By Oliver Lees
The Sunbury Jets Big V side have had a strong start to the season, thanks to a half court game-winning buzzer beater last weekend.
The Jets are playing their first season in the championship division following their division 1 championship win in 2019.
They sit atop the table with five wins and one loss.
Speaking after their last-gasp three point win against Western Port last week, Jets coach Ryan Addison said it was their work in the back half that has carried them through the early stages of the season.
“Such a strong start has been a slight surprise, but we’ve picked up a couple solid recruits and I think it’s really a testament to our system,” Addison said.
“Our strong defence has carried us, we told the boys if we stay with it we’ll make some shots eventually.
“Obviously didn’t see the result coming the way it did, but it’s always good to get a win away from home.”
The Jets trailed Western Port for most of the match and went into the final term down by 13 points.
But it was a lopsided fourth quarter as the Jets outscored Western Port 24 to eight.
With six seconds remaining Western Port guard and former Melbourne Tiger Daryl Corletto had an opportunity to put his team ahead, but missed a contested three point shot.
The Jets then scooped up the rebound and dished the outlet pass to Nathan Marshall, who made the half court shot to avoid extra time and win the match.
Marshall finished the match with 12 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Nathan Baker also made a handy contribution, as he top-scored with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
A notable absentee from the Jets 2019 premiership team is Ish Sanders, who was named Big V men’s division 1 MVP and grand final MVP that year.
The sharp-shooter from the United States averaged 27 points and five rebounds across the 2019 season.
Jets coach Ryan Addison said it was good to see local players stepping up in the absence of overseas talent.
“Obviously with restrictions, we’ve had to keep the team local, but that’s always been a focus of ours anyway,” he said.
“We’ve seen a lot of juniors and youth league players coming through, we’re building a good core group and it’s been a good development opportunity.
“Without imports it’s a strange landscape, but we’ve also been able to get some players from other clubs.
“To be five and zero is fantastic, but we’ve just got to keep focused on each game and if we do that we’ll keep playing good basketball.”
The Sunbury Jets Basketball Association held their fourth annual RSL round over the weekend where they auctioned off playing singlets to raise money for Sunbury RSL.
The Jets had their first loss of the season on Saturday, going down to Calder 87 to 75.
