THE Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) entered the Grading Phase Pool 2 over the weekend as the teams searched for their first win and eventual ticket to the next phase in the competition. There were a mixed bag of results in both the Under 18 Boys and Girls division with a number of close encounters and blowouts across the league.

U18 Boys

Pool 1A:

Bulleen Boomers kicked things off in style securing a 12-point win over Ballarat with the likes of Amos Harvey and Ethan Wellington combining effortlessly to claim the win. It was much closer in the other game as Waverley worked tirelessly to edge past Pakenham and steal a four point win. Lauchlan Mark was the most dominant figure on the court posting a game-high 20 points despite being on the losing side.

Bulleen Boys 2 (53) defeated Ballarat (41)

Amos Harvey (Bulleen) 15
Ethan Wellington (Bulleen) 14
Ollie McCarthy (Ballarat) 10

Waverley (54) defeated Pakenham (50)

Lauchlan Mark (Pakenham) 20
Matthew Jefferson (Waverley) 13
Sam Haffenden (Waverley) 10
Harvey Moore (Waverley) 10

Pool 1B:

Camberwell made light work of Bendigo Braves, getting comfortably over the top of them by 18 points to start the season on fire. Camberwell shared the points around as five players reached double-figures, with Liam O’Hoy amassing 19 points and leading the way. The other game had a similar outcome with the Eagles flexing their muscles against the Sabres to secure a 32-point win. However, there was somewhat of a shootout between Marley Lambert and Jack Weir as the duo went blow for blow.

Camberwell (85) defeated Bendigo (67)

Liam O’Hoy (Camberwell) 19
Samuel Veitch (Camberwell) 16
Luke McConnon (Camberwell) 14
Josiah Pattinson (Bendigo) 13

Diamond Valley (82) defeated Sandringham (50)

Marley Lambert (Diamond Valley) 20
Jack Weir (Sandringham) 20
Corey Rutherford (Diamond Valley) 17

Pool 1C:

Casey and Sandringham both got the win in their respective matches with both sides impressing in the opening round of grading. Casey ran out with a 20-point win against Nunawading as Blake Shankland impressed with 19 points, while the Sabres powered past Whittlesea by 11 points.

Casey (62) defeated Nunawading (42)

Blake Shankland (Casey) 19
Luke Dimopulous (Nunawading) 14
Ky Taylor (Casey) 12

Whittlesea (50) defeated by Sandringham (61)

Callum Stojanovic (Whittlesea) 20
Jensen Bradtke (Sandringham) 11
Tom Field (Sandringham) 11
Peter Vasilevski (Whittlesea) 11

Pool 1D:

The results in Pool D were relatively close with the biggest winning margin nine points off the hands of Latrobe. Dandenong put the pressure on Latrobe but simply did not have the legs to run with them, as the game got away from them with Finn Boag stepping up to the plate. The other result was decided by a mere four points as Southern Peninsula did enough to sneak past Wyndham and kick things off in style.

Dandenong (56) defeated by Latrobe (65)

Finn Boag (Latrobe) 19
Cody Goonewardene (Dandenong) 17
Kody Tibballs (Latrobe) 14

Southern Peninsula (63) defeated Wyndham (59)

Darcy Jones (Southern Peninsula) 20
Emmanwiel Deng (Wyndham) 17
Corey Hastings (Southern Peninsula) 14

U18 Girls

Pool 1A:

Sunbury claimed the biggest win in Pool A, boasting a 15-point victory while Altona managed to record a five-point win over Camberwell. Wangaratta struggled to get going against Sunbury given their defensive pressure while the battle between Camberwell and Altona did not disappoint with Jacinta Li doing everything humanly possible to keep her side in the hunt with 31 points.

Wangaratta (37) defeated by Sunbury (52)

Maddison Ford (Sunbury) 12
Erin Condron (Sunbury) 11
Maia Roberts (Wangaratta) 9

Altona (51) defeated Camberwell (45)

Jacinta Li (Camberwell) 31
Angelina Vi (Altona) 11
Jade Azzopardi (Altona) 10
Cassie Dodemaide (Altona) 10

Pool 1B:

Eltham pulled off a close one against Bellarine snatching a three-point win to open their campaign while Ringwood reigned supreme over Bulleen. The battle between Eltham and Bellarine brought plenty of excitement as both sides worked in overdrive to create some much needed separation in a hard-fought and closely contested encounter.

Bellarine (38) defeated by Eltham (41)

Ashley Mrmacovski (Eltham) 18
Summer Field (Bellarine) 17
Jessica Del Brocco (Eltham) 10

Ringwood (62) defeated Bulleen (45)

Katrina Warton (Ringwood) 12
Chantal Vitale (Bulleen) 12
Lily Carmody (Bullenn) 10
Ella Grig (Ringwood) 10

Pool 1C:

Nunawading wasted no time getting their first win on the board in the second phase of grading, surpassing Melbourne by 28 points in a comprehensive win. It was not the same story for the other Nunawading side though, as Knox got on top to claim the win by 23 points as a number of players contributed to the scoreboard.

Nunawading (69) defeated Melbourne (41)

Lia Battersby (Melbourne) 17
Olivia Morris (Nunawading) 16
Rebecca Dymalovski (Nunawading) 12

Knox (59) defeated Nunawading 2 (36)

Emma Poon (Nunawading) 13
Gemma O’Donnell (Knox) 12
Zoe Shaw (Knox) 11

Pool 1D:

Bendigo scraped past Dandenong in the second game in Pool D while Kilsyth secured an 11-point win to open their campaign. Kilsyth shared the points around with a number of players hitting the scoreboard in the win while Bendigo were spurred on by Caitlin Richardson who impressed with 20 points to her name.

Korumburra (44) defeated by Kilsyth (55)

Jaime Gallatly (Korumburra) 11
Monai Porykali (Korumburra) 11
Molly Williams (Kilsyth) 10

Bendigo (60) defeated Dandenong (56)

Caitlin Richardson (Bendigo) 20
Ella Johnson (Dandenong) 13
Taylah Rennie (Bendigo) 13