Dragons take out TBL crown
BASKETBALL: The Toowoomba Basketball League came to a premature end on Monday night.
With the threat of COVID-19 (coronavirus) lurking, Toowoomba Basketball Association officials opted to play out one last night of fixtures.
With women’s games cancelled for the evening, the men put on a show in the final round with a pair of high-scoring encounters.
It started with the top-ofthe-table Dragons winning their fourth-straight game with a 130-106 defeat of The A Team in what turned out to be the grand final.
With Paul Aleer not suiting up, the Dragons took full advantage of size mismatches, playing inside and scoring with ease.
Forwards Seth Ham (24 points) and Will Mitchell (16 pts) were strong in the paint, while Daniel Sims (35 pts) and Cameron Weber (29 pts) were able to take full advantage.
Joe Johnson (35 pts) had another solid offensive outing for The A Team, with Noah Silcox-Smith adding 21 in the loss.
Coach Kim Wilson said the status of games and the stakes at hand remained unclear, but nevertheless was happy to lead her side to the inaugural TBL title.
“We had a little bit of an idea as to what was going on,” Wilson said.
“It wasn’t decided until half an hour before the game when all the coaches had a meeting that it was better to get the final over and done with before all games start to get cancelled.
“The A Team and the Dragons were top of the ladder, and we were scheduled to play each other in the last round, so that was decided as the grand final.
“It feels good. It was a really competitive league and was my first time coaching at this level.
“The guys really brought in to what I was telling them and it worked out for us.”
Wilson was pleased with the way her side was able to take full advantage of their sizeable roster, targeting the inside for a large part of their offensive production.
“We had a considerable size advantage with them not having Paul,” she said.
“We were also missing one of our star defensive players in Joe Topalov, so we were able to hold our own quite well.
“We were able to score off the fast break with the press they enforced.
“Daniel and Cameron have both been really consistent guys for me offensively, and everyone else has been able to contribute for a well-rounded season.”
The fixture for third place saw the Toowoomba City Lightning end a three-game skid to end their season on a high, recording a 108-90 victory over the Breakers.
A three-point barrage saw Joe McConnell (23 pts) and Jason Ebneter (24 pts) combine for eight long bombs for the Lightning, with Jason Spugin again proving a handful on the boards for the Breakers to contain.
Deng Makuach (22 pts) again impressed in a beaten side, using his length to navigate through defenders on his way to nine field goals.
With the inaugural season coming to a close, Wilson believes that the draft concept was a success, and will help to develop players in the long term.
“They’re looking at setting up a draft style TBL later in the year in term four, and I think it will have a lot more interest from people not in Toowoomba with sponsorships and prizemoney,” she said.
“The guys really enjoyed playing in it. They can get in a routine of playing with the same teams and against the same players, but having new teammates and coaches to push them makes our local players better.
“It makes them adapt to different styles of play, whether it be on offence or defence, and prepares them for the upcoming NBL1 North season.”