Venom glory as Youth Men claim title

by Nicole Howard
10th August 2015

WARRANDYTE Venom ended the season with a massive weekend just passed, with both the women and men’s youth league sides competing in Big V finals for a mixed bag.

The boys team took home an inaugural championship for the Venom Youth Men, but unfortunately, though playing brilliantly, the girls just fell short but have done them- selves, the club and the community proud with great displays of talent, sportsmanship and mateship.

The huge crowd at Warrandyte Sports Complex on Saturday night witnessed not only a terrific game of high-spirited basketball, but also a historic win for the Venom. The first title for the men’s side of the program was a landmark victory for the 15 players involved in the 2015 team and also a reflection on the entire junior boys program at Warrandyte that feeds the Big V element.

Playing the talented Mornington Breakers, it was always set to be a physical affair. The young Venom team was ruthless with its attack on the basketball and hunger for the contest. In a tightly contested match with many ebbs and flows, the Venom claimed victory 79-70 after 40 gruelling minutes.

In a terrific team performance certain individuals also stamped their authority on the game: Justin Ronan-Black finished with 19 points, Nick Spicer had 15 and there were three other players registering double-digit scores.

The defensive efforts and overall court attack by Callum Langmaid landed him grand final MVP recognition, having racked up eight assists and five steals.

The club and community can look forward to seeing the first Big V Men’s championship banner unveiled at the Warrandyte Sports Complex in the coming weeks.

After limited sleep after the excitement of Saturday night’s game, the Warrandyte Venom faithful then made the journey to Broadmeadows stadium on Sunday to support the Youth League Women.

The team was out to conquer title favourites Hume City Broncos on their home floor, a tough ask given the Broncos finished the campaign with a 20-1 season record.

The Broncos came out early and notched a handy double-digit lead, but the typical Venom competitiveness kicked in to make it clear they were up to the task. The game was a physical and strategic affair and both sides were relentless with ball pressure.

The Venom players fought admirably to reduce the deficit to single figures but were unable to break the Broncos down, eventually falling 60-46.

Venom’s Simone Caruana finished the game on 14 points and eight rebounds, while Maddie Taylor added 10 points and seven boards. There were a number of other contributors in the spirited defeat and the Venom women certainly took it to their opposition to finish a terrific campaign.

Another wonderful year for Warrandyte in the Big V competition will be commemorated with two big celebratory occasions in the coming weeks.

Sunday August 23 from 3pm to 6pm the Venom Big V Awards function will be held at the Grand Hotel Warrandyte with everyone welcome.