THE Eltham Wildcats will face off with the Waverley Falcons in the Melbourne United Victorian Junior Basketball League (MUVJBL) Under-16 Boys Championship Division Grand Final.

This game marks their second finals encounter with one another, after Waverley fell to Eltham at Mullum Mullum in a 79-69 qualifier. Since then the Falcons have fought hard to earn redemption, taking out the Supercats (71-65) last fortnight, as well as eliminating Bulleen (61-55) the following week. Eltham’s second match-up against Dandenong was the most decisive win of the series, defeating them by 30-points (72-42). Eltham and Waverley’s previous meetings have the league leaders at two to one. They both hold impressive records on the road, with Eltham at 7-1 and Waverly at 9-2. Eltham’s high defensive capabilities will be put to the test against Waverley’s high scoring capacity in the season’s most pivotal game.

Waverley’s David Amum ranks as the main scoring threat heading into Friday night – averaging 15.5 points per game (PPG) in sixth place across the league. In his last two matches he recorded 12 and 15 points, with Matt Jefferson hitting back to back games of 14. Jefferson and Tesloch Thong also hold in fourteenth and fifteenth respectively overall – averaging 12.1 and 11.4 PPG. For Eltham, Kristian Ferronato, Bradley Moorey and Anton Stratov have all presented well through the series. Ferronato opened strong in the qualifiers with 18 points, before hitting 22 in the preliminary. Moorey opened with 15 in the first before dipping to eight against Dandenong, while Stratov managed 11 and 12 in his two contests.

The MUVJBL Under-16 Boys Grand Final kicks off at 9:30pm at Dandenong Basketball Stadium tonight, bringing the Championship Division to close as we present the winners of the 2019 season.