Pumas exact grand final revenge in opening round of Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association

The men’s divisions began their Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association seasons on Tuesday and Wednesday night as the Pumas came out on top in their grand final rematch against Olympians.

Last year’s grand finalists were the headlines in round one, but this time it was the Pumas who won in a thrilling battle 79-69 in the opening round.

Grand final MVP Johny Narkle this time sat courtside helping coach the side he led to victory last season, while his Buccs teammate Liam Hunt was on hand to guide the Pumas in an intriguing off-court battle.

There was still plenty of star power on court as Buccs Tomas Dobson, William Galvin, Toby Gerreyn, Clayton Parfitt and Harry Evans all ran out for Pumas.

Richard Bartlett, Liam Bennett and Quinton Narkle were on the court for the Olympians as the teams traded baskets with just a couple points in it leading into half-time.

But as the game wore on the Pumas class began to break through as Dobson was deadly with a game-high 22 points, while Galvin worked inside the paint with 19 points.

Bennett and Bartlett did their best to try and keep pace with the Pumas with 19 and 18 points, respectively, but it was at the free-throw line where the game was decided.

Both teams committed their fair share of fouls, Olympics 19 to Pumas 15, but the Pumas grabbed 18 points from the line compared with Olympics’ six, proving the difference on the night.

In the Tuesday night fixture, Chapman Valley Warriors overcame the Stateside Scorpions 99-81 on the back of a massive 31-point haul from Dempsey Joseph.

Joseph hit eight three-pointers working in tandem with Llewyn Valli who had 29 points, most coming from inside the paint, and captain Mathew Wundenberg also broke the 20 mark with 22 points.

Elliot Bennett grabbed 24 points for the Scorpions but they could not match the Warriors’ firepower and were not helped by the 24 fouls they committed with Tristan Jaques, Corey Harvey and Stuart Egan all fouling out.

In the final match Hawks were far too strong for Trades led by Buccs star Fletcher Klasztorny who dominated the contest with 38 points.

He was a cut above on the court with no one able to run with him, though Joseph Iaria tried his best with 22 points for Trades.

Robert Greichan had 19 points and Bucc Ryan Blanchett had 14 to help the Hawks to a comfortable 107-75 victory.

In division 2 Stateside overcame Chapman Valley 44-38 while Trades crushed Hawks 64-37 as Pumas had to forfeit their clash against Olympians.

Juniors competition will start on Friday, starting with the girls’ 14 division 1 from 4:20 pm with action right throughout the weekend.