GPS Basketball: Find out how round 1 unfolded here
GPS basketball round 1: Gregory Terrace have gotten out of the blocks thanks to the hot hand of sharpshooter Phoenix Trego while The Southport School made a statement. See the Players of the Week.
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Gregory Terrace downed Toowoomba Grammar 90-71 in what was the biggest win in round 1 GPS basketball action.
Shooting guard Phoenix Trego came out hot like a fire, and he was not put out despite coach Mathew Hamilton-Smith resting him for two quarters.
When he came back into the game in the fourth quarter, after sinking five-from-six threes in the first, Trego was still knocking them down.
He did not miss a beat from last year where he was a bucket in every meaning of the word.
While Trego had it going, The Southport School had their way over Ipswich Grammar 117-70, BBC beat Brisbane Grammar 95-83 and Churchie looked the goods when beating Brisbane State High 97-69.
So who joined the Klay Thompson also known as Phoenix Trego in our GPS Basketball Players of the Week?
GPS BASKETBALL: ROUND 1 TEAMS, SELECTION HIGHLIGHTS
ROUND 1 BALLERS
Ben Tweedy (TSS)
Tweedy dropped video game numbers and with ease.
A hot first quarter from Tweedy saw TSS shoot out to a double-digit lead, and with Tweedy finding his spots, Ipswich stood no chance.
They showed great heart to get back into the game, but where there is Tweedy there is Jack Foley.
Jack Foley (TSS)
TSS have countless options for scoring and one of them is this guy. An effortless scorer, Foley racked up 20 while his teammates got into their work.
Jackson McCabe had a monster double double with 18 points and 16 rebounds and Indy Cotton chipped in a cool 17.
The Southport starting five are a force to be reckoned with.
Peja Ahwang (Ipswich Grammar)
Ipswich were put on the back foot instantly with the full court pressure of TSS, but taking it in his stride was Ahwang who was Ipswich’s best player on the court.
TSS were playing suffocating defence, but Ahwang learned on the run and adapted as well as anyone.
Paul Papacostas (Terrace)
The Gregory Terrace centre who looks fitter faster and stronger this season.
Papacostas was back and he was in good form. He didn’t get many looks in the quarter but he came alive before half time and some would argue that was why Gregory Terrace won.
He made a living off and-ones.
Phoenix Trego (Terrace)
Trego deserves a KFC family box, multiple gatorades and just about anything he wants after his performance on Saturday.
Coming up against a talented Toowoomba outfit, coach Mathew Hamilton-Smith needed someone to step up and Phoenix was the man of the job.
His red-hot first quarter, which saw Terrace fly out to a 16-4 lead, laid a deposit for victory.
His brother Hunter was tough too, and a highlight of his will be replaying in his mind all week.
One-on-one with Toowoomba’s best player on the day James Nugent, Hunter showed off some handles before sinking a nasty fade-away to beat the buzzer.
Logan Siolo (Terrace)
We absolutely loved what we saw from Siolo.
An athletic guard with springs under him, Siolo missed his first couple but kept shooting. Pretty quickly, they started to fall and that mounted scoreboard pressure on TGS who were still hurting after Phoenix’s first quarter.
Leave him open at your peril.
James Nugent (Toowoomba)
Nugent was a one man army and at one point he looked like prime Michael Jordan.
Okay that is a bit of a stretch but he was good, really good.
He drove to the cup fearlessly and he had a soft touch to finish at the rim.
He would need to drop 40 points on lights-out shooting to top his performance on Saturday.
Keahn Tuakura (Toowoomba)
Tuakura was a demon down low, racking up two-pointers with high-percentage looks.
The thickly set centre who has good hand-eye coordination had a highlight buzzer beating jump shot to end the third quarter and he will take confidence from this game.
Lachlan Curtin (Brisbane Grammar)
Curtin was at his best and that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Defensively he was terrific.
Lachlan Bann (Brisbane Grammar)
Year 10 student Bann played in his first First V game and he was impressive.
The small forward had an aggressive play style and matched BBC’s physicality.
For Brisbane Grammar, it’s a matter of playing consistently in four quarters. Once they do that, they will be hard to beat.
Lee Van der Westhuizen (BBC)
BBC played a strong team game with Westhuizen keeping the scoresheet ticking over and punishing BGS for their mistakes.
Charlie Hinson (BBC)
In a close game, Hinson showed his sniper abilities from behind the arc but indeed it was an all-round team effort from the BBC outfit.
Lachlan Scroggie led with a captain’s knock.
Mackenzie Jolly (Churchie)
Jolly provided punch off the bench. A defensive nightmare, the naturally athletic Jolly impacted the game with his defence.
He also pushed the ball well up the court.
Kallen Mattsson (Churchie)
Churchie have a reliable scorer off the bench in Mattsson. A taller guard at about 6’2, Mattsson made all the right decisions and once he saw one go in he got into a groove and made BSHS pay.
Oscar Olechnowicz (Churchie)
Olechnowicz had a big game to kickstart the Churchie campaign.
Powerful and confident, Olechnowicz did his damage when driving inside.
Caleb Cronn (Churchie)
Cronn was his usual self, bringing up the ball, shooting at a good clip and draining some deep ones to get the confidence up.
A Year 12, watch for Cronn to be one of Churchie’s scoring leaders.
And who could forget Jake Miles-Wrency, a Year 12 student who relished limited minutes after a Tibia injury sidelined him during the 2022 season.
He looked sharp.
Kailan Sales (Brisbane State High)
BSHS were under manned but not once did they drop their heads.
Even when the deficit ballooned out, their spirits were up and they played through it. Eventually, Churchie runs turned into nice bursts for the BSHS team who were without Roman Siulepa and CJ Amos.
It was no surprise to see returning First V player Sales start strong. You can expect double digit scoring, about six rebounds and a couple assists on efficient shooting and a positive plus-minus from the elite Sales.
Carter Waldon (Brisbane State High)
Waldon controlled the tempo of the game, organised the offence and once he got the ball, he took it strongly to the basket.
The paint was his, and for a shooting guard that’s impressive.
Waldon and the younger and less experienced BSHS side showed glimpses of brilliance and as the season progresses, they will give opponents plenty of cheek.
REPLAYS: AFLQ Schools Cup, SEQ secondary quarterfinals, Day 1
It was a successful day for St Laurence’s, while the Marymount senior girls title tilt was ended by St Rita’s. Check out all REPLYS and return on Wednesday for eight more games LIVE.
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