Jordan’s Jordans may have topped the Junee basketball ladder this season but it was the Oldermen who had the last laugh in Sunday’s grand final.
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The two sides had been going at it hammer and tongs all season, with the Jordans finishing up as minor premiers, two competition points ahead of the Oldermen.
However, it was the underdogs who rose to the occasion in front of a jam-packed grandstand, carving a slender lead that was never relinquished.
Big men Lin and Howard drove the attack for the Oldermen and dominated proceedings in the savage heat, which seemed to play trick on the minor premiers.
Multiple pot-shots failed to drop into the hoop for the Jordans as the mercury climbed above 40 degrees Celsius.
Victory was never guaranteed against the quality Jordans and a fourth quarter resurgence led by Brent Heydon threatened to send the game down to the wire.
Heydon notched more than half of his team’s points and was immense in the final stanza, culminating in his receiving the Most Valuable Player award.
But in the end, it was the Oldermen who emerged victorious, winning 40-35 to stamp their authority as Junee’s premier side and hoist the inaugural Ron Ruskin/John Gentle Shield.
Club president Steven Gentle was thrilled with the grand final performance from both sides.
“What a game to finish our new season of basketball in Junee,” he said.
“It was a close, tough, physical well-played game in hot conditions.”
Mr Gentle paid tribute to the “incredible” crowd that turned out to the big dance.
“(It was) probably one of the biggest vocal crowds I have ever seen at a game in Junee,” Mr Gentle said.
“I was so pleased – there were probably close to a hundred people in the stands.”
Earlier, the Aussie Hoops kids played out a 20-20 draw in the grand final curtain-raiser, their first proper game of the season, before a swelling crowd.
Mr Gentle said keeping the younger players around was key to growing the game in Junee.
“By having the kids staying to watch the men play, we’re hoping to generate even more interest in the game,” he said.
“Kids bring their mates, their parents come along and then their parents start playing too.”
Mr Gentle said there was plenty of scope to expand the competition in 2018.
“We’ve already had interest from Coolamon and in a women’s comp,” he said.