THE Mel Young Easter Basketball Classic tournament is New Zealand’s largest junior basketball event, involving all the major associations in the North Island and played in Tauranga and Rotorua.
The 2018 tournament has seen Mount Gambier Basketball Association taste international success, with three of its junior Lakers returning from the event with gold medals.
Emily Dawe, Rori Perryman and Sarah Nulty were three of a group of six local players representing their country as part of the Australian Junior Country Cup squad which travelled to take part in New Zealand’s largest junior tournament – the Mel Young Easter Classic.
Selected from participants in the Australian Junior Country Cup held in January this year, the three girls were joined by Ollie Thompson, Ben Young and Billy Barton for the tour.
It was the largest number of Mount Gambier players to gain selection for many years.
Nulty and Dawe were key players in the successful girls Under 16 team, which had a number of tough matches going into overtime.
Due to a low number of teams in the girls Under 19 division, the two pools were combined for qualifying rounds, with finals being played in their separate age divisions.
This saw the Australian Under 16’s line up against an Under 19’s side in their first round.
The team battled hard, but lost a small lead in the dying seconds of regulation to finish with a draw.
Two periods of overtime were required to break the deadlock, with a buzzer-beater from Taranaki seeing the Australians go down by just one point.
Their second match was also against an Under 19 team, but this time they were able to pip their competition at the post, beating Tauranga by a single point.
Throughout the tournament, Nulty’s outside shooting and finesse were impressive, while Dawe inspired her team with strong drives to the basket against much bigger opponents.
The team continued its winning streak through to the grand final where they defeated New Plymouth 71-63.
Dawe is now preparing to represent South Australia Country at the Under 16 Australian Junior Championships to be held in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast later this year.
The Australian girls Under 14 team also had a successful tournament, winning all of its preliminary matches by large margins.
Waikato and New Plymouth provided the greatest challenges, with scores close at half time, but on each occasion the Australian girls were able to assert their dominance.
A 15-point victory over Waikato was their lowest winning margin.
Perryman’s slick ball handling saw her set up her teammates again and again and she gave the side a strong start in the grand final, scoring 11 points in the first quarter.
In the end they ran out convincing winners, defeating Plymouth 91-55 to take the title.
Perryman will play for Sturt Basketball Club in the Division 1 Adelaide District League during the winter season.
Her team is aiming to qualify for the Basketball Australia Club Nationals, which will see the best Under 14 club teams from across Australia vie for the title of national champions.
Billy Barton and Ben Young’s boy’s Under 14 team battled out a number of close matches.
They gave gallant performances against much taller opponents, using their pace and agility to good effect.
Two early losses ruled them out of qualifying for the major final, but they battled out a bruising consolation final to finish in a respectable third place for the tournament.
In the Under 16 boys, sole Mount Gambier representative Thompson was among the most consistent players in the team.
His side struggled against strong competition in the preliminary rounds, but gained redemption in the play off for fifth spot, edging out tournament hosts Tauranga 72-67.
Thompson’s focus will now also turn to the Under 16 Australian Junior Championships, after having been selected in the boy’s South Australia Country team.
Basketball Mount Gambier development officer Matt Sutton said he was proud of the Mount Gambier Association’s high level of representation in the Australian Country Cup teams.
“Having just one of our association’s junior players in the Australian Country Cup Touring Squad is fantastic, but to have six players from Mount Gambier spread across all teams is simply outstanding,” he said.
“Competition for spots in these teams is extremely high and it represents a very strong group of juniors moving through our ranks at present.
“Each of them is congratulated on their performance in the Easter Classic and the girls teams taking out the title is icing on the cake.”
Parent, Robbie Young, who travelled to New Zealand to support the tour said it was a great experience for the young athletes.
“It was a great development opportunity, not just from a basketball perspective travelling and living as a team and playing at a world class stadium, but the tour also included cultural activities and social events, so it was really valuable on a number of levels,” he said.
