NUNAWADING Spectres have started their time in the 2025 VJBL Under-18 Boys VC Championship division in style, claiming an 18-point win over the Sunbury Jets when the two sides went head-to-head over the weekend.

After an exciting start to the season in the VC Ashe and VC Watson divisions, the competition was reshuffled ahead of the weekend, pitting the best teams against one another in the VC Championship, which held its first round over the weekend.

Both the Spectres and the Jets have shown strong performances to start the year, and were deserving of a place in the top competition, with plenty of intrigue around how they would match up at Nunawading Basketball Centre on Friday night.

Although it was a grind for much of the game, a dominant second-quarter showing from the Spectres was the definitive factor, as Nunawading cruised home to an 18-point triumph to kick off their time in the regraded competition with a perfect record.

Nunawading Spectres (82) def. Sunbury Jets (64)

Not much separated the two sides in the first frame, with the Spectres and Jets trading baskets in the opening minutes of the contest. There was an emphasis on pushing the ball inside and scoring at the cup in the first quarter, before a late triple to Jackson Cerovac ensured the Spectres took a two-point buffer into the first change.

The Spectres began to get their eye in over the first couple of minutes of the second frame, knocking down a pair of triples to jump out to a five-point lead. A 9-0 run later in the term saw that lead stretch out to double-digits, and the home side ended up leading by 14 points at half-time, completely in control of the contest.

Nunawading led by as much as 22 points in the third quarter, beginning to truly flex their muscles against a Jets side that was slightly undermanned. Sunbury did well to cut the margin back down to 14 points at the final break, but did not look likely to slow down a Nunawading side that was firing on all cylinders on the offensive end.

The Spectres continued to find success pushing the tempo and scoring the ball inside the paint, with the Jets unable to protect the basket and allowing the margin to blow out to nearly 20 points again. In the end, the Spectres cruised home to a convincing win at home, sending a message to the rest of the competition in the process.

Xavier Waderson led the way for Nunawading, posting 18 points in an excellent all-around display, and proving a strong performer across all four quarters. He was one of many contributors for the Spectres, with Ryda Devers (14 points), Charlie Wilson (13 points), Spencer O’Shea (13 points) and Cerovac (10 points) all hitting the scoreboard.

In a gutsy effort considering the Jets only had six players available, Alex Gray was immense for his side, posting 24 points to single-handedly keep them in the contest, while Cooper O’Neill was the other Sunbury player to hit double-digits with 13 points of his own.

ACROSS THE COURTS

The Keilor Thunder held on for a thrilling win over the Eltham Wildcats on Friday night at Montmorency Secondary College, getting the job done by a solitary point after outperforming the opposition in the fourth quarter.

The Knox Raiders produced a statement performance at Sandringham Family Leisure Centre on the same evening, handing the Sabres a 36-point loss at home in the most emphatic performance of Round 1 over the weekend.

The Casey Cavaliers were just too good for Geelong United at Beyond Bank Stadium, holding on for an eight-point win in enemy territory to start the VC Championship division with a gutsy win on the road on Friday.

Finally, the Kilsyth Cobras were immense in their win over the Dandenong Rangers at Dandenong Stadium, bouncing back after the home side got out to an early lead to overrun the hosts and claim the win.