Ellas Titans men and women win season 2024-25 championship grand finals
It was a weekend to remember for the Ellas Titans men and women as they dominated the 2024-25 Darwin Basketball Championship finals. Relieve the action, talking points and check out our photo gallery.
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It was an Ellas Titans whitewash at the 2024-25 Darwin Basketball League championship grand finals as both the men and women took home the chocolates.
Catch up on all the action below.
WOMEN
Ellas Titans 89 def. 61 Lightning (25-21, 14-6, 23-26, 27-8)
For the second year in a row the Ellas Titans have defeated Lightning in the women’s championship final.
Lightning kept pace in the first quarter, however the superior ability and structure of Ellas came to the fore from the second period onwards.
Lightning seemingly couldn’t sink a shot no matter the situation allowing Ellas to counter without pressure and run up the score.
Madeline Campbell was terrific for the Titans, her ability to assess the situation mere moments before her opponent turned moments on their head.
Kirra Hill-Carter and Taneesa Hampton fought valiantly to somewhat stem the bleeding, resulting in a nine point game into the fourth.
However, Lightning had no answer for the continued assault of Abby Lee-Wood and Campbell, who with some support blew out the score to win by a blowout 28 points.
Head coach of the women, and also the men’s winning team, Emanuel Siriotis was overjoyed with the victory, saying that his side was the best all season and thoroughly deserved the ring.
“The girls put together a brilliant season that saw us finish top of the ladder,” he said.
“We have a great squad that all contributed to this victory and a healthy dose of experience and youth were all important.
“It always comes down to the last game and anybody can take it but we had a belief that if we stuck to our strategy, played quick counters to tire out our opponents and tough defence we’d win.
“The three-peat is on, that’s for sure.”
TOP PERFORMERS
Madeline Campbell (Titans) 38 pts, 8 2ptm, 4 3ptm, 10 ftm, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals, 40 mins – Campbell was a force to be reckoned with across the court as the most dominant player of the night. Her facilitating play, scramble defence at situational awareness made her almost unguardable.
Abbey Lee Wood (Titans) 19 pts, 5 2ptm, 2 3ptm, 3 ftm, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 40 mins –The Titans captain and competition MVP led from the front all game. Like Campbell, Lee Wood’s relentlessness on both sides of the court was too much to contain.
Kirra Hill-Carter (Lightning) 14pts, 1 2ptm, 3 3ptm, 3 ftm, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 28 mins – Captain of the losing outfit Hill-Carter was the one player that gave 100 per cent effort on every play. She made numerous one-on-one defensive stops as well as threw some cracker assists.
MEN
Ellas Titans 119 def. 104 Eagles (31-30, 32-21, 29-22, 27-31)
Ellas Titans played themselves into a well deserved men’s championship victory, knocking off the Eagles in convincing fashion.
Even though they had to do it the hard way from fourth, the Titans clicked when it mattered most during the knockouts.
The sides were neck and neck early on with Kobe Powell putting on an offensive masterclass for the the Eagles, while the Titans kept ticking along through well built-up possessions.
Ellas came into its own in the second with youngster Daymond Moyd contributing from the perimeter as Deba George and Verle Williams controlled the flow.
The side boasted a 12 point lead at half time, but remained wary of a streaky Eagles attack that had worked all season.
Nate Jawai and Jeremee Davis joined in on the action for Ellas, both putting up big moments, Davis in offence, Jawai at the post.
The Titans swelled their lead to 19 points as they went into the final quarter and continued to build, despite Powell’s best efforts at dragging his side to the win.
Titans captain Williams said the victory was a product of having experienced players and a never say die attitude.
“We had a bumpy season that was all over the shop at times with people out and we didn’t actually have a full team session till halfway through,” he said.
“To get to where we are, it all clicked at the right time. We had players stand up and do what was asked of them and we stuck to the mantra that ‘It doesn’t matter how you start, but how you finish’ and that’s what we did. We stuck it out and finished strong.”
Elated to have sealed the championship, Williams thanked all of the supporters who showed up, saying they gave the team an extra kick in the hard moments.
“It’s such a great little family club and we feel all the love and support when we’re out on the court,” Williams said.
“This is a great win for us all, especially after the girls won their second in a row, how good.”
TOP PERFORMERS
Verle Williams (Titans) 34 pts, 11 2ptm, 2 3ptm, 6 ftm, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, 35 mins – The winning captain was the catalyst in Ellas’ victory. His workrate was unmatched on both ends, and his link play with George on offence was dialled.
Kobe Powell (Eagles) 43 pts, 13 2ptm, 3 3ptm, 8 ftm, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 40 mins – The league MVP put on a show as he dazzled with incredible solo efforts and athletic ability. His sheer turn of pace was a cheat-code when on the counter.
Deba George (Titans) 25 pts, 8 2ptm, 3 3ptm, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 39 mins –An ageless wonder, George was his crafty self all game. His link up with Williams was a highlight so too was his composure under pressure.
STAGE SET FOR THRILLING DARWIN BASKETBALL GRAND FINALS
Darwin Basketball’s standout sides from the 2024-25 season will clash to decide who reigns supreme in this weekend’s set of grand finals.
The Titans won this encounter all the way back in Round 1 with an 85-80 scoreline, and it’s expected to be a close one again.
The Eagles have been the trend setters beating Ellas 141-108 and 119-108 in their most recent meetings, while earning direct passage to the grand final with the win over Ansett.
The Titans replicated that feat in the preliminary final beating the table topping Ansett 93-88 in an incredibly tight scrap to set up this grand final.
American import and small guard Kobe Powell will be the difference maker for the Eagles with a DBA high average of 38.87 points from 15 games.
Powell torched Ansett in the first week of finals, putting up an unbelievable 46 points which equates to 40 per cent of the Eagles’ total.
Colbye Jackson is another Eagles player to watch with his ability to get hot from the spot when it counts.
He averages 18.16 points per game he is a constant threat from deep with 57 threes to his name this season.
Joseph Johnson is another player that is a consistent attacking threat as he has proven plenty of times in the past for the Eagles.
He averages 15.5 points per game across 18 matches, he too got hot in the qualifying final putting up 22 points over Ansett.
For Ellas, eyes will naturally be on Darwin Saltie and former NBL player Deba George, who has been the Titans’ main strike weapon this season.
George has averaged 29.29 points per match across 17 games, having scored an impressive 63 threes and scored a match-defining 33 points in the semi-final against Ansett.
Jeremee Davis is the second most prolific scoring threat at the Titans, boasting a 23.61 points per game average across his 18 matches.
Another Salties alum Verle Williams has been lethal this season, proving an opportunistic player that reads the game better than most has been averaging 20.94 points per game.
Meanwhile, in the women’s competition all eyes are on Lightning to see if they can topple the more-favoured Ellas Titans in the final.
Both sides had to beat an incredibly experienced Tracy Village Jets outfit on their way to the big dance and will want to make it count again.
The Titans have plenty of talent with Abbey Lee Wood and Madeline Campbell crucial in their semi-final victory that sent them directly into the grand final.
Meanwhile, Lightning saw off both their finals challenges beating both Eagles and Jets with young gun Taneesa Hampton leading the way on the scoring front in both matches.
Kirra Hill-Carter and Kahlee Stanislaus have both been influential too and will be joining forces to ensure the table topping Titans don’t have it all their own way.
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Originally published as Ellas Titans men and women win season 2024-25 championship grand finals
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