WE are now over halfway through the Big V Basketball season, and both Men’s and Women’s Gippsland United sides are tracking well so far.
AFTER winning promotion to Division 1 last season, the Gippsland United Men’s side have fared well so far in the next tier of competition.
They began the season on a seesaw, with a variety of up-and-down results, before putting the foot down and establishing themselves as threats within the competition.
Life in Division 1 was off to a good start with a Round 1 win over Warrandyte, 71-63, but they swiftly met their match in Round 2 in an 81-72 defeat to Warrnambool.
They unleashed on Collingwood in an outstanding 118-79 win, but were once again brought back down to earth the following round, losing to Shepparton 75-68.
While sitting 2-2, the Gippsland United Men then went on a four-game win-streak, defeating Coburg 81-66, Southern Peninsula 105-88, Pakenham 99-97 and Bulleen 87-80, to improve their win/loss record to 6-2, after eight games.
But in their second Round 8 game, a day after the Bulleen game, United were lost to league leaders, the RMIT Redbacks, falling by 10 points, 76-66.
In their latest match against Chelsea, the boys got the win by 14 points, 116-102, boasting a 7-3 record.
Ben Barlow leads the side for points per game, averaging 17 points from eight games, while Oliver Amajoyi is a close second, averaging 15.1 points per game from his 10 outings.
Amajoyi does lead United in rebounds however, averaging 8.9 boards per game – eighth best in the league, while Jordon Canovan averages 7.7 a game and Stephen O’Brien sits third with 7.0 a game.
Canovan and Billy Hughes both average 3.3 assists per game, leading the way for Gippsland United, sitting just outside the top 10 in the Big V Division 1.
After 10 games, the men’s side sits in fifth place within a strong competition, despite the healthy 7-3 record.
WHILE still in Division 2, the Gippsland United Women’s are well on their way to promotion too, after starting the season impeccably.
They have gone 10-0 from their first 10 games, establishing a healthy three-game lead on second-placed Wallan, at the time of writing.
Despite a few close games, the women’s side have completely and utterly destroyed their competition, and look unstoppable as the season progresses.
Round 1 started with a 26-point win over Blackburn, which was followed up by a monster 109-point win over Mornington.
Shanare Notman led the scoring from the bench for Gippsland United against Mornington with 36 points, also collecting seven rebounds and eight assists.
Macey McGlead also impressed with 35 points, while Alahna Arnason amassed a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, also from the bench.
In Round 3 the girls smashed Collingwood by 44 points, before a 36-point win over Surf Coast.
Coburg was their closest challenge when Round 5 arrived, but they got the job done by five points, coming back from a point down in the final term.
They then beat Collingwood for a second time, this time by 59 points, before a 98-84 win over Blackburn in Round 7.
In their closest battle this season, Gippsland United Women narrowly defeated Wallan by three points, 82-79, surviving a late scare, before moving to 9-0 after a nine-point win over the RMIT Redbacks.
Finally they hit the 10-0 record with a 13-point win over Surf Coast, extending their chances of promotion next season.
An enticing battle is upcoming once again, when they face Wallan in a first-versus-second blockbuster this weekend.
MaKenzie Miller is averaging 16.2 points per game, ahead of McGlead who is scoring 14 per game from her four matches.
Chloe Hogg leads the way from a rebound perspective, averaging 10.67 boards per game, the fourth-best in the league.
Lauren Tuplin averages the third-most amount of assists per game in the league, leading the way for Gippsland United with 4.6 per game.
It’s fair to say both sides are succeeding so far this season, as they both aspire to reach the deep ends of the competition.