Keilor Thunder will watch the Big V basketball men’s division 1 playoffs from the cheap seats.
The Thunder’s finals hopes were dashed in an 84-79 loss to the Geelong Supercats at the Keilor Basketball Stadium on Sunday.
It was do or die for the Thunder, which stayed within striking distance until the last period, but the Supercats managed to preserve their five-point three-quarter-time lead until the final buzzer.
Andrew Kaban was huge for Keilor with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. It was Kaban’s second 20-point game in a row and 11th of the year.
Otherwise, the offensive duties were shared for the Thunder, with Joel Bellman’s 13 the next-best.
Bellman had seven rebounds and three assists to make it a nice line all round.
Try as it might, the Thunder just could not break down the lead the Supercats built in the second period.
The Thunder walked away after giving it their all against a finals contender, but their work over the course of the season was just not good enough to reach this goal.
Keilor now goes in as hot favourite against bottom side Camberwell Dragons at Keilor Basketball Stadium on Sunday at 3.30pm.
In women’s division 2, it was a similar fate for Keilor Thunder, extinguishing its finals dreams with an 88-75 loss to Camberwell at home on Saturday night.
The Thunder started promisingly and led at quarter-time, but things quickly turned pear-shaped, and the Dragons outscored them 48-29 over the next two periods to sail off into the sunset with victory.
Amy Mitchener was a stand-out for the Thunder with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jayne-Maree Sant (16 points and five rebounds) and Jessica Scannell (15 points, seven rebounds and four assists) also worked hard.
The Thunder takes a three-game losing streak to Mildura on Saturday night.
