It was a busy weekend for our Under 16 and 18 Boys and Girls Navexa VJBL teams as they headed to Bendigo to take on the best of the best Country Basketballers in Victoria. With high hopes of claiming gold, all four of our teams fought valiantly over the weekend. With some standout performances and great results, check out below how each team went.
Navexa Under 16 Boys
Starting the weekend off Strong our boys took a 12-point win over Hamilton behind a strong team effort that saw everyone who suited up hitting the scoreboard. Big Man Philip Wickham led the way with 11 points.
Next up the team took on the Wodonga Wolves. Jumping out to a quick 10-point lead, the boys steadily piled on the points to extend the lead further, coming away 14-point winners, 53-39. Fletcher Pulleine led the way with 14 points, with the Wolves struggling to contain him, making them pay with 9 of his points coming from the free-throw line.
The last game of the day saw the boys line up against Traralgon. Dominating from start to finish, the team headed into halftime up by 11 before piling on the scoring to finish 26-point winners. Splashing home a team-high 18 points, Hugh Buckby let it go from deep, contributing 4 of the team’s 9 threes as everyone again hit the scoreboard.
A quarter-final matchup saw the team take on the Maffra Eagles in a tightly contested matchup. With the scores tied at the half, it was our boys who were able to pull away with a 7-point lead with 10 to play, before keeping the Eagles at bay to take the 8-point win. Fletcher Pulleine was crucial in the win as he poured in 15 including 3 threes to force the team into the semi-final.
Coming up against long-time rivals in the Ballarat Miners in the Semi-Final, the boys fell agonisingly short of a grand-final berth as the long-range shooting of the Miners buried United. A strong first 10 minutes saw the boys only down 3 before the Miners turned up the heat to take a 14-point lead into the half. From here on out it was all Ballarat as they got the 21-point win over Geelong. Fletcher Pulleine and Philip Wickham both led the way with 12.
While it wasn’t the ending the boys were after, we are very proud of their efforts to finish in the top 4 of division 1!
Navexa Under 16 Girls
Looking to take home the Division 1 Championship, our under-16 girls started the week off strong against the Bendigo Braves. Taking a 9-point lead at halftime, the team outscored the Braves by 15 in the final 20 minutes to take home a 24-point win, 50-26. Miley Dawkins exploded in this game for 21 points to lead all scorers.
Next up on the fixture was the Horsham Hornets. Taking a small 6-point lead into the halftime break, the United Girls turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, pulling away to claim a 29-point win over the Hornets. Jas King and Jada Button were dominant in the win posting 16 and 13 points respectively.
Looking to make day 1 a clean sweep, our girls took to the court against the Shepparton Gators. With all 9 players hitting the scoreboard it was Evie Perez and Jas King who led the way with 14 each to trounce the Gators 64 to 18.
A quarter-final matchup on Sunday morning saw the girls matched up against the Maffra Eagles. A tightly contested first quarter saw the girls be able to pull away in the second half to secure a dominant 27-point win. Loni Williams came up big in this one with 12 points to lead all scorers.
With a grand-final berth on the line, the team met the Wodonga Wolves. A steady does of scoring through the entire game saw a 6-point lead at the half jump to 13 as the team booked their grand final spot with a 45-32 victory. Willow Smith and Poppy Stevens did the damage on the scoring end with 10 points apiece.
Taking to the court for the grand final, the girls were looking to pip bitter rivals, the Ballarat Miners for the Gold. A close first half saw the girls head into halftime down 2. With 10 to play the girls were trailing by just 4 points but were unable to stop the scoring of the Miners who took the championship by just 8 points in a very closely contested game.
While the team fell just one game short of glory, we are still very proud of their efforts and commend them on finishing 2nd in the state and claiming the Division 1 silver medal.
Navexa Under 18 Boys
Looking to go back to back after our 18 Boys’ success last year, our 2023 roster lined up for their first game in Bendigo against the Horsham Hornets. Jumping out to a quick halftime lead, the Boys were in a commanding position leading by 10 at the main break. The Hornets fought valiantly in an attempt to come back but the boys held strong to claim a 7-point victory to open the tournament. Alisair Smaniotto led the way with 14 for the Geelong boys.
Settling into the tournament, the boys looked to get their second win over the Warragul Warriors late in the afternoon. A slow first 10 minutes saw the team wake up and take charge as they doubled the Warrior’s score to run away 26-point victors, 51-25. Zane Kneebone was the star in this one as he poured in 10 points.
Looking to go 3 from 3 on day 1, the boys took to the court at 8 pm to tackle the Pakenham Warriors. While the Warriors fought hard, they were no matched for the United Boys as they were able to pull away to the tune of a 14-point victory, 44-30. Alisair Smaniotto was once again on fire as he led the way with 11.
With a quarter-final birth well and truly secured, the Boys took to the court looking to take down the Traralgon T-Birds to advance into the semi-final. A tied game at halftime, our Boys were looking for a spark in the second half. Behind some great plays from Alisair Smaniotto and Riley Lane who both poured in 12 a piece, the team was able to pull away for a 7-point victory.
Meeting rivals Warrnambool in the semi-finals, the team was primed and ready to push themselves into the grand final. Coming out of the gate slow, the boys found themselves in a 16-point hole heading into halftime. Pulling back the deficit to just 7 with 10 to play, the Seahawks were just too much to handle as the United Boys fell by 11.
While the boys weren’t able to claim the gold, we are extremely proud of their efforts of finishing in the top 4 of the competition.
Navexa Under 18 Girls
Looking to make their mark on the 2023 JCC, our under 18 Girls took the court for their first game of the tournament against highway rivals in the Bellarine Storm. Capitalising on a strong first half, our Geelong Girls were able to pull away to claim a tough 7-point victory. Macey Bowie dominated in this one with 16 of the team’s 35 points.
Next up was the challenge of the Mildura Heat. A low-scoring affair saw the Girls take a 10-point lead into the half that they were able to maintain for the second half, seeing them come away 35-25 victors. Taylah Richards’ 8 points led the way for United.
Coming up against the always-tough Portland Coasters in game number 3, the Girls fought valiantly as they tried to take the top spot of their grading pool. Ticking over the scoreboard at a slow rate, it was the Coasters who jumped out to a big first-half lead. Annie Poon led the way in this one with 11 however it was not enough as the team went down 26-37.
Taking the second spot in their pool, the Girls were tasked with the challenge of taking down the Warrnambool Mermaids to book their semi-final spot. Another tough game from the field saw the United Girls struggle to get going offensively, while the Mermaids were firing on all cylinders. In the end, it was too much for the team to handle as they came away with a tough 54-22 loss, cutting their tournament short. Macey Bowie’s 8 was a team-best on the day.
While it was not the final result the team was after, we would like to congratulate the team on a strong showing in making it to the quarter-finals of Division 1.
