Riding Waves of success

THEY were tested and passed with flying colours — the Gold Coast Waves teams will head into the final day of pool games battle hardened after being challenged by a fierce rival at the Basketball Queensland Under-18 State Championships.

Both Waves girls and boys teams have sealed a semifinals spot after remaining undefeated following day two at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre.

Gold Coast’s girls started the day with a dominant 35point victory over the Sunshine Coast Phoenix but then were made to work for the result in their second game against the Logan Thunder.

The Waves pulled away early but were forced to fight off a secondhalf comeback from the Thunder, who closed the gap to just eight points early in the fourth quarter. However, several key three-pointers from Jess Petrie and Lilly Rotunno (pictured) helped close the game out for the Waves, who recorded a 65-49 win.

The Waves will finish top of Pool B and will play the loser of the Pool B clash between the Southern Districts Spartans and Mackay Meteorettes in the semi-final.

On the boys side, the Waves had to fight off two tough challenges from the Northside Wizards as well as the Thunder to stay undefeated and seal a spot in the crossovers.

Gold Coast beat the Wizards 83-72 earlier in the day but were staring down the barrel of the first loss of the tournament against Logan, trailing by one point with 16 seconds left. But a clutch finish, along with a foul, from Waves big man Elijah Kamu helped the Waves steal the victory 98-96.

The result sets up a blockbuster final pool game for Gold Coast against the undefeated Townsville Heat, at 2pm.