The Boys (and Girls) are back in town!

What a big night of basketball on the Border!
The Lady Bandits faced off against Frankston Lady Blues Saturday night with the opportunity to take yet another win for the season.
The Albury girls are becoming quite a formidable opponent for any team in the league and with stars such as Toni Edmondson and Lisa Wallbutton it's no surprise!
Toni had a big night again with 26 points and 10 rebounds topped only by Lisa who hit 28 and 10.
Of course the young local girls are stepping up to the plate as well with Alex Duck finishing on 14 and 5 while Ellie Gleeson, with some good court time chipped in with 5 and 4.
The home side took the points with a strong 75-51 score.

The men faced a tall outfit from North West Tasmania and from the first buzzer it was apparent we were in for a physical game.
Tempers flared many times with Fernandez providing some light entertainment via skipping, dancing and even sitting on the edge of a corporate box after a number of these skirmishes.
The Bandits were on top throughout the game and weren't about to be upstaged by their female counterparts finishing with a good solid victory 106-96.
Once again the local boys stood up and kept the score ticking over, Matt Gange with another solid game, 26 and 4, Matt De Koeyer on 17 and 4 and big Tony Ferris chipping in with 6 and 2.
All eyes have been on the latest addition to the team in Jermaine Williams.
He managed a game high 27 points with 8 rebounds for good measure!
And as for Fernandez, another top all round game finishing with 20 and 20.
No doubt about it, Fernandez can jump!
His rebounding at both ends of the court are giving the Bandits the opportunities to take the ball away from opponents and score via several quality outlets such as Gange, De Koeyer and now Williams, just to name a few.
Once again another great night of basketball on the Border and with our own Lauren Jackson watching from the sidelines, a very apt result.

Trevor.

SEABL, Bandits v Frankston, Lady Bandits v Ballarat.

Saturday night saw a double header at the Albury Sports Stadium with the Lady Bandits first up against the Ballarat Lady Miners.
Given their respective positions on the ladder, win loss ratio and so on the Lady Bandits were always going to be a chance to notch up another win at home.
However they didn't have things all their own way.
After they lead by a couple of baskets at the first break the Miners came back and took a 2 point lead going to half time.
Big efforts from Toni Edmondson, (28 points, 13 rebounds) and Lisa Wallbutton, (19 and 16) kept the home team strong in the final half.
With support from Alex Duck, (13 and 3) and Tara Blair, (11 and 3) the girls were able to hold on for a well earned victory, 77-64.

The men had a tougher proposition ahead of them when they faced Frankston with an unbeaten record.
The first term saw some physical work both under the basket and around the court and the Bandits went to the break with a handy 9 point buffer.
From there however the Blues stepped up the pace.
Their big men in David Gruber, (31 and 15) and Rob Kampman, (26 and 7) cut loose and caused some real headaches for coach Madigan.
The physicality of the match brought tempers to a head in the last term but by then the Blues had the score on the board and took the win 103-87.
Top performers for the Bandits were Lockett, (24 and 13) De Coeyer, (18 and 7), and Gange, (18 and 3).
Overall not a bad effort from the Bandits given the strength of the opposition.

Trevor.