Grand Final Preview…

This Friday night on the 11^th of December the Millicent Basketball Stadium will host hundreds of people from the community who will be watching the local Junior Grand Finals. The Grand Finals will feature some of Millicent’s great young talent throughout the under 12 and 14 age groups. Beginning at 5:30pm the under 12 Boys and Girls Grand Finals will set the scene for what should be a fantastic night. Then at 6:30pm the under 14 Boys and Girls will play their Grand Finals whilst the under 16 Boys game will also be played. These Finals are expected to go down to the wire and, as always, will be played in front of a full house that creates a tense atmosphere. These Finals are not to be missed so get down to the stadium tomorrow night for a great night.

The under 12 boys Grand Final will see the Devils, who are heavy favourites, take on the Pumas who are on a streak almost like the Golden State Warriors at the moment. Although the Devils got the better of the Pumas by 16 points earlier in the season, the hardworking Pumas have stepped up their game at the right time and won their first two finals by an average margin of nearly 25 points from 3^rd position. Going on recent form, expect this to be a low scoring game with due to high pressure defence and many fouls. Look for Harvey Jones to much of the scoring load as the last time these two teams met he top scored with 12 points. Flynn Kain and Nick Joy are also two players to watch from the Devils as they each scored 10 points in the first semi-final. For the Pumas, the Dunn brothers are always great contributors, Tallan coming off a 17-point game, will be looking to provide a similar score for his team in the Grand Final whilst his older Brother Kynan, although playing well in the Preliminary Final, will hope to turn it up another notch. Paora White was also strong in the Preliminary Final and for the Pumas to win they will need him to aggressively get after offensive rebounds and put the ball back in the hoop.

In the under 12 Girls Grand Final a deep Devils side will meet the Pumas who are currently on a win streak only slightly less than the 71-72 Lakers. Although the Devils side boasts a line up full of stars, the matchups between these two teams throughout the season were as close as they could get as the two teams won a game each against each other and drew the other one. Lacey Haines had an incredible season averaging 15 points a game up to this point but in round 7 when these two teams met, defensive specialist, Aislinn Schultz managed to keep Haines to 2 points in the first half before she eventually exploded for 15. Rossie Nettle and Rylee Kenny will also play a big part in this game as they have dominated much of the Devils scoring this season. Nettle is coming off a 9-point game in the first semi, whilst Kenny also had 8. Zoe Malseed and Sophie Varcoe will need to be strong on the rebounds as they have been all season if they are to limit the impact that Portia McRae and Demi McGregor have on the game. McRae and McGregor have backed up Haines all season, chipping in on the scoreboard and doing whatever needs to be done to win games. This one is likely to come down to the wire as these two teams have been separated by no more than 9 points throughout their three games this season.

The under 14 Boys division 1 Grand Final will see the Devils take on the Eagles in one of the most anticipated matchups of the night. This match is such a hard one to predict the outcome of because although the Eagles were clearly the most dominant team all season, the Devils rely on every player to chip in and they often had players out through injury or sickness. The Eagles relied on Conall Schultz to score heavily for them throughout the season and this is shown by the fact that he averaged 24.3 points per game. Expect to see him perform really well again as he comes off a 33-point outing but also watch Kade Varcoe and Harry Willis as they do a brilliant job of getting him the ball in the right spot and back him up perfectly. The Devils have required everyone to chip in throughout the season but expect Lachlan Leake and Zac Bradley to step up when it is needed. They scored 10 points and 8 points respectively in the 1^st semi-final but it is there defence that will be tested in this Grand Final. James Lucas will also be a key factor on defence as they will attempt to throw different defensive combinations at Schultz to limit his influence. The Devils may not be able to stop Schultz completely but this game may come down to whether or not they can work as a team to limit the other scoring forces within the Eagles line-up such as Varcoe and Willis.

The Demons will also take on the Rebels in the under 14 boys division 2 Grand Final at 6:30pm. This game is set to be a battle to the end and although it appears that the Demons have been the more dominant team throughout the season, the Rebels have the right combination of players to get the job done. The Rebels have been led by hardworking superstar, Harry Tunkin, all season but they are now getting high end value out of some their other players in Frazer Johnston (who had 15 points in the Preliminary Final) and Kane Downey (11 points in the Preliminary Final). This could have a big impact on the game and the Demons may have to step it up on defence if they really want to win the game. Hugh Armfield’s height on the defensive end will have a paramount effect on the game for the Demons whilst Stuart Dickenson will need to continue to apply scoreboard pressure as he has done all season if the Demons are to be any chance to win the game. Experts are saying that this one is sure to come down to the wire and expect Rebels Coach Clint Gallio to fire up his troops ready for battle against the strong Demons team.

Then at 7:30pm the under 14 Girls grand final will be played between the ferocious Devils and the high flying Eagles. The Devils have looked to be the most dominant team all year losing just 3 games throughout the season but the Eagles made a statement in their Preliminary Final against the Tigers where they won by 16 points. That night the Eagles were led by Ella Little and Maddi Haggett who scored 20 and 16 respectively. These two girls along with Lucy Denton will have a major impact on how the game plays out and Haggett may end up being the difference in the two teams as Devils are much smaller. The Devils, though, will come into the game full of confidence knowing that they were the more dominant team all season. Paige and Hannah Nitschke have dominated much of the Devils scoring all season long, so don’t expect anything else in this intense final. Paige will look to attack the basket strong and score lots from inside but Hannah’s role may be more of a defensive one in this game as she will try to combat Haggett’s height on the rebounds with her strength. This game will come down to whether the Devils are able to keep Haggett off of the boards and therefor limit her impact on the scoreboard. This could possibly the tightest and most entertaining game of the night so don’t miss it.

The last game will be between the Devils and the Tigers in the under 16 boys Grand Final and it is sure to be a close one. The two teams were separated by an average of just 3.66 points over the three games played against each other this season, showing how close the teams are. The Devils have been the most dominant team this season losing just the 4 games during the minor rounds whilst the Tigers lost 6. The Tigers have all of the tools to cause an upset however of those 6 games they lost during the season, 4 of them came in a row and if the Devils can find out what caused that rough patch then they will have a clear advantage heading into the match. The Devils have relied on a number of players to score points throughout the season but Tanner Stuart, Josh Berry and Conall Schultz have often led the team in points scored. Although Stuart and Berry are great three point shooters, they rely on attacking the basket to score heavily. Whilst sharp shooter Schultz will often rely on his three point shot, he also has the ability to get inside and may need to do much more of this as it is his second game of the night. For the Tigers, Hamish McRae will dominant much of the scoring as always but Finn Grimes may be just as important in cleaning up missed shots if they are to win the game. Grimes averaged over 5 offensive rebounds per game this season and if he can convert these into points, he may give his team an extra 10 points that they need to win the game. Liam Mills and Jack Hatley will also be very important in stopping McRae and Grimes from rebounding and scoring. This is a must watch game as it is expected to go right down to the wire and an expert has tipped that it may even come down to the last shot.

These Grand Finals are sure to be amazing entertainment and should not be missed! The Millicent Basketball Association encourages everyone in the community to come down and get around the future stars. Also the Bar and Canteen will be open from the start of the first game at 5:30pm and will be open to late in the night. The junior committee is also very keen to hear from any player that is interested in playing Basketball in any age group and for more information please call Peter on 0438388073.

Aidan Schultz, Millicent Basketball.