GPS First V basketball’s Rd 1 Players of the Week
The GPS First V basketball Players of the Week include a Nudgee schoolboy who produced the best individual performance in a losing team seen this decade. See the full list of players who shone in round one here.
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A Nudgee senior produced possibly the most impressive individual performance seen this decade in a losing effort as the GPS First V basketball competition started with a bang on Saturday.
Nudgee Year 12 student Rylan Carlisle, a third year First V hooper with the full package, scored a whopping 48 points in a 82-99 defeat at the hands of home side Ipswich Grammar School.
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A talented First XI Volleyballer and Nudgee’s best as a Year 11 last year, Carlisle began his final school basketball season by scoring the opening eight points for his side before pouring in another 40.
The other incredible individual performance produced in a losing effort came in round three last year when Brisbane State High’s Roman Siulepa put up 54 points in a 114-91 loss against The Southport School.
ROUND ONE TOP PERFORMERS
Justin Ventic (Ipswich Grammar)
The shifty Ipswich assassin had his way in front of the home supporters, stopping on a dime and swishing them through as his team snared their first scalp of the season.
Ventic has the speed, V8 engine and smooth stroke to cause a ripple across the competition this year.
Dylan Atkinson (Ipswich Grammar)
Ipswich local Dylan Atkinson had a cracker to begin his season, helping Ipswich on the defensive end before influencing the game in offence where he backed himself in the paint.
Rylan Carlisle (Nudgee)
Jersey No. 7 is going to cause plenty of opponents headaches this season, it is just a matter of how severe.
Carlisle played all 40 minutes for his team and kept throwing punches until the final whistle, despite being down and out on the scoreboard.
Kai Summerfield (Churchie)
At Churchie, the home side took a while to find their stride and when BGS threatened to extend their lead past 10 with two minutes left in the third, automatic three point shooter Summerfield arrived.
In a back-and-forth third quarter where Churchie were vying to establish their first lead of the game, Summerfield sunk four threes in quick succession to keep his team in the fight.
He missed just two threes and had a +/- of +17.
Connor Davidson (Churchie)
Head coach Drew Summerfield would have loved Davisson’s performance.
It was a blue collar performance where he worked hard, took the right options, drew a crucial charge in the fourth quarter and made his lay-ups.
The powerful Churchie forward got the job down low and held together his team’s defence when he was on the floor.
In attack, Oskar Olechnowicz (27 points) and Noah Kirk (16 points) were stellar.
Nash Harding (Churchie)
Harding took longer than usual to get himself going but once he did the game slowly started to fall away from BGS.
Churchie’s prime mover in the final quarter, Harding used his turn of speed and finesse at the cup to add 24 points to Churchie’s tally and take them into three figure territory.
He also came away with five steals.
Angus Kearney (Brisbane Grammar)
Wow. What a performance young mid range king Kearney produced with Max Balthes and Lebron Brooks both away.
With two of the team’s primary scoring options out of action, Kearney took matters into his own hands with a fast start which got BGS into the driver’s seat.
A sweet mover with the ball, Kearney’s classy performance was eclipsed in the fourth quarter when he converted a sweet-and-one play after laying it in, through contact, with his left.
Lennon Bann (Brisbane Grammar)
If you came late to Churchie you would have seen a tireless Bann pluck a crosscourt pass and slam it home to get BGS within 12 headed into the final four minutes.
But that was just one of many highlights the all rounder produced in a spirited showing by the visitors.
Bann was a threat from behind the arc, a facilitator, a primary ball handler and an all around animal who brought the energy needed to take Churchie all the way.
He was a man possessed.
Orlando Geary (Brisbane Grammar)
This gutsy full court player will cause opposition players headaches this season, there is no doubt about it.
Playing in spurts, Geary earnt his time on the floor at the defensive end where in the second quarter he snared three steals in under two minutes to extend BGS’ lead.
Like a thief in the night he came out of nowhere, plucked possession from his rival and looked ahead to find Rohan Barlow, Bann, Otto Dwyer or Kearney in transition.
Logan Siolo (Gregory Terrace)
Third year First V hooper Logan Siolo made a statement in Gregory Terrace’s first outing of the season, flirting with a triple double in a match Terrace played well enough to win.
Siolo finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and TSS stand-in coach Joe Fumar had plenty of praise for the fearless vice-captain.
“Logan Siolo had a hell of a game,” said Fumar.
“He gave us all sorts of headaches on the defensive end and that is a credit to how versatile he is.”
Corey Laffan (Gregory Terrace)
Another young veteran of this talented Terrace squad, Laffan played a key role in his team’s pursuit of victory.
He finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists and his mere presence on the court would have given teammates belief it was their game to lose.
Luca Anderson (Gregory Terrace)
It is a new dawn at Gregory Terrace with old boy guns Hunter and Phoenix Trego heading off to College in America.
Filling the void and helping with the scoring load on Saturday was emerging Year 10 student Luca Anderson, a fearless type who threw in a cool 16 points down the coast in his first start in the First V.
Jack Tweedy (The Southport School)
Wearing the same number his older brother Ben (2023 old boy) terrorised the competition in, Jack was TSS’s rock and floor leader in a thrilling round one encounter.
Tweedy played all 40 minutes and led the team as the match to-and-froed and when Terrace did a terrific defensive job to convert turnovers into points.
As the composed leader and confident young gun he is, Tweedy had a team high 23 points, reeled in plenty of rebounds and found open teammates.
Riley Oberman (The Southport School)
Riley Oberman’s impressive showing off the bench was just what the doctor ordered in a tight, back-and-forth affair against a hard-nosed Terrace outfit.
Oberman provided a much-needed boost when he entered the game early, the youngster making a massive impact on TSS’s rebounding effort while proving a defensive monster who affected shots.
He poured in 22 points and was deservedly named Defensive Player of the Game.
Will Pickett (The Southport School)
TSS guard Will Pickett was a big time player at the Shark Tank on Saturday, swinging momentum in his team’s favour with two step back threes in quick succession – both in the dying minutes.
After sinking his second trey, the visitors were forced to call their last time out which meant they could not stop the clock in their final possession after Riley Oberman had layed in the match winner to break an 87-all deadlock with 1.6 seconds left on the clock.
Like Oberman, Pickett, who finished with 19 points, came off the bench and made a winning impact.
Tawana Ngorima (Toowoomba Grammar)
Toowoomba Grammar’s offence will be in safe hands this season with third year floor general Tawana Ngorima running amok at point guard.
Against Brisbane State High in Brisbane, the livewire guard played an up-tempo style of play which worked in his team’s favour on the day.
He finished with 15 points and reeled in seven rebounds which was impressive given one: his position and two: his size.
Theo Hess (Toowoomba Grammar)
Mustangs young gun Theo Hess maintained the rage after a strong campaign contesting the QSL Youth League with a quality round one showing.
A returning player sure to relish a more prominent role in the First V, Hess engineered a perfect cocktail of success both in the paint and behind the arc before finishing with 18 points and six rebounds in his 30 minutes on the floor.
His plus minus of 24 was just what the doctor ordered in a first up win for new head coach Jacob Zupp.
Keahn Tuakura (Toowoomba Grammar)
Rugby powerhouse turned interior wrecking ball, Gladstone unit Keahn Tuakura played like he was a man among boys, flexing his muscles with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
He certainly took confidence from his impressive Under-18s Queensland North campaign at the national championships earlier this year.
Originally published as GPS First V basketball’s Rd 1 Players of the Week
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