DIVISION one men’s team Shawnee Black and division one-two women’s team Tigersharks Gold have taken out the premierships for the Portland Basketball Association’s Spring 2023 season in the grand finals played on Sunday at Portland Basketball Stadium.

Both games were extremely close, with the men’s game requiring an additional five minutes of overtime to find a winner with the final score reading 68-67, while the women’s game also came down to the wire as the final score read 46-44.

The women’s game saw minor premiers Red break away to a handy lead at the main break 18-11, with Sienna Stone providing a strong inside presence while Tyleah Barr (11 points on the evening) and Candice Down (10 points) also found the mark.

But while the first half had been relatively low scoring, the second half was anything but, as Gold picked up the tempo offensively, with Aleesha Wilson (12 points) making her presence felt inside.

The high scoring pace allowed Gold to claw their way back into the game, and with still plenty of time remaining you sensed this was going to go down to the wire.

Red looked to have swung the momentum all the way back in their favour, as Barr knocked down a huge triple to bring the margin to within one, before creating a turnover on the very next position and finishing off an and-one to give her side a two-point lead.

However, Gold was unperturbed, and patient offense reaped rewards as Tigrha Cleary hit a big mid-range jumper to level the scores at 44 apiece.

An empty Red possession led to Gold getting out in transition, and a foul on Red sent Stella Rogers to the line as they were in the bonus.

Rogers nailed both free throws to give her side back the lead by two, before a Red turnover and subsequent foul meant the game was nearly over with under five seconds remaining.

And while Barr had a chance to win the game in dramatic fashion with a half court shot at the buzzer, it didn’t go down, and Gold came away with the spoils.

Wilson was crowned as grand final MVP for her 12 points and presence inside, while Sarah Tunstall – who led the division in scoring – took out the season best and fairest after a strong season for Beavers.

Shawnee wins a thriller

Shawnee Black was able to outlast Celtix in a dramatic finale to Sunday’s proceedings, as they claimed victory in one of the more hotly-contested battles you’ll see in domestic basketball, as neither side took a backwards step across more than 40 minutes of action.

Shawnee was the better side on the scoreboard through the first half, as Levi Chapman set the court alight as he nailed five threes to keep his side on top, while transition buckets were the name of the game for their swings Logan Edwards (20 points) and Sam Peters (17 points).

Celtix were able to keep themselves in it despite the onslaught, with Brad Clark at his dominant best in the low post, as he finished up with 25 points.

The second half saw Shawnee maintain their lead in the early stages, before Celtix were able to eat into it, with some timely threes from Davey Denboer (15 points) and Kane Johnson (12 points) helping them to draw level.

Celtix looked to Brad Clark to tie the game with a hook shot from inside, with Shawnee unable to get the go-ahead bucket in the final possession of regulation.

Overtime saw Shawnee get out to the better start – spurred by a nice finish from the youngest player on the court in Sam Herbertson – with Celtix once again needing to play catch-up in the final minutes.

And while again they hit a couple of timely baskets via Clark and Denboer, it proved to be bridge too far as Shawnee took out the prize.

Flynn Chapman was named game MVP for his work both on the scoreboard as well as defensively and in the rebounds for Shawnee Black, while Denboer took out the season best and fairest.

Tigersharks too good in men’s division two

A second half comeback from Tigersharks Grey has helped them to victory over Shawnee Black, with the final score reading 48-44.

Shawnee got the better start via a 28-22 first half, with Nick Peters leading the way on the scoreboard (18 points for the afternoon), while Logan Edwards (14 points) and Mitch Arnold (10 points) had their say as well.

However, Grey had their say in the second half, with Troy Lovett proving to be a dominant force inside with his 14 points, while Jason Walker added 11 points of his own, as they proved to be too strong for Shawnee in the end.

Lovett took out game MVP honours, while Mustangs’ Sam Peck was the season best and fairest for the division.

Shawnee Blue wins comfortably in division three women

A strong performance from Shawnee Blue has propelled it to victory over Tigersharks Red as they won 48-32.

Maddison Kanoa (17 points), Annika Baker (12 points) and Jodie Lovett (11 points) were simply too strong for Tigersharks to deal with.

Emma Radford (12 points) and Petal Phillips (11 points) were the pick of Tigersharks’ players, but they ultimately couldn’t quite get their side over the line.

Kanoa took out both the game MVP and season best and fairest honours for division three.

Tigersharks overcome Mustangs in division three men

In another comeback performance Tigersharks Grey were able to get the best of Mustangs in the division three men’s grand final, as they won 38-33.

Mustangs had the better start, as Kyle Parsons (15 points) and Oliver Ward (13 points) combined to give them a three-point lead at the main break.

However, Tigersharks quickly reasserted themselves through the second half, as Judd Carter (11 points) and Noah Burton (10 points) led the point-scoring as Tigersharks picked up their defensive intensity to eventually come away with the win.

Zavier Durbidge of Tigersharks Gret was named game MVP, while Tigersharks Red’s Brad Morton took out the season best and fairest.

Tigersharks too good in division four women

The victories kept rolling in for Tigersharks, as Grey took out top prize in the division four women’s battle, defeating Beavers 45-32.

The battle was won and lost in the first half, with Tigersharks getting out to a what proved to be an unassailable 14-point advantage, as Kate Cracknell poured in 22 points for the victors.

Cracknell took out game MVP honours while Jenna-May Bristow, also of Tigersharks Grey was season best and fairest.

Tigersharks win in tale of two halves

Division four men’s honours went to Tigersharks Red, who were able to get over the line against Shawnee Blue despite a near incredible comeback.

Red got off to the far better start, able to race to a 26-5 lead thanks to the scoring of Lachlan Bourke (12 points).

Macauly Baker (11 points) and Billy Lette (10 points) almost helped to mount a 20-plus point comeback for Shawnee, but couldn’t quite get their side over the line.

Bourke took out match MVP honours, while Raffael Stringfellow of Tigersharks Gold was named best and fairest for the season.

OT win for Tigersharks

Rounding out their victories in five out of the seven divisions, Tigersharks Grey defeated Beavers Black in overtime 34-33, in the division five women’s clash.

Tigersharks found a variety of scorers, with their most notable contributor being Alexandra Twomey (10 points).

A second-half fightback from Beavers led by Indiana Stuchbery (15 points) and Brooke Rose (14 points) got them back in the game, but ultimately Tigersharks prevailed in the extra period.

Loren Embrey of Tigersharks Grey took out game MVP honours, while Stuchbery was season best and fairest.