IT is that time of year again, with the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) Under 18 Boys competition set to kick off their 2022 finals series after a thrilling finish to the home and away fixture, and headlining the weekend’s action is a blockbuster clash between the Nunawading Spectres and the Bulleen Boomers.

The two sides will go head to head at Eltham High School on Friday night, in a battle between the second and third placed teams for the year. Both teams have displayed some exceptionally entertaining and effective styles of play throughout 2022, and it will be extremely interesting to see how these methods match up against one another.

The winner of the clash will advance through to the preliminary finals, and will be one step closer to claiming the ultimate prize next month, while the loser will be forced into an elimination match in next weeke’s semi final, and could see their title quest end.

Nunawading Spectres vs. Bulleen Boomers
Friday, August 26 @ 9:40pm
Eltham High School

The Spectres have hardly put a foot wrong in the back half of the season, and will be eager to keep that momentum rolling into finals. With a record of seven wins and two losses in the VC Championship division, Nunawading appears to have found a winning style of play, and if the last nine weeks are anything to go off, will stand as one of the title favourites coming into the postseason. They have taken down some of the best sides in the league on this run, and are fresh off a barnstorming win over another finals side in the Melbourne Tigers.

When their offence and defence are both at peak level, opposition sides cannot do much to slow down this determined outfit. In their win against the Tigers, the Spectres produced a performance that would have likely alarmed a few teams in their path in the coming weeks, so if the output can be replicated tomorrow night, it should be a clear path to the prelim. Look for the likes of Tiernan Stynes and Tristan Devers to hurt Bulleen on the offensive end, with the duo combining for 40 points last weekend.

The Boomers have put together a handy season themselves, claiming third place in the standings come season’s end thanks to a record of six wins and three losses. When at their best, the Boomers have been able to take apart even the best of sides throughout the season, it is just a case of if they can bring that over the span of four quarters against an in-form Spectres side.

They found themselves on the wrong end of an upset to Casey in the final round of the home and away season, conceding over 70 points and allowing the opposition to do as they pleased with ball in hand. Bulleen will need to lift in this department against Nunawading, and if they can tighten up their defensive work, we know they can reach a winning score on any given week. Joel Foxwell has been the competition’s best scorer across season 2022, with an average of well over 20 points per game, and will be one of the game’s most potent scorers again here.