The Australian U15 Women Sapphires and the U15 Men’s Crocs took home the gold medal at the Oceania Cup on the weekend. The Oceania Cup run over four days at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. The event brought together the region's top junior basketball talent, showcasing high-level competition and the future stars of the sport, as well as the opportunity for the competing countries to claim the title of Oceania Champion, with the top two finishers securing sports in the 2025 FIBA U16 Asia Cup and FIBA Women’s U16 Asia Cup.
For the men's, Will Hamilton was a stand-out on court across the tournament, headlining the All-Star 5 and receiving an MVP award after averaging 18.3PPG across the 4 games at 53.4% from the field, scoring 22 in the final against New Zealand.
Victoria’s Dammers also put up 11 points and 7 assists in the final, averaging 8.3PPG across the week.
For the women’s, our three Victorians put up 35 points collectively in the final against New Zealand (16, Tavete, 15, Ryan, 4 Richardson). Taking home gold for the third year in a row, an incredible effort.
Madi Ryan, currently playing for the Sandringham Sabres captained the Sapphires to lead the team to glory, grabbing 14 rebounds in the final and stating "it felt amazing! I love playing with these girl's - it's really special".
Congratulations to our Victorian athletes who competed and our staff for the tournament.
METRO ATHLETES - SAPPHIRES
Madi Ryan
Sophie Richardson
Vanessa Tavete
METRO STAFF - SAPPHIRES
Jenna O'Hea - Asst. Coach
Jacqui O'Neill - Asst. Coach
Katrina Barry - Team Manager
Mark Sainsbery - Mentor
METRO ATHLETES - CROCS
Tom Dammers
Charlie Wilson
Alex Mabbott
COUNTRY ATHLETES - CROCS
Lucas Byrne
Will Hamilton
METRO STAFF - CROCS
Ash Arnott - Head Coach
Darren Best - Asst. Coach
Dom Linossier - Asst. Coach
COUNTRY STAFF - CROCS
Ben White - Team Manager
