It was a special weekend for St George as the Saints took out the Waratah League men’s division one grand final.
The Basketball NSW Waratah League finals weekend was held at Hills Basketball Stadium, Castle Hill with teams converging from around the state.
St George, who had reached the finals weekend for the third year in a row, took on Tamworth in their semi-final on Saturday, scoring a strong 96-78 victory. American important Cameron Coleman was the star, scoring 33 points in the 18-point win.
The victory saw St George advance to Sunday’s grand final against local rivals Sutherland.
The Sharks sneaked home to beat Bankstown 80-77 in their semi-final on Saturday, with Reece Craigie (18 points) and Jason Freshwater (17) leading Sutherland to the decider.
St George and Sutherland had won their respective south and north leagues during the regular season, making it a fitting final.
It was an arm wrestle early, with Saints taking a 16-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
St George had extended their advantage to 41-36 by half-time but an outstanding third quarter saw Saints run away with the game as they blew Sutherland away for an 18-point lead.
A professional final quarter saw St George hang on to score a 104-79 win, with Coleman scoring another 32 points to lead Saints to victory.
The 26-year-old from Long Beach, California joined St George as their US import after player-coach DeMarcus Berry viewed Coleman’s highlight reel from his time with York College.
Coleman will leave Australia on Thursday to take up a professional contract playing lower league basketball in Germany.
Berry told the Leader Saints had got more than value for their money, with Coleman leading the club on and off the court thanks to his work coaching junior basketball in the community.
St George junior Aaron Nancarrow, an 18-year-old power forward, will also leave the club after earning a full athletic scholarship with Southeastern Oklahoma University in the US where he will play basketball with the school’s NCAA division two team.
Berry said prior to the weekend the club may also seek promotion to the Championship League should they win the title.
It was an unhappy weekend for Sutherland, who also went down in the women’s Championship League grand final.
Norths ran out 90-70 winners over the Sharks in the decider.
