Clinical second half ensures Denmark remain undefeated as they emerge victorious in grand final rematch

Denmark overturned last year’s grand final result with an impressive second half guiding them to a comfortable 14-point victory over reigning premiers Sonics in round three of the Albany Basketball Association men’s A-grade competition on Tuesday night. After going down in the grand final last year by 21 points, Denmark recorded a 35-point turnaround in their first rematch to remain undefeated this season while Sonics are yet to win a game. Denmark led by just one point at half-time but produced a clinical final 25 minutes to emerge 58-44 victors after outscoring their opponents by 13 in the second half. Angus Brampton got Denmark off to a flying start dropping eight of their first 15 points to help them open up a 12-point lead in the first five minutes. Sonics hit back with seven straight points to reduce the deficit to five, but Denmark knocked down the next six. David Arthur finished the first half with a flurry, knocking down 10 points to help Sonics score 15 of the last 20 to trim the margin to one at the main break. Ten minutes into the second half, Denmark had scored 14 of the first 24 points to open up a five-point advantage. Denmark got the game on their terms and had pushed the deficit to 13 points after eight straight points. Corey Jerrard stemmed the flow with two successful free thrown attempts. Denmark centre Luke Wilson netted six straight points to push the margin to a game high 17 points with three minutes remaining and despite Sonics scoring seven of the last 11 points they fell to their third straight loss. Brampton topped all scorers with 21 points including two from long range while Wilson was also a shining light in the win with 16 points — 12 of them coming in the second half. Arthur dropped four threes on his way to 18 points while Liam Murdock hit three from distance to add nine for Sonics. Meanwhile, Barking Owls recorded their first victory of the season with a narrow three-point win over Tigers. Jordi O’Neill led the way with 15 points in the 33-30 win while Lucas Ravenhill added eight. Corey Hill and Danial Abbott hit eight each for Tigers who suffered their second straight loss. Infernos continued their impressive season with a comfortable 72-41 win over Raiders under-18 on the back of a dominant second half. After leading by just three at half-time, Infernos outscored their younger opponents by 28 in the final 25 minutes. Lewis Bosch dropped a game-high 22 points in the win and was well supported by Yero Elliott (18 points) and Kye Griffiths (13). Gabriel Ang and Joley Graham both hit two threes on their way to 12 points for Raiders.