
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 2nd
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 1st position for AVG. REB for the competition with 11.9 per game, and 2nd place for avg PPG with 15.4.
SOUTH MEN – FINAL PLACING 5th
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 5th 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 6th
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 5th position, but couldn’t quite take the win, losing by just 6 points with 65-71. The North QLD girls finished 6th 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 7th
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 7th 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