2008 Mens Grand Final Night

Eighteen rounds of hard fought ball during the regular season and two pressure cooker rounds of playoff action culminated in Mens Grand Final Night for season 2008.

First up on court 1 were the young guns of Hawthorn Basketball in the Youth League grand final. Brotherly love was put to the test as Alex and Chris Papakostas suited up on opposing sides for the Angry Husbands and Nandos Magic respectively. The Angry Husbands, on the back of Cal Foat's 11 first half points started the stronger of the two sides, leading 21-17 at half time. Nandos Magic clawed their way back into the game and even hit the front as the lead changed hands several times. Tensions threatened to boil over in what was a physical match with the Papakostas brothers right in the thick of the action. James Douglas put the Husbands ahead for good and Foat iced the game with a late free throw. The Angry Husbands claiming the win 37-33. Foat finished with a game high 15, while Matt Hanna led the Nandos Magic with 12.

Meanwhile on court 2, the older generation were playing off in the Veterans League grand final. Minor premiers Spon took on the Hostel Hoods, who had been on their tail all season long. Luke Piccolo led Spon with 7 first half points but it was the Hostel Hoods who had a 17-12 buffer at half time. The second half saw Gianni Piccolo bomb away from long range as Spon won a nail biter 31-29. David Anderson of the Hostel Hoods along with the already mentioned Piccolo combination led all scorers with 12 apiece.

The A grade competition is developing a similar feel to the Boston Celtics of the 60s. For as long as everyone can remember, Pro City and Temerity have squared off in this bi-annual battle for supremacy. Temerity have come out on top in all of these recent grand finals. Red Auerbach AKA Ash Mai added Hawthorn Magic forward Jeremy Caust to the Temerity mix at the start of the season, but this time, it was Pro City who dominated the regular season. Temerity limped into the playoffs in fourth spot but managed to get all the way back to the grand final. Pro City got the jump on Temerity thanks to 14 first half points from Jay Allen and held a 27-25 lead. However, Temerity would break away in the 2nd half and run away 58-50 winners building somewhat of a dynasty in the Hawthorn Basketball Association. Jay Allen led all scorers with 25 while Anthony Richardson finished with 22 for Pro City.

It was a family affair in the C grade grand final as the Kopanidis/Sneddon led Blouses took on the Butler/Rose/Roach led Jetmen. The Blouses took the assendency early before the Jetmen fought back to close with 3 at half time, 15-12. However, Daniel Sneddon went to work for the Blouses with 10 points in the 2nd half and put the game beyond the Jetmen's reach. Blouses taking it out 41-25. Paul Kopanidis led all scorers with 17 points while Josh Butler's 10 points paced the Jetmen.

Following a thrilling upset win in overtime over Voodoo, the Grubs took their place in the grand final against the C-Sharps. From the outset, the favoured C-Sharps showed why they were minor premiers as they calmly executed on the way to a 24-13 half time lead. The 2nd half was more of the same as they comfortably outscored the Grubs 19-12 to win the grand final 43-25. Ben Cowens and James Sloane led the way with 14 and 15 respectively while Doug Simpson was the pick of the scorers for the Grubs with 11.

Finally, the top two teams all season long in A-Reserve, Blue Devils and Varpas rightfully took their place in the grand final. The Blue Devils got out to a fast start led by Brenton Lenaghan who scored 15 first half points. The Blue Devils leading 36-24 at the half. Robbie Levickis did his best to rally his team with 14 in the second half but it wasn't enough as the Blue Devils finished the job with a 65-46 victory. Lenaghan topped the scoring for this match with 27 points while Levickis finished with 22 for Varpas.

Following each match, the referees award votes to who they deem to be the Most Valuable Player (MVP). At the end of the season, these votes are compiled and the winners of this award and the Top Goal Scorer for each division are presented with their trophies at the grand final presentations.

Mens Youth League

Jake Cooper, Ninjas
Most Valuable Player

Matt Hanna, Nando’s Magic
Top Goal Scorer

We now have a 1 week break to recover from all the bumps and bruises from the past season before competition resumes on Thursday 28th August for the 2008/09 summer season!

Photos from Mens Grand Final 2008 in the Gallery