U20 Nationals

Last month a talented group of athletes dressed up in maroon, navy and white to represent Queensland at the U20 Australian Junior Championships. They didn’t have to travel far this year however as Queensland cub, Ipswich Force, hosted the tournament.
Both the men and women’s teams started the tournament off with a win. The first QLD game of the tournament was played by the men against Victoria White. The men got up against the Vics and won 77-71.  That afternoon the women followed their lead and fought hard to get up over NSW in their first match, winning 89-83. Deng Mayot and Zatina Aokuso set the bar for Queensland as they were both named in the Top Performers of the Day.
Day 2 wasn’t as victorious as both teams experienced their first loss of the championships. The men played first and had a close game against Western Australia but just couldn’t secure the win. They went down by two points in the end, the score showing 89-87 to WA. Later in the day the women went down to Victoria White 100-66.
Day 3 showed a similar outcome to the previous day as both teams were defeated once again. The QLD men went down by 18pts against South Australia while the women had a tougher time against Victoria Navy resulting in a 45pt loss. Despite no wins, Verle Williams had an outstanding game and earned a spot in iAthletic Performers of the Day.
Both teams went in to day 4 of the U20 Championships determined to turn things around. The men had two games on day 4. For the second time that tournament, the men fell just short of a win going down by 2pts to NSW.  However, they came back in their second match and won 69-88. This unfortunately was not enough to secure the men a spot in the playoffs. The women on the other hand had a successful day scoring an impressive 22pts over Western Australia resulting in a win. Also for the second time that tournament Queenslanders Deng Mayot and Zatina Aokuso were Top Performers of the Day.
With finals approaching, Day 5 was the day for both teams to leave everything they had on the court. Unfortunately both teams faced a loss, the men going down to Vic Navy 89-62 and the women to South Australia 103-67.
The women went into the final day playing off for a bronze medal. The game was against Victoria White who had previously beat them 100-66. The women were not going to let this intimidate them however and came home with the victory, winning 78-73. The men weren’t as successful and went down to Victoria Navy in their final match.

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