By JARROD POTTER
BIG V
Division 2 – round 18
MAGIC Eric Miraflores stole the show for Keysborough in a come-from-behind victory over Casey Cavaliers.
Knocking off top-of-the-ladder Casey, Keysborough showed it is not just making up the numbers in the BIG V finals series as it claimed a nail-biting 82-79 victory.
Chasing the Cavaliers at the final break, the master Miraflores (26 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals) lit up the court and nailed a trio of final-term three-pointers to take the points and more importantly – the bragging rights heading into the playoffs.
Nathaniel O’Hara (17 points) and Jackson Houpt (15 points) rounded out the top-scoring Cougars, with coach Chris Demchyshyn also praising the defensive efforts of Allen Brunsting in his guarding effort on Casey import Matt Pebole.
“It was a great win – we’ve been resting the players over the last few weeks and it showed today we were able to run out the end of the game,” Demchyshyn said.
“It’s good to come into finals in good form, we’re looking good, and we can only get better than this.”
The Cougars will face either Casey or Shepparton in their semi-final series starting this week, with some results still pending as the Journal went to print.
Keysborough women farewelled their inaugural season with an improved effort in a 48-82 loss to Casey. Tamara Booth (14 points, 9 rebounds) lead the stat-sheet alongside Heidi Van Vugt (12 points) and Lucinda Johnson (12 points).
The Cougars women won three games in their first season and are set to compete again in next year’s BIG V competition.
SEABL – round 17
BRINGING the blitz to Albury-Wodonga, Dandenong smashed the home side 105-81 in the men’s match – with Owen Odigie (21 points) and Daequon Montreal (21 points) leading the charge.
The women started their massacre earlier in the night with a good, old fashioned 109-38 demolition of the Bandits. Jacinta Kennedy (27 points) and Lauren Scherf (23 points, 15 rebounds) destroyed Albury-Wodonga in close from limited minutes to highlight the gap between the sides even further.
Dandenong heads up the hill to face Kilsyth on Saturday night before the cross-town showdown on Sunday afternoon as the Rangers hosts Knox from midday.
