SA Junior Basketball Championship grand finals set for exclusive live stream
A daughter of a three-time NBL champion will be one to watch at this weekend’s SA Junior Basketball Championships. The grand finals will be streamed exclusively. FIND out how to watch here.
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Indy Maher has basketball in her blood.
Her dad, Brett Maher, is a three-time NBL champion with the Adelaide 36ers, a two-time grand final MVP and four-time NBL All-Star.
Indy’s mother, Tanya Maher, was also a hoops star with West Adelaide, then with Sturt in the SA Women’s Premier League, formally known as the ABA.
But the now 13-year-old tried many sports before deciding basketball was the sport she wanted to focus on.
Indy will take to the court with Sturt’s under-14 girls team in this weekend’s SA Junior Basketball Championships.
In a first for the competition, Sunday’s grand finals will be exclusively live streamed on advertiser.com.au
Indy said she was looking forward to taking part in the titles.
“I tried a lot of sports,” the Brighton Secondary School Year 8 said.
“(I played) tennis and I did swimming a bit of gymnastics and dance.
“But then I just found that I liked basketball a lot so I decided to play.
“I really enjoy the team sport idea and I got to meet so many people and it was really good having Mum and Dad (involved) so they could always help me out.”
Although Brett had the more decorated hoops career, that spanned from 1992–2009 with the Adelaide 36ers, Indy said her Mum, who was also her team manager, gave her the most advice.
“It’s mostly mum who always helps me,” the point guard said.
“She’s given me lots of advice, helping me with everything, especially with my shooting.
“It’s really good, though, they always know what to say and they always have great advice, especially with all the experience Dad has, it’s great.”
Indy was only two years old when Brett retired from the NBL and can’t remember too much of what he was like on the court.
But she has watched replays of him in action.
“I’ve watched a lot of dad and he was really good when he was younger,” Indy said.
“He was really faced paced and very professional, it was really cool watching him play.
“I’ve watched a bit of Mum and she was really good as well.”
Indy participated in last year’s state championships then lined up in the national titles in Dandenong, Victoria.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced Basketball Australia to cancel this year’s nationals.
But Indy said she appreciated Basketball SA’s efforts to ensure the state championships could get underway.
“It’s great we’ve been able to do this and I am just really happy to be able to play,” Indy said.
“I think if we play our cards right, we could go pretty far in this tournament and maybe even into the grand final, which would be amazing.”
About 1600 youngsters, from under-12s to under-18s, will take to the court in the four-day event, which tipped off on Thursday.
According to Basketball SA, 350 games will take place during the tournament.