GPS basketball’s top Players of the Week as Churchie pull off big win
The GPS First V basketball Players of the Week include a young prodigy from Nudgee, a match winning Churchie speedster and BBC and Gregory Terrace ballers who performed admirably in losing efforts. See who starred in round five here.
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Brisbane State High, Ipswich Grammar and The Southport School were the only obstacles lying in the way of Churchie and the GPS First V basketball premiership following Saturday’s matches.
In a rousing round five of action, Churchie claimed their most important scalp of the season when a thrilling 90-87 win over visitors Brisbane Boys’ College saw them stand alone as the last unbeaten team in the competition.
Guard Nash Harding was a late game wonder finishing an and-one to move ahead 90-87 with less than three seconds on the clock.
Meanwhile, Brisbane Grammar continued on their merry way to having their best season of the decade by taking care of a quality Toowoomba Grammar outfit 96-84.
Brisbane Grammar have lost just one match this season and it was a 108-91 defeat at the hands of Churchie in round one where the scores did not reflect the closeness of the match.
Down the coast, Brisbane State High escaped with a frantic 83-80 win, their second in a row, while Nudgee brought up their first win of the season, an 87-81 success over home side Gregory Terrace.
ROUND FIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Isaiah Jorgenson (Nudgee)
What a season this kid is having.
It seems with every game he improves more and more and his presence on the court made a real difference for the visitors last weekend.
The difference, alongside Carlisle, in helping Nudgee notch their first win of the season, the rangy Jorgenson dropped in 20 points and was a beast finishing through contact and grappling for rebounds.
He was superb.
Tyson Warren (Nudgee)
The best is still yet to come for athletic forward Warren but his efforts in Saturday’s triumph were still excellent.
Warren’s rebounding and interior defence was top notch and he really levelled up in the second half when Nudgee upped the ante.
He finished with 17 points with the majority of his buckets crucial ones in the context of the game.
Rylan Carlisle (Nudgee)
For three years running the tireless Carlisle has been terrorising his opponents, often for no reward.
But on Saturday, with Carlisle at the epicentre, Nudgee returned from a 47-40 halftime deficit to win 87-81.
Carlisle did not sit once, led all scorers with 32 points, was a game defender where he snared a handful of steals and was an elite playmaker.
His bounce pass to Tyson Warren, who finished through contact, was excellent when the game was hanging in the balance.
Denver Loli (Gregory Terrace)
Matching Jorgenson’s energy was Terrace’s workhorse forward Loli.
The left handed offensive rebounding ace scored 25 points to lead Terrace The Brave and played so hard on one occasion he had to ask for a substitution.
That said everything about the type of effort he was putting in and it showed when he reeled in long rebounds.
It was his best game of the season.
Luca Anderson (Gregory Terrace)
When the pressure was on and Nudgee took momentum, Anderson did not shy away which is impressive when you take into account he is still just 15 years of age.
A trusty Year 10 student, Anderson began the match on fire and maintained the rage to influence the game for his team.
He finished with a cool 16 points and did not overplay his hand.
Cooper Kennedy and Baxter Ellis (Gregory Terrace)
While Logan Siolo and Corey Laffan had their moments, like Laffan’s late three that sparked his team, there was also plenty to like from this energetic duo from Terrace who did the little things well.
Kennedy finished with 12 points and was classy while the hustle defence and boxing out of Ellis made life hard for his opponents.
Jack Tweedy (TSS)
Time and time again Tweedy prevails when double teamed, triple teamed and on a handful of occasions on Saturday, quadruple teamed.
The fearless TSS guard worked his socks off and for someone with so much responsibility and in a nail biting encounter, Tweedy treasured possession and was able to facilitate well for his teammates.
Will Pickett (TSS)
Pickett was a class act, not for the first time, on his beloved home court.
A three point specialist, Pickett made all the right plays in the final stretch and before this, used his active hands and pestering defence to contain Brisbane State High’s main men.
Coming off the bench, Pickett plucked errant passes and brought down loose rebounds like his life depended on it.
CJ Amos (Brisbane State High)
Shifty BSHS guard CJ Amos had ice in his veins at the weekend when knocking down two vital free throws late in the piece when TSS were closing in.
Before the cool calm and collected third year First V hooper cashed in at the stripe, he was everywhere - especially on defence where he also made a crucial stop with less than two minutes left.
Around his big plays Amos rattled home some threes and threw a handful of flashy dimes.
Kian San Jose (Brisbane State High)
Every team wants and needs a player like Kian San Jose.
A passionate point guard with an evident team first mentality and approach, Jose drained a telling three straight on as the clock dwindled down and was a menace face guarding his foes on defence.
When he had a rest on the bench, his energy and encouragement of his teammates never wavered.
Raj Gill (Brisbane State High)
Gill was not at his most efficient and yet his presence on the floor was still invaluable for the visitors.
Gill’s elite ability to attack the rim, draw fouls, disrupt and block shots and reel in rebounds was on show for all and his efforts in these areas were supreme against a TSS side that did well to shut him down.
Kurt Siwek (Churchie)
In his team’s biggest game of the season, Churchie big man Kurt Siwek brought his A game.
After missing training all week, Siwek delivered the goods in front of a bumper home crowd, the classy centre arguably Churchie’s most important player on the day.
He did a bit of everything.
Noah Kirk (Churchie)
The athletic Year 10 student was special - especially in the second half when it mattered most.
Saturday’s experience will no doubt rub off on Churchie’s starting point guard of the future and his rebounding efforts, harassing defence and soft touch around the rim gave Churchie a point of difference off the bench.
His fade away corner three to equalise the scores at 87-all with 11 seconds left was something out of a fairytale.
Nash Harding (Churchie)
The best fourth quarter player in the competition was front and centre in Saturday’s spectacle at Churchie.
In more than one game this year the pacy point guard has ensured victory for his team in the final term and against premiership contenders BBC, he made the all-important layup in contact that won his team the game and possibly even the premiership.
Emerson Juhasz (BBC)
You could not have asked for much more from Brisbane Boys’ College’s prime mover Emerson Juhasz.
In what may end up being the unofficial premiership game, Juhasz delivered in spades, especially in the fourth quarter when his brilliance from behind the arc gave the visitors a glimpse of victory.
He was superb from start to finish.
Rohan Barlow (Brisbane Grammar)
Brisbane Grammar’s sharp shooting guard had a wonderful performance.
When Toowoomba Grammar looked to creep back into the contest and get within a possession or two of their rivals, Barlow knocked down telling jump shots to keep TGS at bay.
It was a matter of quality over quantity for young Barlow, who rewarded the accurate passing of his teammates with a handful of treys.
Lebron Brooks and Max Balthes (Brisbane Grammar)
In a close battle all the way through, the experience, leadership and genuine class of Brisbane Grammar’s young veterans Brooks and Balthes, were the key ingredients in a successful concoction.
Indeed Balthes’ hot start and flashy passing and Brooks’ clinical jump shooting in the second half was everything for the home side.
Sam Geu and Keahn Tuakura (Toowoomba Grammar)
Each week the Toowoomba Grammar big men put the team on their shoulders and get into their work.
It was no different against big improvers Brisbane Grammar with the pair landing blow after blow in the post in what was a dominant performance.
Isaac Barac (Brisbane Grammar)
Toowoomba Grammar’s ultra-athletic forward Isaac Barac was all-effort and all-hustle when coach Jacob Zupp summoned him to make an impact.
The TGS senior made a great impact, the powerful second year First V player proving a menace on the offensive rebounds and on the defensive end where he used his raw athleticism to stay in front of Brisbane Grammar’s elite guards Max Balthes and Lebron Brooks.
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