Aces’ sides score A-Grade wins in milestone year
MICHAEL GLIDDON

Aces Basketball Club enjoyed a weekend of celebrations with men’s side Navy and women’s side White both victorious in the Bunbury Basketball Association A-Grade grand finals on Friday night.

Aces Navy won their third straight championship, defeating Tornadoes Black 98-89 in the tightly contested conclusion to men’s competition.

Navy came out firing and quickly held a 11-0 lead, with guards Wade Hitchcock and Luke Deighton both nailing three pointers.

Just as it looked like Navy would run away with the game, Black began to fight back through Jason and Ryan Smith, and, after trading baskets throughout the second half, the teams went into the half-time break with scores tied at 45.

The bucket trading continued for the majority of the second half, but Navy was able to pull away in the final minutes to seal the victory in the year of the clubs’ 50^th anniversary.

Hitchcock capped his outstanding individual season by top scoring for Navy with 29 points, including seven three pointers, while Deighton (21 points) and Mitch Keller (16 points) also rose to the big occasion.

Josh Weir (12 points) was another solid contributor, while Cory Richardson (10 points) was quiet by his impressive standards this season.

Ryan Smith scored 27 points for Black, while Jason Smith was awarded the grand final MVP in a losing effort, scoring 33 points while playing through an injury to his heel that will now keep him off the court for the first 10 weeks of the Slammers season.

Jason also claimed the league MVP away, with Bulls Maroon guard Paddy Phillips receiving runner-up MVP.

Bulls Maroon youngster Chris Douglas was named the competition’s rising star, awarded to the player under the age of 21 with the most MVP votes.

Earlier in the night, Minor Premiers Aces White stormed to a 56-35 grand final win over Bulls in the women’s A-Grade competition.

The game was tight in the first half, with White going into the half-time break with a narrow 27-22 lead.

Bulls came out at the start of the second half looking like they would challenge White, but had no answer for Kirsty Bock who begin to dominate inside the keyway on her way to 28 points.

Bock, who top scored throughout the season for White and was again the difference in the decider, received grand final MVP honours, while Raya Thompson added 11 points of her own.

Shannon McRobert (13 points) and Brittany Gliddon (12 points) toiled hard for Bulls.

Although Tornadoes Black did not make the grand final, Catherine Waycott won MVP for the season and former Australian Netball star Susan Furhmann claimed runner-up MVP.

 

Men's Award Winners

Rising Star (Most MVP Votes Under 21yo): Chris Douglas (Bulls Maroon)

All-Star 5:

Wade Hitchcock (Aces Navy)

Dylan Ness (Busselton)

Ryan Smith (Tornadoes Black)

Jason Smith (Tornadoes Black)

Paddy Phillips (Bulls Maroon)

Scoring Champion: Wade Hitchcock (Aces Navy) 29.7 points per game

Runner Up MVP: Paddy Phillips (Bulls Maroon)

MVP: Jason Smith (Tornadoes Black)

Grand Final Winners: Aces Navy

Grand Final MVP: Jason Smith (Tornadoes Black)

Men's Grand Final Referees: Wade Dillon and Matt Hough

 

Women Award Winners

Rising Star (Most MVP Votes Under 18yo): Cassady Anderson (Aces White)

All-Star 5:

Brittany Gliddon (Bulls)

Susan Furhmann (Tornadoes Black)

Georgia Deheny (Aces Blue)

Kirsty Bock (Aces White)

Catherine Waycott (Tornadoes Black)

Scoring Champion: Kirsty Bock (Aces White) 20.9 points per game

Runner Up MVP: Susan Furhmann (Tornadoes Black)

MVP: Catherine Waycott (Tornadoes Black)

Grand Final Winners: Aces White

Grand Final MVP: Kirsty Bock (Aces White)

Women's Grand Final Referees: Dean Taylor and Ron Winetti