U18 Nationals 2019 Wrap-Up! | Basketball Queensland

In April, a talented group of athletes dressed in maroon and white, and represent Queensland at the U18 Australian Junior Championships, travelling to Townville to compete in the 8-day tournament.

SOUTH WOMEN – FINAL PLACING 2^nd

The South QLD Women’s team got off to an explosive start with a triple-digit win against WA Country, 105-48. Days 2 and 3 were more difficult with a loss to SA Metro 67-80, and then again to Vic Country 65-67. Day 4 they were back to it with a 20-point win again TAS 67-47 and a 26-point win against NSW Country 62-36 on Day 5.

The South team took their winning streak into the Quarter Finals as they took out North QLD 63-51. Their win in the Semi Final’s against Vic Country 53-47 then took them into the Gold Medal game for the grand finals. The girls put up a good fight, but reigning champs, Vic Metro took out the Gold Medal 51-72. The South QLD girls took home Silver.

Grace Ellis took out 1^st position for AVG. REB for the competition with 11.9 per game, and 2^nd place for avg PPG with 15.4.

SOUTH MEN – FINAL PLACING 5^th

The South QLD Men’s team dominated the competition right from the start, with a triple-digit score in both Day 1 games, against NT 106-54 and NSW Country 102-75. This winning streak continued into Day 2 with a win against eventual finalist SA Metro 77-70. Day 3 saw the South QLD team take on, Vic Country and the team had their first loss of the competition, 102-106. On Day 4 the boys were back to it, with a 42-point win on ACT 100-58, they continued this into Day 5 with another triple digit score win against WA Metro 103-89.

The competition ramped up in the quarterfinals and the boys saw their second loss of the competition to NSW Metro 88-91. They turned it around in the 5-8 Semi-Finals with a win against NSW Country 69-53 and secured themselves in 5^th place with a final win against VIC Country in the Play-off’s 84-82.

Whilst they may have not walked away with a medal, Mojave King and Blake Jones, two Queensland South Men’s team members, lead the competition for scoring and rebounds respectively.

NORTH WOMEN – FINAL PLACING 6^th

The North QLD Women’s team got off to a great start with a win against ACT 85-44, this continued into Day 2 with another win against NSW Metro 91-72. On Day 3, the team faced tough opponents, Vic Metro and saw their first defeat of the competition with 60-98. Day 4, we saw the girls picked up that action we saw earlier in the competition with a win against WA Metro 85-67 and again on Day 5 against SA Country 92-82.

The Quarter Finals saw the South and North QLD teams compete with the South team taking the win 52-63. The girls then faced WA Metro in the 5-8 Semi-Finals and won 72-69. The North QLD girls took on SA Metro in their final game of the competition as they played for 5^th position, but couldn’t quite take the win, losing by just 6 points with 65-71. The North QLD girls finished 6^th place.

A stand out in the competition was Shaneice Swain, she lead the competition for scoring with an Avg. PPG of 25.9 (10 points more than the second position).

NORTH MEN – FINAL PLACING 7^th

The North QLD Men’s team got off to a rocky start with a loss against NSW Metro 63-79 on Day 1, and a loss on Day 2 against Vic Metro 67-92. On Day 3, the boys turned it around with a win against SA Country 98-53, and continued this streak into Day 4 with a triple-digit score win against WA Country 104-69. On Day 5 the competition was fierce, and the boys lost against TAS 75-82.

Moving into Quarterfinals, the boys had some stiff competition from SA Metro and lost 71-87. They then battled against VIC Country in the 5-8 Semi-Finals, and after a tough battle lost 90-99. The North QLD Men’s team took on NSW Country in their final game of the competition and managed to take the win with 86-83. The North QLD boys finished 7^th place.

Since the competition ended BA announced the Men’s and Women’s Squads for the upcoming 2019 FIBA Under-17 Oceania Championships and 6 athletes who competed in the recent U18 AJC have recently been selected to the along with 36 other athletes from around the country.

Congratulations to:

Lucas Schmidt – South
Blake Jones – South
Katie Deeble – South
Shaniece Swain – North
Georgia Woolley – South
Grace Ellis – South
Neferatali Notoa – South