Melton Thoroughbreds pulled off the upset of the Big V men’s division 2 season so far, knocking off ladder leaders Camberwell Dragons on Saturday night.
It was a case of eighth versus first, but it meant little on the court as the Thoroughbreds produced their best performance of the season.
After a close first half, the Thoroughbreds turned it up in the third quarter, outscoring the Dragons 23-12 for a 15-point lead heading into the final quarter.
There was no last quarter come back from the Dragons and the Thoroughbreds won 82-68.
Four of the Thoroughbreds’ starting five scored double figures and Emmanuel Malou had a double-double.
Dexter Graham had 18 points, along with five rebounds,three assists and four steals.
Speaking before the game, coach Joe Hooks said he always expected this team to take some time to fit together.
Just one member of last year’s team remains, captain Jordan Kirk.
Kooks said they had been keen to show how far they had improved this season against the Dragons.
“We’ve finally got all our team and we’re making some progress,” he said. “We’ve had players coming in late with transfers from other teams and returning from overseas.
“We knew once we got the team together, it would take time to gel.
“That’s the real reason for the slow start.”
The win moves the Thoroughbreds to a 5-5 record, after losing their first four matches.
Kooks said he could not be prouder of how his team has played this season.
“If we had all our players all season, who knows where we would have been?” he said.
“We are taking it day by day and game by game.
“This is a team that fights, win or loss they are going to play hard and see what happens.
“That’s all you can ask from them.”
He highlighted the performances of leading scorer Malou, import Graham and Maluk Adut as players who were starting to show what they can do.
Despite going on a 5-1 run, Hooks knows there will still be some ups and downs with such a new side.
“It’ll be a roller coaster, but it’s about how you handle the downs.
“We’re not going to be over confident and we’re going to continue to push every day.”
On Sunday, the Thoroughbreds women lost to Blackburn Vikings 60-48. A strong third quarter by the Vikings was the difference.
The ladder-leading youth league men Thoroughbreds had another good win, defeating Latrobe City Energy 107-83.
Bol Bak and Broden Collins had 29 and 26 points respectively for the Thoroughbreds.
