JUNIOR LAKERS OFF TO NATIONAL BASKRTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mount Gambier Basketball has six talented basketballers in Canberra representing SA Country in the 2014 Australian Under 18 Basketball Championships, which begin on Thursday April 10th. The selection of five Junior Lakers in the Men’s state team and one in the Women’s team is an outstanding achievement and speaks volumes for the Development Programs being run by Basketball Mount Gambier’s Coaching panel.
Sam Stafford has been named Co-Captain of the Men’s team. He has junior Lakers Josh Jenner, Braiden Ousey, Stephen Sochacki and bottom age player Brad Rathjen as team-mates, while Rachael Hines, in her first year of this age group, is a member of the SAC Women’s team.
Millicent’s Josh Murphy and Alex Walker are members of the teams. It is interesting to note that Rathjen, Hines and Alex Walker have been team-mates in sate teams beginning at the SAPSASA national championships through the Under 14 and 16 age groups and now at the Under 18 level.
Bryan Green of Mount Gambier makes his debut as a state coach in his role of Assistant Coach to the Men’s team and Glenn Mathieson returns to the state scene as Assistant Coach of the SA Country Women. Long term State Manager Roger Hammond is in charge of the Men’s group.
The Under 18 National Championships provides the elite junior basketballers in each State and Territory the chance to gain a “hands on” understanding of what it takes to represent their State at a truly elite competition. The Under 18 nationals have proven to be the stepping stone to international success for a number of talented young basketballers.
The Men play for the Merv Emms Trophy and the Women for the Maree Jackson Award.
The SA Country Under 18 Men meet Queensland North at 5pm on Thursday in their opening game of the Championships. They play Northern Territory, Victoria Metro, WA Metro and NSW Country in the following days.
The SAC Under 18 Women open the Championships with a game against WA Metro on Thursday, followed by Vic. Metro, NSW Metro, Queensland North, New Zealand and host state, ACT.
The competitions then move into finals and classification games on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
Victoria Metro is the Men’s reigning Championships. They won back the title from NSW Metro, who enjoyed titles in three consecutive years. Current Champion in the Women’s competition is Queensland North, who defeated Vic. Country. This win by Queensland North ended a five year dominance by Vic. Metro.
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