OG Marvels & Jets advance win Final Group Games to advance in Cup

In Senior Basketball, the final group games of the 2024 Cup saw wins for OG Marvels, Jets, Turkeys and SOS Cannons. There was symmetry in the victories as Marvels and Turkeys took decisive wins against Cavaliers and Ravens respectively, while Jets and Cannons had much narrower successes. Jets faced an explosive Wolves in the first half of their game, Viktor Capkanovski fuelling a surge that had them ahead 31-27 at halftime. Defensive adjustments going into the second half by Jets stopped the Wolves momentum and gave an opportunity for Wayne Mears, Tom Dalton-Brown and Jake Glover to flip the lead in Jets favour. Late 3s from Capkanovski and Harry Brindle brought Wolves back into it but time was against them and Jets ran out the winners 58-50.  

Meanwhile, in the other close match of the evening, SOS Cannons took early command against Hoops with unrelenting pace and lethal precision – Rowan Coulter and Gabe Thatcher dominating the scoring. Hoops were slower to build momentum but started to find success on the inside as Gemma Kirkham racked up baskets running into the half. Cannons held a comfortable 28-19 lead at halftime, and it seemed that they would take the game with ease as Raf Turla joined Thatcher in extending the lead by 6-points in the opening few minutes of the second. Hoops found their composure at the mid-point and a tweak on offence saw them crack open the Cannons zone defence to devastating effect. Backdoor cuts and quick handoffs let allowed Becky Dunne and Danielle Murphy to join Kirkham on the scoresheet and slashed the Cannons lead to 3-points, 43-40, with 2 minutes remaining. Cannons held the line in the those final minutes and forced Hoops into fouls and penalty free throws in an attempt to gain possession. Coulter and Thatcher again proved most effective, hitting 7 of 8 free shots and securing the win for Cannons, 52-43. 

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This week sees the finals of the 2024 Basketball Cup with teams playing against their respective placement in each group for overall positioning. The Cup final will see a repeat of last year as OG Marvels face Jets, both teams having topped their groups with unbroken records. Then in second seed Cavaliers play Wolves, while new comers SOS Cannons and the veteran Turkeys play the third seed match. In final seed Ravens will face off against Hoops, who narrowly missed out against Cannons last week. All games at in the NSC Main hall from 19:30, with the Cup final being the first game on the docket.