WHAT a game the Hume City Broncos and Western Port Steelers turned out to be. Round 3 of the Big V Men’s championship took place over the weekend, with a number of games taking place around Victoria throughout Saturday and Sunday.

With the 2022 season in full swing, the matchups are beginning to see favourites emerge on a weekly basis, but Saturday night’s clash between the Hume City Broncos and the Western Port Steelers was a tough one to predict. Neither side had won a game from the first two rounds, so it was not as if form saw a clear favourite coming in. It ended up being a belter of a contest, with the result undecided until the closing seconds of the fourth quarter. The Broncos ended up doing just enough to hold off the Steelers and claim a three-point triumph.

Hume (84) def. Western Port (81)

In the most entertaining match of Round 3, the Hume City Broncos were able to sneak past the Western Port Steelers when the two sides faced off at Broadmeadows Basketball Stadium on Saturday night. The contest provided the opportunity for both sides to get on the board for season 2022, having both entered the match without a win. As expected, the desire from the two sides to get in the winners’ column was on display, in what proved to be one of the games of the year. In the end, the Broncos were able to hold off a late charge from their opponents, with Western Port’s game-tying three not finding the bottom of the net.

The Steelers were the stronger side to start the contest, getting off to a ripping start and heading into quarter time with a five-point lead, thanks to some impressive mid-range shooting. Things tightened up in the second, with the Broncos finally able to match the scoring output of their opponents. Western Port could not maintain their hot shooting from the first term, and the two teams were separated by just three points at half time.

Hume was able to come out of half time and wrestle the lead away from Western Port, after what must have been a terrific half time speech. It was a run that was built on the back of Chris Elder and Bul Niop, with the pair getting rolling on the offensive end in the second half of the period. Suddenly, it was the Steelers who were on the back foot as they found themsleves trailing by two heading into the final term. Scoring picked up in the fourth quarter, with the Broncos heading to the charity stripe a fair bit as the Steelers looked to trim the margin back late in the game. Things ended up going down to the final seconds, as Western Port’s Samuel Burch launched a three to tie the game up with four seconds remaining. Unfortunately, the shot did not fall as the Broncos snuck away with a three-point win.

For the victors, it was a monumental performance from Makuei Puondak, who recorded a double-double of 21 points and 23 rebounds. Eight of these boards were offensive, as he gave his side as many offensive possessions as possible, and was far and away the standout for the Broncos. For the Steelers, Daryl Corletto tried his hardest with ball in hand, and finished with a game-high 28 points, with much of his work coming from the free throw line.

On top of the match discussed above, there were still a few other games to take place around Victoria over the weekend, with plenty of basketball action on hand.

Across the courts

McKinnon (99) def. by Wyndham (112)
Sunbury (77) def. Camberwell (62)
Blackburn (91) def. Hume (77)
Camberwell (90) def. Chelsea (64)