Basketball Plus Newsletter Issue 3 18th September 2009 In This Issue: - VicHealth Cup Basketball Tournament - Coburg Come and Try Day - Australian Paralympic Youth Games - Basketball Tip of the Month - Defence - Rangers Win Bronze at National Finals - Asia Oceania Championships - 6 Nations Tournament - Player Profile - Nicholas Hum - Deaflympics - Junior Basketball Clinic and 3 on 3 Day. VICHEALTH CUP BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT On Friday 4th September 12 schools from around Victoria came together for the first VicHealth Cup Basketball Tournament. The day was held at Waverley Basketball Stadium, with a total of 26 teams competing in three separate divisions. Division 1 consisted of 6 teams: Emerson, Heatherwood, Concord, Croxton and two Warragul teams. All teams demonstrated brilliant skills and talent however; there were two standout teams, Heatherwood and Emerson. Heatherwood went through to win the Division 1 Grand Final in a hard fought match against Emerson. Division 2 had a total of 15 teams entered which were divided into two pools. The skill and age levels varied, resulting in some matches being very close and some unfortunately not so close. Despite the contrast in the competition the kids, coaches and referees did an absolutely outstanding job in showing great sportsmanship and brilliant enthusiasm. In the Grand Final, Emerson had a convincing win over Concord, who took Silver for the day. The Division 3 section was solely for Special Development Schools and only ran for several hours in the morning. All teams gave it a red hot go and got involved. It was great to see the amount of smiles on the court. Mt Evelyn went through the morning undefeated and took gold, with Diamond Valley winning sliver and Monash coming in third place. Overall the day ran incredibly smoothly and it appeared everyone enjoyed themselves. With all the enthusiastic students, staff and refs the day was such a great success. We look forward to next year and thank everyone involved in the day. Basketball Victoria would like to thank the following schools for participating in the first VicHealth Cup Basketball Tournament: Heatherwood School, Emerson School, Katandra School, Concord School, Croxton Special School, Warragul & District Specialist School, Nepean School, Broadmeadows SDS, Mt Evelyn SDS, Brunswick SDS, Monash SDS, Diamond Valley SDS, and all the supporting teachers, parents and refs. The Day was a huge success and we hope it will grow and develop every year. COBURG COME AND TRY DAY If you’re 18+ with a disability and would like to learn how to play basketball, meet new people and have a whole lot of fun then take part in the Coburg Come and Try days! Sessions will be held at Coburg Basketball Stadium. The two come and try days are FREE. There will be opportunities for participants to continue on to play in an 8 week competition. Time– 4pm—5pm Dates– October 18th & November 8th Venue– Coburg Basketball Stadium, Outlook Drive, Coburg. To register or for more information please contact Shona Curavic or Georgia Pizarcoff at Coburg Basketball Stadium on 9355 7200, or alternatively you can contact Alice Hammond at Basketball Victoria on 9927 6622 or email alice.hammond@basketballvictoria.com.au AUSTRALIAN PARALYMPIC YOUTH GAMES The Australian Paralympic Youth Games will be held in Melbourne from Monday 5th October until Sunday 11th October 2009 and will be staged in and around the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, and other major sporting facilities in Melbourne. The Basketball event will consist of 5 Australian teams, with the possibility of 2 American teams competing also. These games will help provide a Paralympic experience for all athletes to introduce them to the range of services and activities that they might come to expect as they strive for selection in their national teams to compete at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. For more information visit www.wsv.org.au and follow the links. BASKETBALL TIP OF THE MONTH - DEFENCE Defensive stance shows a wide stance, knees bent, back straight, head up, nose behind the toes, and most importantly, hands up. Defensive movement is a shuffle using short steps, keeping a wide stance, while insuring feet don't crossover each other. One hand remains up to pressure the pass, while the closest hand to the ball is used to mirror the opponent’s movement of the ball. The defence should remain at arms-distance away from the offense. If the defence gets too close it makes it easier for the offense to drive past. RANGERS WIN BRONZE IN NATIONAL FINALS The Dandenong Rangers, Women’s National Wheelchair Basketball League team, finished a credible 3rd in the league finals series, held in Sydney over the weekend. The Rangers topped the Goudkamp Gladiators 81-42 in their semi final to advance to the preliminary Final. Glider and Basketball Victoria Employee Leanne Del Toso (pictured right) posted a monster 31 points, 19 rebound double-double to lead the Rangers to victory. The Rangers then met the much bigger Western Stars in the Major Semi Final, with Western Stars players Cobi Crispin and Amber Merritt posting 29 and 26 points apiece. Both finished the game with a double-double; Crispin adding 10 assists and Merritt bagging 10 rebounds. After establishing just a four point lead at the first break the Western Stars overwhelmed the Rangers in the second and third quarters to forge an unbeatable 55-27 lead at the final break. For the Rangers, team captain Tina McKenzie scored 18, Leanne Del Toso 9, Amanda Carter 6 and Melanie Domaschenz 6.This loss meant the Rangers then faced the Goudkamp Gladiators, in the battle for Bronze. The Dandenong Rangers held off the Goudkamp Gladiators 61-52 to take the Bronze Medal. The 18-11 second quarter to the Rangers proved the difference. Ranger Leanne Del Toso was the standout with 29 points and an outstanding 25 rebounds. Team captain, Tina McKenzie added 18 points in support while Kylie Gauci scored a team high 23 points for the Gladiators, also posting eight assists and five steals while Lisa Edmonds grabbed a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Over the weekend, the Rangers also held their team awards dinner, with the following presentations being made: - Most Valuable Player: Leanne Del Toso - Coaches Award: Tina McKenzie - Defensive Player of the Year: Amanda Carter - Rookie of the Year: Sally Wilkinson - Players Player: Leanne Del Toso ASIA OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS - 6 NATIONS TOURNAMENT Australia has secured the rights over Japan to host the Asian Oceania 6 Nations Tournament at Dandenong Basketball Stadium. The tournament runs from October 13th - 17th and consists of six countries including Australia, Japan, China, Korea, Kuwait and Malaysia. This tournament will be more than a demonstrative event, as the six nations are competing for three places available in the IWBF World Championships held in Birmingham, England in 2010. For more information on this event visit Basketball Victoria’s website and follow the links. PLAYER PROFILE - NICHOLAS HUM Name: Nicholas Hum Age: 16 Teams: Eastern Bulls U16A, U18A, Ivor Burge State Team 2009 Position: Point Guard Favourite Food: Yum Cha, Subway, a good roast lamb Favourite Movie: Coach Carter, Fast and The Furious Favourite Music: R’n’B, Black Eyed Peas Favourite Basketball teams: Chicago Bulls Most Admired person in your day to day life: My whole family Most Admired Sports Person: Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Michael Jordan Biggest Achievement: Having only played for three and a half years winning 3 grand finals and 2 runners up, playing for a mainstream club; Eastern Bulls. Being selected for U18 Boys for ID Basketball @ the Pacific School Games and winning gold. Selected for Ivor Burge Men’s Metro State, winning gold– National Champions. Invited to train with the Australian Boomerangs ID team. Qualified Personal Trainer. Your Dream: To be selected for Australian Boomerangs and play at the 2012 Paralympics. If you could have dinner with anyone, alive or dead, who would it be? Kobe Bryant DEAFLYMPICS The Deaflympics are among the world’s oldest and fastest growing sports events. They offer competition at the highest level and promote building skills, friendships, networks and pride in the worldwide deaf community. The Deaflympics are among the world's fastest growing sports events. The games that started as a small gathering of 148 deaf athletes from nine countries competing in the International Silent Games in Paris, France, in 1924, have grown into a global movement. This year the Deaflympics were held in Taipei. The competition ran from Sept 5th through Sept 15th and brought together approximately 4,000 athletes from 81 countries around the world. As well as basketball the games featured 19 other sports: athletics, badminton, bowling, cycling, football, handball, orienteering, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, beach volleyball, water polo, wrestling freestyle, wrestling Greco-Roman, karate, judo and taekwondo. Unfortunately due to uncontrollable circumstances the Australian Men’s team, the Goanna’s, were unable to compete at the Deaflympics. Our Australian Women’s team, The Geckos, put on a great performance over the period of the games. They dominated their first opponents, Hong Kong, winning by a remarkable 36 points, proving right from the tip off they meant business in Taipei. “After defeating Hong Kong in a game that was not exactly what we would consider basketball, the geckos walked away proud of their win. The next two matches against top teams would show our true colours. Staying strong against Lithuania gave us the confidence we needed to continue to rise through the competition. Our support has been amazing and no words can describe how the team feels about the coach!” reported Renee Kahle, the Deaf Inclusion Officer for Basketball Victoria and one of the Geckos star players. The Geckos fought hard but could not withstand the strength of their opponents in their next six matches, going down to Lithuania, Sweden, Japan, USA, Ukraine, and the final play off for 7th and 8th spot against China with their international power proving too strong for our girls. To view photos from the Deaflympics visit: www.flickr.com/photos/scottchesttertonp JUNIOR BASKETBALL CLINIC 3 ON 3 DAY Deaf Basketball Victoria in conjunction with Basketball Victoria will be hosting a Junior Basketball Clinic and 3 on 3 fun day on Sunday November 8, 2009 at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC). The junior clinic will take place on the Sunday between 9.30am to 11.30am. Following the clinic there will be a 3 on 3 competition from 12pm until 4pm. If you are interested in participating in the Junior Basketball Clinic and/or enter the 3 on 3 competition, you will need to register by visiting: http://www.deafbasketballvictoria.org.au and following the links. WE NEED YOUR INPUT! Please submit any news, success stories or anything you might find relevant to alice.hammond@basketballvictoria.com.au Basketball Victoria Disability Inclusion Officer CONTACT US! Basketball Victoria Box 3 MSAC Aughtie Drive Albert Park, Vic 3206 E-mail: alice.hammond@basketballvictoria.com.au Phone: 99276666 Fax: 99276677 We’re on the web! www.basketballvictoria.com.au