THE next generation of Swan Hill basketballers put on a dominant display at this year’s Horsham Junior Classic tournament.
There were four junior Flyers teams that came home victorious and a further two finished runners-up.
Under-12 boys coach Ash Roberts said he was proud of the town’s performance against teams from other regional centres.
“We were very strong,” he said.
“It was the first time that I can remember that we’ve had so many teams win their divisions, which is fantastic, as well as a couple of the sides finishing runner-up.
“You look at our population that we get to pick our teams from, and you put that up against Bendigo or Ballarat, and I think we really do a ripping job with the population that we have.
“It was an extremely successful tournament for Swan Hill.”
The under-12 girls went undefeated, 12 points from Mia Hirst helping them to a 24-14 grand-final victory over the Horsham Hornets.
Continuing the winning feeling, the under-12 boys won their Division 1 grand final, helped by a best-on-court performance from Deacon Roberts and 18 points from Lucas Pay.
The under-14 girls claimed their age group thanks to a defensive performance which kept the Portland Coasters to just seven points. Top scorer Prue O’Sullivan was named best on court for her six-point performance.
In Division 2, the under-14 boys fell just short in their grand final against the Terang Tornadoes, Ethan Clark providing 10 points in a 40-31 loss.
Division 1 was a different story, the boys defeating the Warracknabeal Wildcats 45-36 as Hamish Lawry scored 12 points and Leo Kim was named best on court.
The Flyers’ under-16 boys were unable to add another grand final win to their strong tournament, the Horsham Hornets making the most of hometown advantage to win 53-41.
The under-16 girls gave their all but were beaten in their semi-final clash against Colac Kookas Green.
Mr Roberts said Swan Hill’s junior basketballers had taken their training up a notch after the addition of a winter comp.
“I definitely think the sport has a good following in Swan Hill, and I think that growth has started up recently once again,” he said.
“Everyone kind of thinks that it’s just a six-month season here at Swan Hill, but a lot of these players are playing 12 months of the year.
“There’s also a few juniors who have made it into some of the specialist development programs.
“We lost a heap of that popularity to soccer about 10 to 15 years ago, and we saw that same kind of shift this year as well when the Matildas were doing so well.”
Mr Roberts said the recent influx of Australian NBA players had done a lot to reignite the sport’s popularity for juniors.
“You’ve just got to look at Dyson Daniels, who is from Bendigo. That’s just two hours from here, so it’s great for them,” he said.
“I think that makes a big difference in the popularity, you look around and so many kids are wearing (Josh) Giddey jerseys and Dyson Daniels jerseys.
“With the coaches that we have on board as well, it’s looking like it’s going to be an exciting time here for the next decade.”
