THE first four teams are out of the race for the Melbourne United Victorian Junior Basketball League (MUVJBL) Under 18 Boys championship division, with Latrobe, Wangaratta, McKinnon and Sandringham all eliminated. Melboure, Eltham, Diamond Valley and Dandenong 2 all advance, while the remaining eight teams battle it out in a one-off elimination to determine if they can make the championship division.

Pool 1:

1st Melbourne
2nd Diamond Valley 2
3rd Pakenham
4th Latrobe

In the opening pool it was no surprise to see Melbourne Tigers automatically advance through to the MUVJBL Under 18 Boys championship division with three wins and a healthy percentage of 126.72. Diamond Valley 2 picked up two wins against Pakenham and Latrobe, while the former won the crucial clash against the Energy to book a spot in the elimination finals to determine if they can qualify for . the championship. Unfortunately it was curtains for Latrobe who were the one side that bowed out.

Pool 2:

1st Eltham
2nd Knox
3rd Ringwood
4th Wangaratta

Much like the first pool, the strongest side advanced with Eltham Wildcats winning all three matches to move automatically into the championship division. Knox and Ringwood booked the two elimination finals spots, while the furthest regional side – Wangaratta was eliminated and will head to League One for the upcoming MUVJBL season. Knox now takes on Pakenham, while Ringwood faces Diamond Valley 2 in the elimination matches.

Pool 3:

1st Diamond Valley
2nd Blackburn
3rd Eltham 2
4th McKinnon

The Eastern side of Melbourne continued their success in Pool 3, with Diamond Valley taking out the grade with a strong performance . across the three games and a dominant percentage of 145.81 per cent. However the remaining three teams went to head-to-head, with Blackburn deemed second despite having the lowest percentage, but performed the strongest against the other two sides, while Eltham 2 defeated McKinnon to keep itself in contention for the championship division, while the Cougars departed.

Pool 4:

1st Dandenong 2
2nd Collingwood
3rd Geelong
4th Sandringham

The tightest pool of the lot was Pool 4, with all teams recording a win over at least one other team, and Sandringham deemed the unluckiest of all those eliminated. The Sabres defeated Dandenong 2 in the . opening round, but losses to Collingwood and Geelong saw them eliminated despite having a higher percentage. The Supercats have a lower percentage than the Sabres, but the head-to-head got them into the elimination finals. The All Stars face Eltham 2 in the next round, while Geelong aim to keep their championship hopes alive against Blackburn.

Under 18 Boys AA Crossover Round:

Knox vs. Pakenham
Diamond Valley 2 vs. Ringwood
Blackburn vs. Geelong
Collingwood vs. Eltham 2

Qualified for Championship division:

Melbourne
Eltham
Diamond Valley
Dandenong 2