Geelong United Supercats miss the finals after losses to Ringwood and Ballarat
Geelong United Supercats men’s team will miss the finals for the first time since 1997 after they were on the receiving end of two close losses.
The Geelong United Supercats men’s team will miss the playoffs for the first time in 26 years after losing two close games on the weekend.
Starting out with a seven-point loss to Ringwood (75-68) on the road on Friday night, the Supercats were unable to find a way to get the much-needed win against the lower placed Hawks.
George Blagojevic finished with a double double, 24 points and 20 rebounds, while Demarcus Gatlin added 13 points to go with six rebounds and five assists.
Saturday night saw Geelong host the Ballarat Miners at the Geelong Arena, and a halftime deficit of 14 points looked grim for the home team.
But the Supercats rallied in the third and fought hard in the final term, pushing the Miners right the to the end in a thrilling finish.
Taking a one-point lead with two minutes left to play, Geelong were unable to capitalise on the momentum, with fouls putting Ballarat at the line to draw in front again, eventually getting the three-point win, 107-104.
Gatlin was the leading scorer in the loss for Geelong, finishing with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
It was a better result for the women’s team on the weekend, despite going down in a close one-point loss to Ringwood on Friday night, 72-71.
They were able to bounce back with a five-point victory over Ballarat on Saturday, 84-79.
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The team welcomed bronze medallist Chantel Horvat and silver medallist Monica Okoye back into the lineup after the FIBA Asia Cup, Horvat adding 26 points and 12 rebounds in her first game back against Ringwood, and another 26 points and 15 rebounds in the win over Ballarat. Okoye also impressed on return, finishing with 11 and 12 points respectively.
Sarah Elsworthy was an all-round star in Saturday’s victory, her stat line of 20 points, five rebounds, seven assists and six steals a worthy captain’s performance.
Despite the three-point loss by the men’s team, the women did enough in winning by five points for Geelong United Basketball to be awarded the inaugural Mark Leader Shield, given to the club who scored the most points in both games to honour the late former Geelong and Ballarat basketball personality.
Originally published as Geelong United Supercats miss the finals after losses to Ringwood and Ballarat
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