Ballarat Saints’ Madison Dunn drives towards the basket during the championships. PICTURE:KATE HEALY
FROM a Ballarat perspective, the 2012 Victorian Country Junior Club Championships was all about the girls, at least in terms of champion teams.
Exies Acmy took out the under-12 girls and under-16 girls titles, and Celtic Tigers the under-18 girls crown, at the Victorian Country junior championships in Ballarat last weekend.
About 900 junior basketballers from across the state, including roughly 300 from six Ballarat clubs, competed in 192 matches.
Ballarat Exies Acmy defeated Geelong Pivot City in the under-12 girls final 29-26.
The under-16 girls final was even closer, with Exies Acmy beating Bendigo Generals 31-29 in a thriller.
The margin was the same in the under-18 girls grand final, with Celtic Tigers beating Pivot City 42-40.
The Ballarat boys weren’t so lucky in the finals, with Geelong Try Boys beating Saints 28-17 in the under-12 final and Try Boys also triumphant against Exies Acmy in the under-16 boys decider 41-38.
In the under-18 grand final, Traralgon St Michaels defeated Ballarat Wildcats 41-30.
The overall award for the tournament, the Max Bowman Shield, was awarded to Geelong Pivot City, which edged out Ballarat Exies Acmy by four points.=
The shield is awarded to the club that earns the most points through team entries games and titles won.
In a busy weekend for players and officials, each team played three or four pool games on Saturday, before the semi-finals and finals on the Sunday.
Ballarat will not be in the running for next year’s Vic Country club championships as the Ballarat Basketball Association will be hosting the National Under-14 Girls titles in September and October.
Vic Country Junior Club Championships
Grand Finals
Under 12 Girls: Ballarat Exies Acmy 29 d Geelong Pivot City 26
Under 12 Boys: Geelong Try Boys 28 d Ballarat Saints 17
Under 14 Girls: Traralgon St Michaels 28 d Bendigo Aztec 22
Under 14 Boys: Geelong Pivot City 1 69 d Geelong Pivot City 2 33
Under 16 Girls: Ballarat Exies Acmy 31 d Bendigo Generals 29
Under 16 Boys: Geelong Try Boys 41 d Ballarat Exies Acmy 38
Under 18 Girls: Ballarat Celtic Tigers 42 d Geelong Pivot City 40
Under 18 Boys: Traralgon St Michaels 41 d Ballarat Wildcats 30
gavin.mcgrath@thecourier.com.au