State Championship Men
Diamond Valley 79 defeated Waverley 77
In possibly a first round finals preview, the Diamond Valley Eagles have outlasted the Waverley Falcons by 2 points at the Waverley Basketball Centre on Saturday night. Playing without effective guard Sedale Threat, the Falcons were forced to play catch up. Trailing Diamond Valley by 20 points at halftime. From there Ivan Platenik showed his consistency again with 30 points and was supported by Simon Blennerhassett who had 16 points and 7 steals. But Diamond Valley staved off the inspired run to grab a psychological win behind Adam Moore’s 22 points and 8 boards that lead the way for the Eagles who have clamped down on second spot and creating a bit of a buffer between themselves and the Falcons after this tough win.
Waverley 78 defeated Bulleen 67
Waverley went into the break with a 16 point lead and was never headed, poor shooting from Bulleen a contributing factor despite Matt Fennell shooting 20 with 10 rebounds. Vashon Weaver the solid contributor for Waverley with 28pts and 11 rebounds while Kevin Benn pulled in 16 boards.
Neither Ivan Platenik nor Sedale Threat suited up for this one, adding to the sweetness of victory and exhibiting the depth of the Falcons in 2010.
State Championship Women
Diamond Valley 60 defeated Waverley 55
Waverley came out with a strong first quarter, Diamond Valley crawled back to level the scores at half time. The second half saw the lead change several times with turnovers costing both sides. Katie O’Neill hitting a 3 pointer with under 15 seconds to go ensured Diamond Valley would get the W. For Diamond Valley Kellie Burbridge had 17pts and Katie O’Neill had 12pts. For Waverly Laura Thomas had 16pts and 10 rebounds and Alex Lough had 14. The Falcons despite the loss manage to hold on to 2nd place on the ladder with Diamond Valley in 5th place knocking on the door of the four.
Youth League 1 Men
Diamond Valley 77 defeated Waverley 60
Three losses in a row and the Waverley Falcons finals chances are in grave danger. Sitting in 4th position the Eagles are just above a rampaging Geelong Cats side and simply must start winning again if they are to hold on to their sport. The Eagles showed exactly why many people see them as the team to beat- racing out of the blocks and shooting an incredibly 71% from the field in the first period. Despite the Falcons chasing hard in the 3rd, they were never truly in the hunt after the first break. The depth of Diamond Valley again shined through with 4 players scoring in double figures- the highest of those being Matt Reynolds with 15. For Waverley Billy Johns-Teni led all contributors with 18 points and 15 boards.
Youth League Women
Waverley 56 defeated Bulleen 47
Bulleen was unable to capitalize on a 4 point half time lead, Waverley shooting 36 to 23 in the second half. For Waverley, Caitlin Hindel was strong all night long with 18 points and Fiona Richards chipping in for 11points and 8 rebounds.
Bulleen's solid contributors Elise Maher 14pts and Emily Simons and Carli Norman with 12 points apiece. Bulleen struggled to score with Waverley defence, yet Waverley had more turnovers.
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