Tara Murray
The fun has returned for the Sunbury Jets in the Big V men’s state championship and with it a string of wins.
After a slow start to the season, the Jets have started to find their groove and have won three really important games after the Easter break.
On Sunday, they accounted for the Camberwell Dragons, 82-59. For the first half it was a close game, before the Jets got going on the road.
They won the third quarter by 10 points, before finishing the match with a 26-9 final quarter.
Jets coach John White said he was pretty happy with that result.
“It was a really tense and close first half,” he said.
“Camberwell obviously came out with a defensive game plan and she executed it really well.
“We made some really good adjustments after half time. We were able to execute and it materialised how we wanted to.”
Ish Sanders top scored with 23 points, while three other starters reached double figures.
White said for the group they had been able to work through some things and come through the other side.
“We spoke about it before the game that we had to work through some on court frustrations,” he said.
“Last week we came out with two very good wins and to get the win today was really pleasing.
“We have come together and it’s good to get back to having some fun.
“I said before the game that we deserve to have a bit of fun after working through some issues as a group.
“Today that was on show in the fourth quarter.”
One key to the turnaround in form is the return of Gerald Blackshear who missed the first three rounds due to visa issues.
White said it was good to have him back out on the field.
“Gerald has been a real anchor for the side,” he said.
“He’s very physical and allows the other guys to focus on what they do best.
“He’s a real physical presence and it might not show on the stats, but he’s changing shots and banging bodies.”
White said the focus for the group the next few weeks is to consolidate their position. Sunbury is up to second on the ladder.
“We want to continue to build and really start to consolidate our systems and tweak some things,” he said.
“We want to play some guys into form, guys from the bench.
“We want to build some minutes into those guys and have them play a bit more of a role.”
The Jets this week host the McKinnon Cougars.
It was a tough weekend for the Jets women’s side, suffering two big losses.
On Saturday night, the Jets lost to the Sherbrooke Suns, 83-62, before suffering a 100-63 loss to the Pakenham Warriors on Sunday.
