November 22, 2015

Photo:  Jesse Bell led the Palmerston Power to a nail biting 76-73 win over the Uni Rebels to gain entry into their first ever Championship Season Grand Final. Bell hit 31 points.

Championship Season

DBA League Results – Friday 20 November 2015

Semi-finals

League Women – Tracy Village Jets v Ansett

Ansett put an end to the Tracy Village Jets nine game winning streak and booked passage into the Grand Final with a narrow 59-55 upset of the competition leaders. The biggest lead of the game for either side was eight points otherwise it was a very see-sawing game throughout. Ansett’s Tamara Sheppard hit a bucket with 3:48 remaining in the game to tie it up at 50 apiece, but Kylie Duggan replied with a three pointer at the 2:28 mark to give the Jets a one point 53-52 lead…it was the last time they would be in front. With time running out the Blues hit back with two quick baskets, one from Isabella Politis followed by one from Ashton Eaton to give Ansett a 56-53 lead with just 1:42 remaining. The Jets were not going to give it up easy though and after Duggan hit a couple of free throws with 58 seconds left to trail by just two at 57-55 the game was still up for grabs. The Jets were now frantically trying to gain possession of the ball, but the Blues had the answers and finished off the game from the charity stripe when Eaton hit two with just 4 seconds on the clock for the finally tally. Kisha Lee led the Blues with a total of 21 points followed by 10 from Ashton Eaton and 9 each from Sheppard & Politis. Duggan hit a game high 22 for the Jets with Sam Rioli adding 17.

Uni Rebels v Eagles

The Eagles cleared one hurdle in their quest for a spot in the Grand Final when they beat the Uni Rebels 63-52 in the knock-out semi-final. But the final result wasn’t clear until the last quarter when the Birds broke the game wide-open with a 21-12 run that bumped the Rebels out of the finals. Trish Graham led the last quarter charge hitting 10 of her game high 29 points. Graham also continued her sharp shooting from outside the arc with 5 treys in her total. Jasmine Stovall added 14 and Faye Armstrong & Lillian Willams had 7 each. Ambah Kowcun had 20 for the Rebels with Danielle Ponter & Kiarra Tilmouth on 12 apiece.

Ladder:       Tracy Village Jets 15-2, Ansett 11-6, Uni Rebels 9-8, Eagles 8-9, Lightning 6-10 & Razzle 1-15

Next week Preliminary final:                   Tracy Village Jets v Eagles 6:30pm

Men

League Men – Uni Rebels v Palmerston Power

The Palmerston Power have placed themselves in the Grand Final, their first ever, after edging out the minor premier Uni Rebels 76-73. A gallant stand by the Rebels, who fielded only 5 players for the match, fell just short of being match winning. Palmerston had most of the early lead, but lost their 2 point lead after the break as the Rebels put in a concerted effort behind the strong play of Tyler Jefferson who pumped in a game high 35 for the Rebels. Heading into the last quarter the Rebels held a slim 60-58 advantage, but the momentum was about to shift in favour of the Power. Jefferson hit a two pointer with 5:52 remaining in the game for a 73-67 Rebel lead, but it was the last shot that they hit for the remainder of the game. Ben Streeter then popped two quick baskets for the Power to get them to within one point at 73-72 with 4:42 to go. No points were scored until 1:29 remained when Jesse Bell hit a free throw and followed it up with two more with 18 seconds left in the game to seal a historical victory for the club. Bell finished up with 31, Streeter 19 and Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson 12. Support Jefferson from the Rebels was David Ronshi with 19 and Jamie Hamill with 12.

Tracy Village Jets v Eagles

The Tracy Village Jets continued their good form and knocked out the Eagles 85-74 to get a shot at the struggling Uni Rebels in the Preliminary next Friday. The return of Michael MacLean to the line-up for the Jets posed match-up problems for the Birds as it will for the Uni Rebels next week. Travis Ellis put up some huge numbers for the Jets with a game high 32 and double figures in rebounds. Jai O’Shaughnessy and MacLean chipped in with 14 and 11. The Jets took off in the first quarter with a 29-15 run and looked like running away with the game, but the Birds flew back in the second quarter with a similar run to hold a one point 45-44 lead at the break. The Jets zoomed off again in the third with a 23-15 run as the teams headed into the last quarter. This time the Jets toughed it out holding the Eagles to just 14 while hitting 18 themselves for the victory. Deola D’Folarin led the Eagles with 22, Ernest Holmes had 14 and Henry Bui 13.

Ladder:    Uni Rebels & Palmerston Power 12-5, Tracy Village Jets 10-7, Eagles 8-8, Ansett 6-9, Lightning 6-8 & Razzle 1-13

Next week Preliminary final:Uni Rebels v Tracy Village Jets 8:00pm