GPS First V basketball’s leading performers from round six highlighted here
Which schoolboys starred in round six of the GPS First V basketball season? Get an insight on the Players of the Week here.
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The coldest Year 10 student in GPS First V basketball announced himself in a losing side on Saturday.
Gregory Terrace 15-year-old Luca Anderson was excellent for the visitors who went down 88-63 against a quality Toowoomba Grammar outfit, spearheaded in the paint by Keahn Tuakura.
In his first season of GPS First V basketball, Anderson has been a shining light in a winless season for Terrace The Brave.
GPS FIRST XV RUGBY ROUND 6 REPORT
“We are really happy with him,” coach Matt Hamilton-Smith said.
“He has a lot of improvement in him still... he just loves it.
“He has a really bright future in the sport outside of just the GPS competition.”
The smooth operator from the Brisbane Capitals is quiet and unassuming and lets his accumulation of buckets do the talking.
This season he has led the scoring for his team and has quickly earnt a distinction in bucket getting.
“He is very well respected among his peers because he lets his game do the talking,” Smith said.
Another exciting rookie, Year 9 Churchie young gun Andrew Watene, shot 43 per cent from three and sunk five treys in his team’s victory.
The promising, above the rim Rockhampton product stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points and eight assists, Watene making the most of his first start this season.
“He handled the pressure of his first start. Then he destroyed it,” concluded Churchie coach Drew Summerfield.
ROUND SIX PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Keahn Tuakura (Toowoomba Grammar)
It was as if Tuakura said ‘I am too big, too strong’ on Saturday, but it would have been to himself not out loud.
He is a humble young man, who lets his actions do the talking and they said plenty in a showing that solidified him as the No.1 centre in the competition.
Each week he is outstanding, and then backs it up the next week with a more impressive performance landing blow after blow in the paint.
Isaac Barac (Toowoomba Grammar)
Toowoomba Grammar forward Isaac Barac had a wonderful cameo off the bench, afforded to him by the work of Keahn Tuakura and Sam Geu who were outstanding.
In the second half, Barac made the most of his opportunity by sinking a handful of jump shots and protecting the rim with force.
If he was thrust into the starting line-up next week, he would do just fine.
Sam Geu (Toowoomba Grammar)
Geu was strictly business, affecting shots, grabbing rebounds and getting buckets.
The athletic big man is quietly having his best season yet in the blue and gold, with Keahn Tuakura his right hand man.
Baxter Ellis (Gregory Terrace)
He was close to the smallest out there on Saturday but he had a lion’s heart leading the team in offensive rebounds and steals.
He went hard and despite the almost impossible task of coming back, Ellis went full throttle to ensure there were no easy looks given up when he was on the floor.
Luca Anderson (Gregory Terrace)
Anderson showed he had plenty of bows to his arrow.
You name it, he has it in his bag.
He has the three point game down pat, knows how and when to attack the cup and can stop on a dime and sink a mid range - which on Saturday stemmed the bleeding when TGS stretched their lead into the 20s.
Peja Ahwang (Ipswich Grammar)
Ipswich Grammar’s crafty guard Ahwang was up to his usual tricks, especially in the final term where he came to life.
Ipswich Grammar trailed 77-65 with two minutes to play and came within striking distance down 77-70 with a minute left after Ahwang buried two nasty fade away jump shots from the corner.
Both were in front of the TSS bench and he sunk another three straight on with six seconds left which capped off a streaky but sensational game from him.
Zaiden Montanez (Ipswich Grammar)
The word that comes to mind is shifty.
Exciting Year 10 student Montanez put on a bit of a show at Ipswich Grammar last weekend.
The son of former Brisbane Bullet Lamar Patterson, Montanez was a dazzling customer with his ball handling, making shots consistently throughout the game, mostly off the bounce.
Charlie Mogg (Ipswich Grammar)
The same could be said for young Mogg whose radar was on. He finished with 16 points on an efficient 6-13 clip.
He also had a handful of flashy moments that added to the excitement.
Luca Tripkovic (Ipswich Grammar)
The left handed big man caused no end of havoc for his TSS rivals.
With his physicality and long wingspan, Tripkovic got his hands on loose balls and earnt Ipswich Grammar extra possessions which were invaluable in a game that went down to the wire.
Nikos Karathanosopulous and Ty Lockwood (TSS)
With Ash McGrath also top notch, big men Lockwood and Karathanosopulous stamped their mark on the game.
The TSS bigs found themselves in early foul trouble and made the most of their time on the floor in the second half when Karathanosopulous’ tone setting physical presence and Lockwood’s rebounding effort proved game changing down the stretch.
Cayden Brown (TSS)
How hard it must be to sit the third quarter and be expected to come on in the final term and make a difference.
Apparently it is light work for Brown, who checked in for the fourth and made a wonderful impact on the defensive end, getting his hands on a lot of loose balls.
An all-or-nothing performer last weekend, Brown came to life with his rebounding efforts and scored six points in quick succession late in the game to keep Ipswich Grammar at an arm’s length.
Jack Tweedy (TSS)
A staple for TSS this season, Tweedy again played 40 minutes at the weekend and was quietly consistent from start to finish.
Tweedy has relished more responsibility following his buddy Ash McGrath being out to begin the season and Indy Cotton being at the AIS and on Saturday he showed up again, this time getting in the rebounding contest and defending hard.
“I’ve been really impressed with Jack,” coach Anthony Petrie said.
“He is a fighter and a scrapper... He has a knack of making timely shots”
Max Balthes (Brisbane Grammar)
If an MVP award had to be given out from Saturday’s match-up against BBC, pesky guard Balthes would have come away with it.
The always improving young veteran had his moments scoring and passing but his consistent pressuring defence caught the eye the most.
His defence will be giving BBC boys nightmares for some time.
Lebron Brooks, Angus Kearney, Lennon Bann (Brisbane Grammar)
To put it simply, the Brisbane Grammar starters were first rate.
There should be little wonder why Brisbane Grammar are second on the table when you see the quality of their starting line-up and overall depth of the squad.
On Saturday, the toughness in attack of Brooks, three point precision of green light shooter Kearney and sheer dominance of Bann handed the team a lead that BBC could not come back from.
Zeke Byrne (BBC)
Byrne was bound to make a monster impact at some point this season and he gave Brisbane Grammar a glimpse of his post dominance last weekend.
Byrne was BBC’s go to down low and he was clinical in executing when he got his chance.
The towering centre was hard to handle.
Lee Van Der Westhuizen (BBC)
Without his main man Emerson Juhasz out there, the versatile Westhuizen delivered in spades to keep BBC in the fight.
He was impressive on both ends.
Jasper Jones (Brisbane State High)
Jones was at the peak of his powers at Brisbane State High last weekend.
He was a supremo sinking timely threes, namely at the end of the first frame and early in the second where he splashed three.
His sharp shooting prowess was the reason Brisbane State High were never out of the game.
Andrew Watene (Churchie)
As mentioned earlier, 15-year-old Watene was to the fore in Churchie’s sixth successive win.
He celebrated his birthday on the Thursday with an emphatic performance in his first start for the school’s First V.
Noah Kirk (Churchie)
The silent assassin from Cairns just keeps improving and at the weekend was impressive yet again.
A Year 10 student, Kirk reeled in six rebounds, dished out four assists and scored 13 points. All the while, he was a menace on defence who came to life in the third quarter to stretch Churchie’s lead and put a canyon between the sides.
Kurt Siwek (Churchie)
What a season the big man from Churchie is having.
Despite being on a light load at training during the week, Siwek came out a force to be reckoned with and in 22 minutes posted a cool 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
He was elite.
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