The 2024 Under 18 and Junior Wheelchair National Championships were held in Brisbane over the April school holidays. Victoria proudly fielded five teams to battle against teams from across the nation. Among these were two men’s squads (Country and Metro), two women’s teams (Country and Metro), and a new look junior wheelchair team. Conditions in Brisbane were challenging for our athletes as it was hot and humid, unlike the cooler Victorian conditions that we are used to.
Headed by coach Matt Shanahan, the Under 18 Metro Men’s team arrived at the Championship with the determination to uphold their 2023 National title, with the anticipation that they would expect a fierce challenge from their Country counterparts.
Both women’s teams had several young new faces that have stepped up from the Under 16 age group, who had all trained hard and were super determined to make their mark.
The Kevin Coombs Cup state wheelchair team had a strong mix of seasoned female and male athletes, with emerging new talent that were given the opportunity to step up due to many of our wheelies being called up for national team duties.
After a week of tough competition in the heat, our teams were producing strong performances on court, heading into the quarter finals, all teams were in commanding positions. The last day of competition had all our teams on court and in medal contention with only our Metro Women not playing for a medal.
The Country Women faced a tough South Australian Country team but proved too strong with a comfortable win to bring home the bronze.
The Country Men were also in the bronze medal game and made it look easy on court against Queensland North, bringing the medal to Victoria.
The men’s gold medal match, however, was a tough battle right through to the dying seconds, with the lead changing several times, the Victorian Metro boys held strong, and played their game to be crowned champions!
Our wheelies after a solid week on court were also in the gold medal match. After fighting hard all game, they came just short to lose to a fast WA team who really shone on court. However, taking home a well-deserved silver medal was a great result for our wheelies team in Brisbane.
Grant Wallace, General Manager of High Performance and Pathways was happy to see the results from the tournament, not only from the Under 18 nationals but also from the high-performance program year to date, "From the two national tournaments this year, Victorian teams have won five gold medals out of seven divisions and have medalled in the other two. This is evident of how strong our pathway program is, and the depth we have in Victorian basketball.”
Victorian referees were also making a positive impact on court throughout the tournament, with Darcy Williams appointed crew chief for the men’s gold medal game and Simon Hayes and Alec Christov officiating the wheelchair gold and bronze medal games, respectively.
The accolades kept coming for Victoria as, the Country Women were awarded the fair play award given to the team that showed sportsmanship on and off the court, and Dash Daniels from the Country Men’s team won defensive player of the tournament.
It was a very successful week for Victorian basketball and showcased the depth of talent we have developing in our state. With the U16s National Championships coming up in July and back in our home state hosted in Bendigo, we cannot wait to see what our Victorian teams bring to the hardwood later this year.
19 April 2024
Author: Kym West
