GPS First V basketball premiership shared in 3 way tie
The GPS First V basketball premiership has been split by three teams. For one school, it is their first premiership ever and it came with a game winning jump shot by a Year 10 star.
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The GPS First V basketball competition finished in a three-way tie on Saturday when Toowoomba Grammar, Brisbane State High and The Southport School shared the spoils.
The schools each lost one match and on Saturday, Brisbane State High defeated Churchie 110-66, Southport beat Ipswich Grammar 111-80 while Samuel Geu hit a game winner to edge out Terrace 67-65.
This shot from Geu was a triumph for the Toowoomba community, as Toowoomba claimed their first ever First V premiership, winning 7 games in the season for the first time.
For TSS coach Anthony Petrie and his young men, the joint premiership followed the college’s last triumph in 2012.
Brisbane State High’s last premiership was 2016 but coach Kris Robinson and this year’s squad have been together for the last six years, where they suffered only one loss which was to Southport this year.
“This senior group had been undefeated prior to this year, and have now won their age group all six years they have been at the school. Adding State High’s 11th GPS premiership and ensuring 2022 is on the wall of the gym forevermore is something they’ve been aiming for since year seven, that they really wanted to deliver for their injured captain,” Robinson said.
Although there was no formal premiership awarded last year due to a COVID-19 disruptions, Brisbane State High were the favourites to do so.
Toowoomba coach Cicolini said going into the season his team didn’t have the expectation to compete for a premiership. But, his boys took it a game at a time, stepped up each week and are super stoked to have written history for their school’s First V program.
“They are beside themselves with pride and happiness,” with a locker room full of tears and dancing.
Petrie said the most satisfying aspect of the season was the squad’s improvement, willingness to learn and ability to play their role.
After a devastating 78-75 loss to Toowoomba in round 3, Southport were able to bounce back and win the next six, as they joined their rugby counterparts as premiers.
“I am really happy for them. They do all the work and drive the program. I am glad they get to etch their names in Southport’s history.
THE TOP PLAYERS FROM THE FINAL ROUND
Brisbane State High 110 defeat Churchie 66
Liam Hude (Brisbane State High)
You’d need a fire extinguisher to put Hude out. He’s probably still jawing, that’s how hyped he was on Saturday.
He cashed in countless threes and that got the crowd going. It got the bench going and it got him into a groove that Churchie had no way to stop.
Something possessed him and he became a flamethrower behind the arc, stretching the lead out to the 40’s.
Mason Amos (Brisbane State High)
The big man looked even bigger on Saturday, with his polished set of skills. With a player like him on the floor you expect nothing but the best.
To be frank, that is what he delivered. The highlight of the day came when Amos slammed in a vicious alley-oop dunk. That put the exclamation mark on Brisbane State High’s second forty point win in a row.
Kailan Sales (Brisbane State High)
Sales finished the way he started in 2022, being the guy you can count on at all times. His finishing around the rim is second to none.
From the mid range he does not miss and the rim wanted to keep it that way on Saturday, granting him some friendly drops.
CJ Amos (Brisbane State High)
The future was in action and with limited touches he made his presence known. In one Amos sequence, he hit back to back threes and then forced a turnover the very next play.
Amos is a cool customer, and he can shoot the lights out.
Ed Storen (Churchie)
Storen stuck to his guns even though Brisbane State High had clamping defence. He sunk plenty of threes and drove aggressively to the cup, even with the size that was waiting to meet him.
Quinn Lambert (Churchie)
One thing that stands out with Lambert is his communication on defence. He keeps his teammates on the same page, calls screens, switches and is what you want as a coach and teammate.
The big man was impressive on that front as well as when given the chance to spread his wings in the paint. He used his height and length to drop in some tough shots.
Mackenzie Jolly (Churchie)
Hustle is the word that comes to mind. His eyes were fixed on his defender’s hips, nothing else. He was determined.
He was not going to let his man drive past him and to his credit they rarely did. He’s not the tallest, but he stays in front of you and works his heart out.
Southport 111 defeat Ipswich 80
Mikel Tokiyawa (Ipswich)
Tokiyawa was great for Ipswich. He played suffocating defence again—a real stop getter. On the offensive end he stood up as well.
Ipswich coach Jason Ralph commended Southport, saying they are a quality team deserving of the win. He said in the end, Ipswich ended where they should be on the ladder, despite leaving a win or so out on the court. All in all, it was a great season not only for Ipswich but for the whole competition.
Ben Tweedy (Southport)
29 points. Nine rebounds. Eight assists.
He got downhill, facilitated his teammates, and was absolutely incredible. With a near triple double, Ipswich stood no chance against this talent.
Jaylen Pitman (Southport)
Batman and Robin or Tweedy and Pitman. The roles are interchangeable, but on Saturday the two were in full flight, with Pitman soaring to the cup with his aggressive play style.
This is a one of a kind backcourt, and luckily for Southport they get to run it back next year with these two in their senior years.
Toowoomba Grammar 67 defeat Gregory Terrace 65
Samuel Geu (Toowoomba)
Geu was elite. He did the bulk of the scoring and protected the rim as per usual. He led the way as the whole Toowoomba defensive unit locked down and executed to edge out their rivals.
Toowoomba coach Cicolini said young Geu was not fazed by the situation, “going into the huddle, drawing it up and Sam knew he had the game in his hands.”
“We knew it was going to be a grind but to see the confidence of Geu to shoot and score was incredible.”
Terrace are a team stacked with shooters and Toowoomba managed to keep them shooting at a low percentage behind the arc, which pleased coach Cicolini.
Rahul Captain (Toowoomba)
Captain was effective in his minutes on the floor, hitting a couple massive threes when Terrace went into a zone defence.
He opened the game up and allowed his team to run with it.
Brisbane Boys College 81 defeat Brisbane Grammar 50
Jared Gluch (BBC)
Gluch had a strong game, dominating in the middle. As captain he led the boys home.
Emerson Juhasz (BBC)
Juhasz Shot extremely well, and contributed plenty of points. He and Gluch partnered up and gave it their all to give BBC a feel good 81-50 win over Brisbane Grammar.
Sebastian Heyes (BBC)
Heyes played a really strong supportive team game. He facilitated the BBC boys which impressed director David Bennett.
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