GPS Basketball: The super 25 players revealed after round 8
Brisbane State High made a statement while Southport won by the skin of their teeth, propelling the premiership onto a knife edge. So, meet the 25 top players from GPS Basketball’s eighth round as a shared premiership looms.
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A stunning round of GPS basketball unfolded while BBC sat out with a bye. In South Brisbane, Toowoomba came up against a fired up Brisbane State High outfit stacked with almost all of their big guns.
Brisbane State High, with Mason Amos, Xavier Chio, Elijah Kamu and Kailan Sales leading the way, blew away their rivals, with a 88-45 statement over Toowoomba.
Down at Southport, the premiership race was cut from four to three with Gregory Terrace dealt with 101-90, thanks to a Jack Foley fuelled fourth quarter ambush.
It was a real nail biter, with Southport the team to run away with it.
Meanwhile, Ipswich Grammar gave Nudgee 100 of the best in a tight 101-91 affair, as Churchie continued their terrific 2022 campaign, defeating Brisbane Grammar 84-65.
THE SUPER 25
Mason Amos (Brisbane State High)
The big man had a great all around game with seemingly effortless scoring at three levels. He out-rebounded the long Toowoomba front line and was clearly the most polished player on the court.
Who doesn’t love a big man who can drain threes? Coach Kris Robinson sure does.
Kailan Sales (Brisbane State High)
Sales came off the bench against Toowoomba and set an example for the second unit with his hustle and hard nosed defence.
With the opposition having to focus on Kamu & Amos, Sales was a menace wherever opportunities arose and may have come close to his 23 rebound record from the Nudgee game.
Elijah Kamu (Brisbane State High)
Frustrated with the Southport loss the week prior, Kamu’s tough interior defense, rebounding and ability to get to the rim was simply too much for Toowoomba to handle.
A pull up 3 pointer on the halftime buzzer goes to show the added dimension to his game.
His trash talk had two hands in the win.
Xavier Chio (Brisbane State High)
Chio chipped away for Brisbane State High. His defensive speed and knock down 3 point shooting had the Toowoomba guards scrambling at both ends.
Chio will be looking to once again be named in the CBSQ All Star 5 this year.
James Pearson (Ipswich)
Pearson reminded Nudgee of the weight room, dropping 27 points and leading from the front.
He was on fire in the first half. And in the second, with superb ball security and aggressive drives to the rack.
Justin Ventic (Ipswich)
Ventic had 14 points and five assists on 0 turnovers. He came in and impressed in his 23 minutes, playing his best game of the year.
He’s of major importance coming off the bench and on Saturday turned up for Ipswich.
Fletcher Doyle (Ipswich)
Doyle dropped 22 points on 50% shooting from the field. He also had 10 rebounds.
Aside from the stats the Year 12 was super dominant across the floor.
He handled the adversity, as did the whole Ipswich outfit with five boys finishing with double digit scoring.
Nazar Angallo (Gregory Terrace)
Angallo played a controlled and mature game in a high pressure environment. That’s who he is.
He cashed in 22 points and racked up a massive 12 rebounds.
Tama Tuhi (Gregory Terrace)
Tuhi battled hard against much bigger opponents, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds. He stood up, but some defensive lapses and poor turnovers as a team prevented the Terrace boys from getting it done.
Paul Papacostas (Gregory Terrace)
Papacostas was his usual hard working self and finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, seven of them of course on offence.
Ben Tweedy (Southport)
35 points, 12 rebounds 5 assists.
That was this star’s statline. In a true team performance where everyone chipped in, Tweedy took it up a level.
He did what he needed to get the result. How? It’s his competitive spirit, which not too many sportsman at that age possess.
Jaylen Pitman (Southport)
Pitman is Mr. super efficient. He hit a huge step back three in the corner to swing things in the late stages. He was finishing at a really high percentage.
But it was his elite on-ball defence that led the team.
Jack Foley (Southport)
Foley was him all game. It’s worth noting he is the only Southport player back from last year’s team. Coach Anthony Petrie said: “When we needed a moment, and someone to step up, he did with a massive shot.” But it doesn’t come as a surprise, Foley a “really hard worker.”
With 17 points, Foley stepped up big time. This week he was the one to take the reins in a team which has countless capable of doing so in the big moments.
Indy Cotton (Southport)
In a high pressure environment, Cotton was cool as ever. Big defence, making good decisions and sinking big buckets for a Year Nine. Yes. Year Nine.
Cotton continues to impress coach Petrie, while sending alarms around the competition of what is to come.
“He’s a quiet competitor with a ferocious competitive desire. He burns on the inside with a want to win. A different demeanour,” Petrie said about the youngster beaming with Basketball IQ.
Samuel Geu (Toowoomba)
Saturday was a tough experience but a learning experience for young Samuel Geu.
Coming up against some real size, Geu didn’t back down. He played his normal game, the shots just didn’t fall. But, that didn’t stop him wreaking havoc on the defensive end. He said not today a handful of times as the Brisbane State High boys drove to the rim.
Rahul Captain (Toowoomba)
Captain was the shining light for Toowoomba on a hard day in the office. Brisbane state high had everyone handled from the get go but captain found a way to get himself in a rhythm, cashing in 4 threes in the second half. His shot is the definition of a green release, arguably the smoothest looking shot in the comp.
Tyler Saal (Toowoomba)
Even with the frustration of shots not falling, Saal was able to make an impact.
It was his pesky defence and efforts in stealing the ball that gave his team something to smile about when down a bunch.
He had steals, pass deflections, a denial or two and just great ball pressure. On offence he was able to get some great looks but the Brisbane State High rim wasn’t forgiving.
Issac Cordell and Quinn Lambert (Churchie)
These two capitalised on the opportunity, both finishing the game in strong fashion.
Quinn showed out with a big 13 rebound double-double while Cordell was one point short of his own double-double, contributing nine points and 10 rebounds.
These two, at the forefront of a 12-2 Churchie run in the fourth and a 84-65 win.
The Churchie defence stepped up, allowing only five points from the opposition in the final quarter, pushing the lead out to 20.
Caleb Cronn, Ed Storen and Thomas Joy (Churchie)
Cronn and Storen had a quiet 20 and 17 points respectively, once again spearheading Churchie to victory. This time, over Brisbane Grammar.
But, it was Thomas Joy who stole the show. He contributed a whopping 12 rebounds with limited game time.
Nate Scott (Nudgee)
Scott was superb for the eighth week in a row. He closed out a top tier 2022 campaign with another 20 point game and a solid captain’s knock.
Even with shooting slumps, this natural talent finds his way back.
What a season it has been for the Year 12. Nudgee sure has some big shoes to fill.
Joaquin Tulloch (Nudgee)
Tulloch bounced back from an out of character showing against Gregory Terrace in round 7.
He was shut down there, but this week it was a different story. With high energy, skilful driving and attacking runs up the floor, Tulloch tore through the Ipswich defence on multiple occasions.
Credit to Jason Ralph’s boys for withstanding him and Scott among other Nudgee performers.
Lebron Brooks (Brisbane Grammar)
Brooks was back in action and his ability to create and make tough shots has him here.
He has sat out the last few weeks with some niggling injuries but one of the competitions brightest was back where he belongs on Saturday.
Lachlan Curtin (Brisbane Grammar)
Curtin got to work as per usual. He is always on this list because he is always doing the dirty work.
A coaches dream.
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