La Trobe University has claimed victory over the University of WA in the men and women’s basketball in the lead up to University Basketball League 2021 finals.
The University of Australia (UWA) went head-to-head with La Trobe University on Wednesday in their second-last match of the 2021 UBL season.
La Trobe’s men’s team won 81 to 68, securing them fourth place on the finals leaderboard, while its women’s league scored three points higher than their rivals, landing them in second spot.
Captain of the Le Trobe University male basketball league Ovie Megbegor says while his team got off to a fast start and were leading pretty comfortably in the first quarter, UWA then wrestled back momentum in last three or four minutes of the second quarter.
“There was a lot of back and forth in the third quarter, however we hit some really big shots at the end of the game which ultimately led to our victory,” Mr Megbegor says.
“Although we feel that our record doesn’t reflect who we are as a team, to get another win and to make it to the finals, everyone’s really proud of what we`ve achieved so far.”
Captain of Le Trobe University’s women’s basketball league Jade Kirk says while their squad got off to a fairly slow in the first quarter, they managed to gain momentum and fight back by the third quarter.
“The fact that we were playing in our own rhythm and flow, playing our style of basketball, allowed us to hold onto our lead in the last quarter,” says Ms Kirk.
Chief executive officer of UNISPORT Australia, Mark Sinderberry, says this the first time in Australian sport that we have a full University National league.
“The quality of play is much higher than we anticipated, and the exciting thing is that the competition will expand next year as more universities have expressed a strong desire to be involved,” says Mr Sinderberry.
The final four teams that will compete in the men`s finals include the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), the University of Sydney (UNSYD), UWA and La Trobe University.
Meanwhile, UNSYD, Latrobe University, Victoria University the University of Sunshine’s Coast are set to compete in the women`s semi finals which will be held at UNSYD this coming month on June 1st.