Live stream: Basketball Australia U16s National Championships HUB story

There was plenty to play for in Bendigo on the final day before finals start. Day 6 had 14 match-ups to enjoy across three courts. Click on the links to take you to the wraps and full replays.

For the first time since 2014, the Basketball Australia U16 National Championships are heading back to regional Victoria.

Current NBL1 star Samantha Simons and Illawarra Hawk Lachlan Dent were the stars of the show back then in Geelong when SA Metro and NSW Country took the titles.

This tournament is being held in Bendigo for the first time. One of five key national pathways events, the event will take over Red Energy Arena from July 6 to 13.

WHO IS HEADING TO BENDIGO FOR U16 CHAMPS?

For the second-straight year KommunityTV will exclusively live stream every match from the national championships across all of News Corp Australia’s digital mastheads.

It all begins on Saturday, July 6 with a big twin bill - Victoria Country v NSW Country (girls) and Victoria Country v Tasmania (boys) - before the other teams enter the fray on Sunday, July 7.

HOW TO WATCH

There are two main ways to watch the U16 National Championships in 2024.

KommunityTV will run each of the three courts’ live stream in an individual story each day of the tournament. The links for those stories will appear above.

Denver Warry was one of the stars of the show in 2023.

Each day’s stream story will also contain the replays from the same day.

Alternatively you can head to www.kommunitytv.com.au, and use the video player at the top of the site to watch all the action live and scroll through the most recent replays.

Make sure to check out the streaming schedule to find out when your team is playing.

Only News Corp full digital subscribers will have exclusive access to watch the action. Click here to sign up now before the tournament.

Check out the full LIVE STREAM draw below.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

Victoria Metro held off South Australia Country 112-106 in one of the all-time great U16 boys deciders last year.

While going for three titles in a row will be all the more harder without the likes of Denver Warry, Austin Kirikiri and Charlie Webb, Vic Metro still have plenty of talent.

SA Metro are the defending girls champs.

Tom Dammers, Alexander Mabbott and Charlie Wilson all return from last year’s title success while one of the stars of last year’s U14 Club Championship, Benjamin Ware-Drakeford, is an exciting adition.

With players like Logan Thunder teammates Andrew Watene, Trae Dombroski, Elijah Tuupo and Jayden Cecil, Queensland South are sure to start as one of the boys favourites.

Watene is a special talent. He impressed in the U16 Nationals for Queensland North last year and showed he was ready for this recently by dropping 46 points in the Queensland State final.

South Australia Metro are the defending girls champions and while their roster has been shorn of the likes of Kiera Gardner and Aspen Crase, they do have an exciting talent in Isabelle Daly.

Daly has built quite a resume of achievements and showed she was ready for the big stage with a dynamic performance for Eastern Mavericks at the recent National Junior Classic in Melbourne.

But don’t discount SA Country either, especially with a roster that features five players from 2023, including the impressive Daisy Hocking.

North Queensland impressed in 2023.

The two Queensland teams offer plenty as title candidates as well.

The South, who have not won the title since the days of current Opals star Shyla Heal in 2015, boasts Olivia Olechnowicz and Maddison Reisinger.

The North have retained most of their bronze medal-winning squad from last year and have the likes of Isobel Smith and Clara Kolb to lead their challenge.

Originally published as Live stream: Basketball Australia U16s National Championships HUB story