VBL: Keilor Thunder at the double for grand finals

KEILOR Thunder had one of its most memorable weekends with both its men’s and women’s teams moving through to Victorian Basketball League grand finals on Saturday night.

The Thunder was a dominant force in a 2-0 sweep of Pakenham Warriors in the Big V men’s division 2 semi-finals.

They returned home for game two and recorded a comfortable 74-64 win to set up a season-deciding series with minor premiers Melton Thoroughbreds.

Matthew Jukes was the star for the Thunder, with 25 points and eight rebounds, while Peter Leppik and Brent Radoslovic added 17 apiece.

The Thunder will be under no illusions of the task facing them in a best-of-three grand final date with the Thoroughbreds. They are 0-2 in the head-to-head this season and were slaughtered 96-61 in their last meeting.

In women’s division 2, Thunder ousted minor premiers Werribee Devils in straight sets in the semi.

The Thunder cruised to a 73-53 victory in game two after double doubles to Jodi Impey (22 points, 16 rebounds and five assists) and wunderkind Amy Smith (13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists).

They will meet Casey Cavaliers in the best-of-three grand final series.