Borrego leads T-birds to first title

ADELAIDE, Australia (CMC):

Carla Borrego found her radar again, as the Adelaide Thunderbirds produced a dominant effort to win the 2010 ANZ Championship, with a 52-42 victory over Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic in the Grand Final yesterday.

The prolific Jamaican goal shooter netted 40 goals from 46 attempts, as accurate finishing and a relentless defensive effort from the home team had Magic under the pump for most of the match.

The victory for the T-birds exorcised the disappointment of losing last year's Grand Final to the Melbourne Vixens and a comprehensive loss to the Magic just three weeks ago.

Most prolific scorer

Borrego was the most prolific scorer in the Championship with 574 goals from 670 attempts to finish with the sixth best scoring percentage of 85.5.

A string of turnovers punctuated the opening minutes before the T-birds reaped the rewards from a strong defensive presence.

Borrego emerged from a tentative start and a telling unanswered,eight-goal burst, powered the home team out to a handy 15-8 advantage after the first quarter.

The T-birds were contained in the second period by a more cohesive defensive effort from Magic, as the teams went goal-for-goal.

Slick work

But Borrego and Bell showed slick work under the hoop for the T-birds and the visitors slipped to 11 behind before managing to limit the team to a 28-21 half-time lead.

The T-birds were under some early pressure in the third period, but this was short-lived, as the Magic centre court were often astray with their passing.

The hosts' defence continued to smother the Magic offence and this translated into more opportunities at the other end, as Borrego and Erin Bell continued to pile on the goals to carry the Adelaide side to a 39-29 lead after three periods.

Again, the T-birds came under pressure in the final period when the Magic cut the lead to five, but the home team soaked up the pressure and did not allow their hard work to slip.