Big V Youth League Men: Werribee v Hume City, May 31st, 2015

The Werribee Devils have christened their new stadium in the best way possible, grabbing wins in the Youth League Men and State Champ Men divisions on Sunday afternoon.

The young guys kicked things off against Hume City in an important clash, with both teams sitting just outside the top six. The first quarter was a closely fought affair. The lead changed hands several times and the Broncos ended up a point in front at the first break. Travis Dale looked set for a big game with eight points early on, while Richard Draghicui had five rebounds.

The pattern of play was much the same in the second quarter. It was a tightly contested game, characterised by long periods between baskets. A Travis Dale 3-pointer gave the Devils a 23-18 lead but it was three minutes before they would score again, and then they only reached 27 with 1.39 to play. However, such was the defensive nature of the game they only trailed by six and a Tyrone Remy long bomb at the end of the quarter meant it was anyone’s game at the half, with a 33-30 lead to the Broncos. There were no standouts for the Devils, with a number of players contributing. Mark Luxford and Josh Zamperoni had five rebounds each in the first half.

After the break Cam Hutton didn’t waste any time erasing the deficit with a nice 3-pointer. Once again both teams had trouble scoring freely, and the score was stuck on 40-39 for over two minutes. Josh Zamperoni had a big quarter with eight points, Mark Luxford scored five points and grabbed six rebounds, and at the final break the score was all tied up on 51.

The Broncos hit the front briefly through Stefan Madic but when Zamperoni hit a 3-pointer one minute in, the Devils snatched a lead that they wouldn’t give up for the rest of the game. A 13-0 run in the space of three minutes gave the Devils a nice 11 point lead, but still the Broncos weren’t done. Nick Ktenidis hit eight final-quarter points as the Broncos crept within 5, but Travis Dale finished the game as he started with a big nine-point last quarter, Josh Toniato chipped in with five and the Devils hit 11-16 free throws to ensure a hard-fought 75-64 victory.

Werribee had several strong contributors. Josh Zamperoni had a great game, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals; Travis Dale nailed 23 points and seven rebounds and captain Mark Luxford had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists.

The win puts Werribee just outside the top six on percentage and they have a good opportunity to consolidate when they meet Ballarat at the Minerdome after the Queens Birthday break.