The St Kilda Saints sealed their third consecutive title with a 74-55 win against the Magic in a fast-paced final at the Edgar Centre on Saturday. Former Otago Nugget and experienced guard James Ross spearheaded the Saints’ offence with some wonderful drives to the hoop and a fabulous passing game.

He led the scoring with 27 points, while Damon Cleverley dominated under the hoop with his explosive power and Liam Aston drained five three-pointers in an 18-point haul.

The game got off to a rapid start with Magic point guard Darcy Knox and his rival, Ross, forcing the tempo.

Jivarne Joseph had a strong opening quarter for the Magic, popping in eight points, and he finished the game with 17 points.

But his efforts were in vain. The Magic could not maintain the pace and the Saints slipped ahead thanks to some sharp three-point shooting by Aston.

The Saints took a 10-point lead into the first break and continued their good form through the first half.

Some frustration began creeping into the Magic’s game in the form of uncharacteristic mistakes.

Ross connected with a pass to Cleverley for a crowd-pleasing alley-oop to push the lead out to 17 points.

Josh Aitcheson (14 points) was strong around the court for the Magic and he helped cut the deficit to six points in the third quarter.

However, the Saints’ tight defence limited the Magic to just eight points in the final period.

The Magic had been the team to beat from the three-point line all season but could not find its rhythm in the final and sank only two in the whole game.

Women’s A Grade Final

Win over Ajax a Magic moment

In the women’s final, the Magic snapped a seven-year drought, beating Ajax 71-46.

The Magic stole a 10-point march thanks to some great shooting from Soraya Umaga-Jensen.

It took Ajax six minutes to get on the scoreboard and the poor start rather set the tone for the remainder of the game.

The Magic proved too strong on defence, shutting down the Ajax offence.

Magic player-coach Natalie Visger dominated the paint and scored a game-high 25 points.

Dayna Turnbull, who was named season MVP, was a menace around the court, stealing the ball and making drives to the hoop to finish with 12 points, while Umaga-Jensen controlled the Magic’s offence and was relieved to get the win.

“We really wanted it,” Umaga-Jensen said.

“We were sick of being the bridesmaids to Ajax.”

• Henry McMullan (Otago Daily Times)

Congratulations to all mentioned below who took away awards at tonights 2016 Club prizegiving:

Mens C Grade Champions: Vipers Black Mens B Grade Champions: St Kilda Dragons Mens A Grade Champions: St Kilda Saints

Womens B Grade Champions: Ajax Miners Womens A Grade Autumn Comp Winners: Ajax 1 Womens A Grade Champions: Magic A

Dunedin City Ford Trophy: Bombers Club of the Year: St Kilda

Referee of the Year: Bart Lind Womens Club MVP: Dayna Turnbull - Magic A Mens Club MVP: Chris Hood - Andersons Bay Falcons

Have a great off season everyone, thanks to all the volunteers who worked tirelessly for club basketball across many clubs, see you in 2017!