Shepparton Gators claim Big V glory with grand final win over RMIT

It had been an intense affair, Shepparton having the ascendency, but RMIT just refusing to roll over.

All of a sudden the Gators had found another gear and the crowd pinched itself as it realised it might actually be about to win the thing.

With less than two minutes left, Shepparton found itself up by 13 with the ball and a chance to seal it.

Cue captain fantastic.

Skipper Matt Bartlett sidesteps into a deep three, casual as you like, and it’s nothing but net.

The capacity crowd at Shepparton Sports Stadium went nuts, but RMIT wasn’t content to rest on its laurels yet.

Star point guard Steve Coffey attempted to answer with a two of his own for the Redbacks, but the game’s top scorer had his left-handed layup come up short.

Bartlett came away with it and, instead of slowing the play down, he lobbed the ball to Derek Murphy at half court.

Murphy then shovelled the ball on to Nick Dodd, who completed the game of hot potato by setting up a wide open Josh Kooiman in the corner.

From one end of the court to a bucket in about four seconds, Kooiman shut the door on Redbacks and Gators coach Josh Waight finally allowed himself to dream.

“After Kooiman hit that three it sunk in and I felt like we had got it then,” Waight said.

“And I’m not one to celebrate early, but this team deserved that.”

Kooiman labelled the moment as one of the best in his life.

“It felt good, they’re a tough team, so to hit the three to send them home was just awesome,” Kooiman said.

“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been — and I’m a pretty happy guy.”

After Kooiman’s three put them up 19, Waight emptied the bench, allowing the younger boys to get a run in the grand final and allowing Ian Wright to receive an ovation from the home crowd in his last game for the Gators, debuting in 2006.

Wright hailed the game as a fantastic display of skill from both teams, starkly contrasting Shepparton’s last game.

A gritty and, at times, ugly 64-62 win over RMIT when Shepparton secured hosting rights to the grand final two weeks earlier.

“To be honest, I’m just super grateful to watch this team,” Wright said.

“Story book ending, couldn’t be happier.

“I was open for three at the end there, probably a dunk as well, but they didn’t give me the ball.

“Maybe I should play one more season or one more game to sort that out.”

All jokes aside, Wright went down the list of players who he was proud of (spoiler alert, he listed every player), but singled out Shepparton’s bench spark plug Tom Frame.

Frame shared the tough job of guarding RMIT’s Coffey with Kooiman, doing an admirable job fighting over screens and sliding his feet to keep up with the point guard.

“Probably a couple of years ago he wouldn’t have been able to play in those final minutes, you look at him now and he was one of our best players,” Wright said.

Frame said the defensive role was one he was hungry for at the start of the year and that he was so proud of the squad for getting it done.

“Looking up at the banner up there, when we got promoted to division one in 2014, me Bartlett and Wrighty played in that last one like nine years ago and we’re here now.”

Bartlett interrupted the interview to drop some words of wisdom.

“Let’s go baby woo!” he said.

Murphy scored the most points for Shepparton with 21, thrilling the crowd with his athleticism and pace on the fast break.

Echuca baller Staci Richardson had his own miraculous play, unleashing a corner three with a RMIT player jumping on to him, laying him out just a half-second after he released the ball.

When Richardson untethered himself from his defender and got up, he was greeted by a gaggle of smiling Gators, informing him he’d made the rainbow three and drawn a foul in the process.

Benalla big man Lachlan Kego ran riot in the win, picking up a couple of dunks.

The first one came in the opening minutes of the game, slamming down a missed Murphy layup, getting the crowd off its feet for the first time of the night.

In the third quarter he cashed in on a clever bounce pass from Dodd, gobbling up open space for a two-handed dunk.

Shepparton’s other big guy, Matt Andronicos, was productive in his limited minutes, converting both of his shots, combining his size and touch around the rim to score.

He also had a huge block, swiping away what the RMIT player must’ve thought to be free real estate from behind.

The gentle giant let out a roar, much to the delight of the Swamp.

RMIT was graceful in defeat, with coach Vincenzo Rovetto giving flowers to the Shepparton crowd, players and coaches in his post-game speech.

Waight said RMIT was a class organisation and that his outfit took genuine pleasure out of playing it.

As the next season dawns, the Gators stand ready to chase yet another ring, poised on the precipice of an even brighter future.