The St Kilda Saints (8-2) avenged two losses to the Bombers (9-3) earlier in the season with an intense 75-67 win in men's A grade basketball on Saturday.
Damon Cleverley top-scored with 18 points and was one of four Saints to crack double-figures. James Ross continued his stellar season with 17 points and five steals, while Tom Ingham and Thomas Tindale each scored 10 points.
St Kilda led by as much as 21 points early in the third quarter, before the Bombers upped their defensive intensity.
When the Bombers came out of a timeout with a swift 9-0 run to close the gap to 60-48 late in the third quarter, it looked like the Bombers could repeat their frantic comeback win against the Saints in their most recent meeting last month.
In that match, the Bombers went on a 22-0 third quarter run to overturn a 17-point deficit and eventually beat the Saints 70-66. However, the Saints were not about to lie down and lose to the Bombers for a third time.
Ingham, Ross and Cleverley scored six quick points to give their side breathing room with a quarter to play, 65-52. Tindale opened the third quarter with an easy layup, before the Bombers made another run.
With the Bombers rowdy fans cheering them on, Cody Gillies led the boys in green on a 10-5 run to pull them within eight points with four minutes left. Max Jablonski (23 points) made it a six-point game with a strong drive inside, before Ingham made the biggest play of the game.
As the Bombers swung the ball around the arc looking for an open jumper, Ingham intercepted a pass and took it the other way for a dagger basket on the fast break.
While the Saints offence spluttered in the final quarter, it had earlier been at its clinical best. Sam Neame and Cleverley each knocked down a pair of three-pointers as St Kilda bounded out to a 28-16 lead after the first quarter.
Ingham and Ross consistently drove into the paint before kicking the ball out to Cleverley and Neame beyond the arc, while Tindale was well utilised in the paint. The win pulls last year's runner-up to within a win of the Bombers with two deferred games in hand.
While the Bombers looked much better than last week with Jablonski and Jack Stirling back in the fold, they still clearly miss the injured Richie Rodger and Steve Robinson.
In the earlier games, Varsity A (2-9) were boosted by the return of Nuggets Sam King (22 points) and Ollie Smith (19) as they beat Otago Boys' High School (5-4) 105-92.
Nuggets guard Sheldon McGuire top-scored with 24 points as Magic A (4-8) kept its playoff hopes alive with a 94-79 win against Falcons A (5-6).
By Robert van Royen.
