Play was fiercely competitive but overwhelmingly friendly with the nation’s future basketball stars on show.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
These qualities were on display in Saturday night’s title matches in the Basketball Australia under 18 championships before a lively full house at the MARS Minerdome show court.
The excited fans fielded vuvuzelas and clappers and one even sported a big bass drum.
A New South Wales showdown – Country against Metro men – rounded out the championships with daring plays, crowd- pleasing moves and a half-court buzzer- beating shot from NSW Metro’s Dragan Elkaz that had the whole stadium roaring going into three-quarter-time.
Country finished with the gold, fending off persistent Metro fightbacks by 16 points.
Queensland Rolling Thunder won the first gold up for grabs in the Kevin Coombs Cup final, the Australian junior championship for wheelchair basketball.
Vic Metro powered to a 40-point win in the women’s final.
Metro captain Anneli Maley said her team had loved the great community feel in Ballarat, and had felt at home in preparations.
“It’s a wonderful, cute town and we saw a bit in our team walks every morning,” Maley said.
“It was good spending time with the girls. This was a team effort.
“... It always feels good to get a win when we’ve worked so hard the past six months, as a team, to get here.”
This is the third time Ballarat has hosted these championships.
The 2008 championships at the Minerdome sported talent such as Patty Mills and Rachel Jarry – both Olympians with American professional careers.
Ballarat Basketball chief executive officer Peter Eddy said the talent was always impressive, but for many athletes in action the past week these championships could be the highest level they may ever reach in the game. So Ballarat was determined to ensure these were amazing championships for each athlete.
“We wanted it to be the best experience a kid can have, so they will think about those memories here forever,” Eddy said.
“The standard of all states just keeps going up and up each year, and there has been a really good atmosphere here all week. The most exciting thing, from my personal point of view, is in seeing the players always smiling, right from when they walk down these corridors for training early in the morning.”
Eddy said the championships were a great success, particularly for the hard work and attention to detail of Ballarat events manager Mark Valentine and his team, and the community support and volunteers, many from outside basketball circles.
NSW Country took a little of Ballarat home with them in the American championship tradition of cutting the nets.
melanie.whelan@fairfaxmedia.com.au