THE Leongatha Lightning Under 18 Boys Team won through to the Division One Grand Final in the Victorian Country Basketball Championships in Bendigo on Sunday and by close to the half-way mark in the final against Ballarat, they were leading by 26 to 19 in an end-to-end game of high standard.
By three quarter time, Ballarat had turned it aroiund and were leading 40 to 39 with a quarter to go.
Leongatha opened the quarter with a goal to lead it again, Ballarat nailed its free throws to lead it again, then Leongatha responded with a goal followed by a great steal by Tom Vuillermin to get it out to a 46/43 lead.
A great defensive rebound by Lucas had Leongatha on the way again but despite desperate efforts at the offensive end the ball was lost to Ballarat and they went on a run.
Ballarat secured a two-point lead with 30 seconds to go when the livestream closed down but they scored a three pointer with 15 seconds left to ice what had been a thrilling contest, full of NBA style drives to the basket and high qualioty hook shots and layups, that either team could have won.
The final score was Ballarat Miners 59 to Leongatha Lightning 54.
The Leongatha team had earlier won their way through the semi-final stage in the most exciting of circumstances when Tom Vuillermin put up a shot that sailed through the hoop right on the final buzzer.
The team is full of local sporting talent and had been widely tipped to go far in the competition.
See the second half on livestream: https://www.basketballvictoria.com.au/competitions/competition-resources/jcc-day-2-court-1
