Keilor Thunder is through to the Big V basketball men’s division 1 grand final after a come-from-behind 81-76 win over Warrnambool Seahawks in the preliminary final at Keilor Stadium on Saturday night.
The Thunder went into the last quarter on the back foot, trailing by four points, but came home with a wet sail to keep their title aspirations alive.
It was a master class from import Jordan Coleman that proved the difference between the two sides.
Coleman posted 40 points and nine rebounds in just 32 minutes to lift the Thunder to victory.
Coleman’s ability to draw fouls with his speed and athleticism and convert from the free-throw line boosted his scoring.
While Coleman was efficient with nine-from-14 from the field, he collected a lot of freebies, landing 21-from-23 at the free-throw line.
Thunder captain Chuck Long was also instrumental in the win. Long was a defensive menace with 13 rebounds and five steals to go with eight points.
B.J. Symons was lively off the bench with 15 points, while Matt Spencer posted 10.
Keilor will face Chelsea Gulls, who beat Geelong Supercats 84-82 in a nail-biter, in a best-of-three grand final series.
In women’s division 1, Keilor Thunder has produced a miraculous fourth quarter fightback to take game one of a best-of-three semi-final series over Geelong Supercats at Keilor Stadium on Sunday.
The Thunder was a massive 12 points in arrears at three-quarter time, but out-scored the visitors 29-13 in the last to run out 75-71 winners.
Aneta Bandilovski led the scoring for the Thunder with 20 points, including three threes, and eight rebounds, while Amy Smith added 13.
Genna Anderson was tough on the boards for the Thunder, reeling in 11 rebounds to go with 11 points.
Alexandra McKellar had an impact off the bench with 12 points.
The series will head to Geelong this weekend, where the Thunder has a chance to close out in game two.
The Thunder’s great weekend continued with their youth league men’s side claiming the youth league division 1 title.
The Thunder claimed game one of the series against Werribee Devils last weekend, before dropping game two on Saturday night.
They bounced back on Sunday to claim the title 84-76.
