find the bottom of the net, before back to back baskets to Farren Langmaid broke the deadlock, and saw the Raiders jump out to a double-digit lead. Knox owned the final five minutes of the frame, and led by 10 points at three-quarter time in what proved to be a crucial time within the game.

With their season on the line, the Jets threw the kitchen sink at the Raiders in the final minutes of the match, cutting the margin to just three points with five minutes to go thanks to a triple from Christian Beecroft. However, Farren Langmaid answered with a three-pointer of his own down the other end to steady the ship in what was a massive moment in the game. From there, the Raiders were able to hold on for victory and lift the trophy at State Basketball Centre.

In deserving fashion, Farren Langmaid was named Grand Final MVP after dropping 20 points in a huge performance on the big stage, giving his side a crucial injection of offence and nailing some massive baskets in the context of the Grand Final.

Jarvis Neal was his reliable self on the scoring front, finishing with 15 points in the decider, while preliminary final hero Achilles Gulic dropped 12 points of his own as Knox’s big names stepped up in the final game of the season.

For the Jets, the usual suspects in Sonny Maxwell and Alex Gray dropped 13 points apiece to try and ignite their side on the offensive end, while Samuel Haslett had 10 points of his own in an admirable showing despite the result.