2023 Basketball Australian School Championships Insider: All the stories behind the finals day action
Lake Ginninderra was gunning for a three-peat but – wanting to put on a show at home – The Southport School and Ben Tweedy had other ideas. Read the grand final wraps in our School Champs Insider.
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It was a moment two years in the making, but even The Southport School coach Anthony Petrie was floored by how well the plan paid off.
Petrie could only watch on in amazement as his school side, led by a flawless performance from captain Ben Tweedy, blew two-time defending champions Lake Ginninderra off the floor in the Australian Schools Championships final.
Tweedy capped off a monumental week with a 42-point, 10-assist and 14-rebound triple-double as The Southport School ran out 127-66 winners in the gold medal match.
WATCH REPLAYS OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP MEDAL MATCHES
“I was not expecting that when I woke up this morning,” Petrie said.
“They actually executed everything right, our defensive scout was probably the best they have ever nailed it.
“I am incredibly proud, the work they have put in over the last two years has been amazing.
“You never have to coach energy or effort at our program and for it to finally culminate with a performance like that on the national stage, I am just really happy for them.”
Petrie saved special praise for his captain, who he has watched rise through the ranks of the NBL1 North at the Gold Coast Rollers.
Tweedy, a Rockhampton junior, has been part of the school’s set-up for the past two years and key cog in their build to the national title.
“He is a coach’s son, that shows when he is on the floor,” Petrie said.
“He is a true leader, he cares about the game, cares about the way it’s played so to see him also be the captain of our team and just lead and be relentless with them … that is what I am most proud of.
“He plays the way he plays, but he deeply cares about his teammates behind the scenes and he holds them accountable for moments like this.”
Tweedy is one of several players who have made the move to join TSS and Petrie said the program’s ability to help turn boys into ‘good young men’ was a major reason for this.
“We just want good young men, we just want to turn them into good young men holistically through education and then obviously their sport, so that is what I am really proud of,” he said.
“I say it all the time, ‘being a good basketballer lasts 10-15 years but being a great human being lasts a lifetime’ so it is a holistic experience at our school.
“I wish it was just a basketball program but they get so much more out of the actual school because of how much people care about them.”
After such a dominant display, it had become abundantly clear The Southport School would take home the title well before the final buzzer, which allowed Petrie and his players to soak in the moment.
“I just wanted it to be over,” he said.
“I swear that clock was going so slow, but we called a time-out with five minutes to go to make some subs and put our Year 12s on the floor one last time together.
“Then in that time-out we had some really nice words with each other about what it meant for us, and what it meant for them, so it was really special to let it sink in.”
The win was made all the more sweeter as they were able to claim the victory in their own backyard, which Petrie said was a major benefit for his side in these national championships.
“They feel comfortable, their family can all get here, everyone they love is around, the school community is here to watch them, they train in this stadium all the time, so it was a definite help in just feeling comfortable,” he said.
FAULTLESS ROWVILLE CROWNED NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Rowville refused to let an injury to star player Emilija Dakic get in the way of a resounding 17-point win in the Basketball Australia School Championships women’s gold medal game.
The Melbourne school ran out 82-65 winners in the championship division grand final over Westfields on Friday.
Throughout the entire week, Rowville has had a major focus on bringing as many players into the game as possible and with such a wide array of talent it was no surprise to see the players lift when Dakic left the decider in the first quarter with a knee injury.
“She (Dakic) just got a little knock to the knee and just was concerned about that,” coach Adam Gibson said.
“She’s been our best defender, so to miss her and have our rotation short hurt us, but the other girls stepped up, which is what good teams do.”
Manuela Puoch and Bonnie Deas were the standout performers in the final as they made their presence felt with double-doubles.
“Manny has been doing it the whole tournament and Bonnie, she is at the Centre of Excellence, she is a national player so I expect her to do that,” Gibson said.
“They worked really well together today, got some big buckets and some big numbers, I think they had 26 and 21 points, so that is a lot of points out of two players.”
Gibson has been blessed to coach a roster which has strength across the board and the only challenge for him has been to ensure so many star players can share the court at once.
“We have a very talented school and a very talented team,” he said.
“All these girls in their individual teams back home put up big numbers, so it was just trying to get them to play unselfishly and share the ball and we started to do that in the latter part of this tournament.
“Everyone stepped up in different games and had 20-point games, so it is a luxury to have because it is hard to scout a team like that.”
With six wins from six, it was a near-faultless week from the Rowville and Gibson couldn’t be prouder.
“Our group, there are a lot of year 12s and 11s, so we haven’t had a lot of time to train as a team, so to come and put in a performance like that is awesome,” he said.
“But the whole week is tough, there are some talented teams and a lot of talented girls here, so to go 6-0 and win a final like that with one of our best players getting injured in that first quarter was a big result.
“I thought the girls did a phenomenal job all week to come through and play a grand final like that.”
FOXWELL STARS IN ROWVILLE’S STRONG FINISH
A classy point guard paired with a former WNBL coach has led the Rowville boys to the bronze medal after it defeated Newington by eight points on Friday morning.
Joel Foxwell was one of the star players this week and continued to deliver when a medal was on the line as he scored 31 points at 52 per cent from the field in the 95-87 victory.
Throughout the tournament Foxwell was a class above and averaged more than 32 points per game as he took the brunt of the attack.
Rowville coach Alex Palazzolo was proud of the efforts of his backcourt players throughout this competition, who were the backbone to their success.
“Joel (Foxwell) is a great talent and we have some other guards in there too, you look at Corey Hastings, Wyatt Stewart and Noah Suarjaya, they have all been solid for us over the years and we are just really proud of what they have done for us,” he said.
“I am really proud of all the boys, it is a great reward for the effort all these boys have put in.
“Obviously we had our sights set on trying to win gold but they have shown a lot of resilience throughout the tournament and I think we got better as the tournament went on.”
After winning just one game in the group stage, Rowville found another level in the knockout stages as it knocked off the top-seeded Glenunga in the quarter-finals to advance to the final four.
“I think from what I saw, this was the most open tournament and there were some great teams here,” Palazzolo said.
“You look at Newington and ourselves, we both finished fourth in our pool and we played off for bronze.”
After suffering setbacks in both the group stage and the semi-finals, the mentality of the group remained strong as they continued to fight through adversity.
“There are quick turnarounds and you have just got to get focused on the next game,” Palazzolo said.
“In our last group game, had we won, we would have finished on top of the pool but we lost it by two points and we finished fourth.
“But have got to put it behind you, take away the positives and negatives, make the adjustments and get on with the next game.”
The cool head of Palazzolo was pivotal for Rowville late in the bronze medal clash as Newington looked like it was going to mount a comeback, but with decades of experience coaching at a high-level he was able to get them over the line.
“I have been at Rowville for 13 years and prior to that I was a WNBL coach from ‘92 to ‘95,” he said.
“I was Dandenong’s first WNBL coach and have coached in SEABL for a lot of years and still coaching Casey in the NBL1 at the moment.”
REVENGE EXACTED AS MARSDEN CLAIM BRILLIANT BRONZE
The squad depth of Marsden shone through on the final day as the Brisbane powerhouse downed Queensland rivals John Paul College to take home the bronze medal in this year’s championships.
Malaya Au was one of the standout performers in the bronze medal clash and scored a game-high 14 points.
There was an extra driving force headed into this contest, which had Marsden fired up and hungry for revenge as these two sides faced off in the state championship final, with John Paul College coming away victorious.
“We lost to them (John Paul College) in the grand final at state champs by three (points) and it just felt really good to beat them by 30 points,” Au said.
“I am just really happy that we won and now we get a reward afterwards.”
With sides playing their sixth games of the week, fatigue was a factor and Marsden’s strength in numbers approached factored heavily in the end result, which was a blowout 74-43 win.
“I think with our team, even our bench is really strong, we are 12 players deep,” Au said.
“After these really tough teams, I felt like we were all a bit sore.
“We just needed to keep each other up and have energy towards each other.”
Entering the bronze medal game is certainly one of the more challenging games to play mentally as players are forced to quickly move on from the disappointment of defeat in the semi-final.
However, while the Marsden girls certainly felt the pain of missing out on a grand final spot, there was a silver lining which kept team spirits up.
“I feel like we were all down on ourselves after the game yesterday, but we were pretty happy that we are a state school in the bronze medal game,” Au said.
After an impressive week, Au has her sights set on breaking into NBL1 or college.
“I am looking towards going towards the NBL1 pathway but because I have been getting quite a few messages through my DMs about college, I might consider that as well,” she said.
DENT DRIVEN BY CHANCE AT HISTORY
There are just 40 minutes standing between Lake Ginninderra and immortality.
The Lakers have the chance to etch their name into history on Friday, as they eye off an incredible three-peat of Australian School Championship titles.
Led by dynamic duo James O’Donnell and Josh Dent, the Lakers are set to lock horns with the hometown hero, The Southport School.
The Lakers mercurial point guard knows it will be far from a walk in the park.
“I am as excited as you can be,” Dent said.
“I know it is going to be a very tough game, coming in off another 40 minute game is going to be tough, but I have full faith in the boys no matter what happens.
“It was a really big effort (to make the final), we have had some really close games this week.
“I think that (game against Newington in the semi-final) might have been our biggest win (nine points) and it was our toughest game we have played.
“It was good to finally be able to put together a couple of stops at the end of the game, we are now feeling really confident about (the final).”
The Lakers have proven to be mentality monsters in this competition, with all five of their games going down to the wire and suffering just one defeat in the pool stages.
Dent said the message from the coaches to trust their instincts has been at the heart of their success.
“I just think that is what Lakers basketball is about,” he said.
“We know to have faith and let basketball take over.
“Obviously me and Jimbo (James O’Donnell) are there to carry a lot of the load but we can’t do it without our other guys stepping up.”
Dent has formed a lethal partnership with big man James O’Donnell, with the duo regularly feeding off each other.
“James and I have grown really close lately, we went away to a couple of tournaments last year and especially this year playing for New South Wales under-20s has been good,” he said.
“So I think we are as close as you can get right now.”
The Lakers gold medal rivals, The Southport School have matched them nearly every step of the way this tournament.
The Gold Coast outfit, which is coached by former NBL stalwart and Gold Coast Rollers NBL1 North coach Anthony Petrie, have only dropped one game on their way to the gold medal match.
The boys Championship decider will headline a massive day of medal games on the Show Court at Gold Coast Sport and Leisure Centre.
Westfields Sports High girls will ride a wave of late tournament momentum into their gold medal showdown against Championship women standard bearers Rowville Secondary College.
Westfields guard Dylan Alexander said it was hard to believe they had made it to the gold medal decider.
“It feels really surreal to be honest,” she said.
“I am really proud of the girls, I am proud of the coaching staff and how they have taken care of us.
“It has been a big effort, a lot of early morning training, cardio sessions, a lot of sacrifices have been made to get us here and I am just really ready to win the national champs.”
Originally published as 2023 Basketball Australian School Championships Insider: All the stories behind the finals day action
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