FOLLOWING a blockbuster week in the first week of the postseason, the VJBL U18 Boys VC Championship semi-finals are set to take place on Friday night, with some key matchups slated that will shape the race for the championship.

A pair of teams have advanced through to the preliminary finals, while others saw their campaigns ended in elimination matchups. Last week’s results set up a pair of blockbuster semi-finals on Friday that will have a huge say in how the rest of the postseason will pan out.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will be highlighting a key player for each team, all of whom will play vital roles in the upcoming do-or-die matchups.

Knox Raiders – Jarvis Neal

Despite going 9-0 in the VC Championship portion of the season, the Raiders were stunned by the Eltham Wildcats in the first qualifying final, falling by three points in what could be a championship-defining result. Instead, the minor champions are going to have to bounce back and correct their course when they take on the Dandenong Rangers in the semi-final, and they will need their star in Neal to be at his best. Despite the result, Neal was still rock-solid with 16 points and has been one of the big reasons why the Raiders finished atop the standings. He has shown his ability to go over 20 points in the past, and may need to do so tomorrow night.

Dandenong Rangers – Micah Livingstone

Probably the most obvious player on the list given what he did six days ago, Livingstone was a massive reason why the Rangers delivered an emphatic win over the Nunawading Spectres and kept their season alive. In the elimination win, Livingstone dropped an astounding 33 points in one of the best individual performances of the season, proving unstoppable on the offensive end and always giving the Rangers a massive boost on the offensive end. If he can maintain the same level of aggression on the offensive end and hit the scoreboard in a similar manner, it will go a long way towards Dandenong securing the upset win over the ladder-leaders.

Sunbury Jets – Sonny Maxwell

The Jets were the other top four team to be defeated in the first week of finals, bested in a thrilling contest against the Kilsyth Cobras on Friday night. Sunbury fell by two points and is now forced to go via the semi-finals if it wishes to keep its championship hopes alive. One of the Jets’ most influential offensive players all season has been six-foot-one guard Maxwell, who has the craft to lead the way on the scoring front for Sunbury, and was still solid in the loss to the Cobras, dropping 21 points. However, if the Jets are to keep their season alive in the semi-finals with a win, Maxwell will likely need to drop 20+ points again and take charge offensively.

Keilor Thunder – Devaughn King

No player on Keilor’s roster has a ceiling quite as high as King, who will be crucial to their hopes of knocking off a top-four side in the Jets. The Thunder were able to get the job done in a scrappy contest against the Sandringham Sabres in the elimination final, claiming a five-point win, but now come up against a heavyweight contender in week two of the postseason. King had 17 points to lead his side on the scoring front, but has shown the ability to be even better in the past. You only need to look back three weeks ago to see what he was able to do in a big win over the Casey Cavaliers, dropping 33 points in a mesmerising scoring display. If he can get off the chain like that, it will be massive for Keilor’s hopes of a boilover.