BASKETBALL Mount Gambier’s junior Lakers had their first taste of the 2017/18 representative tournament season last weekend when 14 teams competed in the annual Murray Bridge carnival.
Overall results were promising for the start of the season and highlighted areas for respective coaches to work on in the coming weeks.
Mount Gambier was represented in all of the Division 1 junior competitions.
Of the eight of 14 teams which played off in grand finals, six were in Division 1.
Carnival winners were the Under 14 boys Division 1 team coached by Robbie Young, the Under 16 girls Division 1 coached by Bryan Green and the Under 18 women coached by Dan Stratford.
The highlight of the grand finals was the Under 14 boys Division 1 match between the Lakers and Barossa Valley.
It was a high-standard and exciting contest from the first jump ball.
The one point result was decided on a “buzzer-beater” basket by Nate Davey.
The Under 16 girls and 18 women’s teams scored comfortable wins over the weekend and went on to record impressive final wins over Yorke Valley teams.
The Under 16 girls won 32-24 and the Under 18 women 48-31.
The Under 14 Division 1 girls went down to Eastern Hills by three points after cruising through the minor rounds and lead-up finals.
The Under 16 boys Division 1 final was played between Eastern Hills and the Lakers.
The Lakers defeated Eastern Hills by four in the minor round game and led by several points in the closing minutes of the final.
Eastern Hills claimed the lead by three with seconds on the clock but Ollie Thomson shot truly from the foul line to level the scores.
Not to be denied, Riley Smelt drove for a score in the last play of the night to give Eastern Hills a two-point win.
The Under 12 girls played off against Yorke Valley in the final of a three-team competition.
They were soundly beaten by Yorke Valley in their first encounter but in a pleasing performance, managed to close the margin to three in their second game.
However, Yorke Valley proved to be too strong for the Lakers in the final.
Two Lakers Division 2 teams finished runners-up in their respective age groups.
In a credible effort, the Under 16 boys went down to Millicent’s first team after drawing on 39 points apiece in the minor round.
The Under 14 girls made pleasing improvement over the weekend but were beaten by Eastern Hills in the final.
The other six Lakers teams all played off in semi-finals.
The carnival was a big learning experience for the Under 12 and 14 boys teams and the Under 16 girls division 2 team played well in their first outing under debutant coach Casey Horrigan.
The Under 18 and Under 23 men struggled against the pressure applied in their semi-finals.
Basketball Mount Gambier development manager Matt Sutton was pleased with the Lakers’ performances in Murray Bridge and looks forward to players and teams making further improvement as the season unfolds.
