Craigieburn Eagles season has come to an end in division 2 of Big V men’s basketball.
Just as they did in the first round of the finals, Keysborough scored late points to overcome the plucky Eagles in Saturday’s preliminary final.
The 68-60 result earned the Cougars a meeting with Coburg in the grand final.
Nothing separated the two teams in the first three quarters, with Craigieburn leading by two points at the end of the first and third, and scores level at half-time.
The last quarter proved to be the match- breaker, with the Eagles hitting only three of 16 field goal attempts, while the Cougars made eight of 19.
Overall, the Cougars had 21 more field goal shots for the game.
The Eagles were hurt by turnovers, including eight in the last quarter.
They had 23 for the game compared to the Cougars’ nine.
Jonathan Maybank top-scored for Craigieburn with 18 points and had eight rebounds, but the side missed the poise and skill of Eric Miraflores, who missed the game after flying to the Philippines to try out for the Philippines national team.
Meanwhile, Dennis McNamara has signed on to coach the Eagles again next season, which will be his ninth in charge.
Rod Sweeney has re-signed as women’s coach, while Laura Jones and Kevin Hassall will again coach the youth league sides.
