Mackay Meteors: Top players in U18 Queensland championships

The sugar city had a mixed bag of results at the state championships, but there were plenty of prodigious talents to rise above and excel. Read who the coaches identified as the next stars of the NBL1.

A number of promising performances at state basketball championships has Mackay’s coaches licking their lips at the future stars of the league.

Mackay boasted four under-18 sides at the tournament on the Gold Coast, with the division one girls’ team falling short in the grand final against the Rollers.

Meteors coach Joel Khalu said he was excited to see the progress of premiership player Max Cain through the championships.

“I’ve my eye on a few of those under-18 guys for a while and they train with our group throughout the season, and obviously Max was a part of our squad last year,” he said.

“I think he had an outstanding tournament, it’s a shame his side couldn’t piece together some wins down there, but for him as an individual he played really well.

“He’s done some things here in the off-season to develop and solidify himself in our group, and I’m hoping he’ll be in the mix for the state team.”

Cain averaged 23.5 points per game across six matches, enough for fourth-highest average scorer despite the Meteors not winning a game.

New Meteorettes coach Rob Grieve, who also coached the U18s division one side at the competition, said Cain “had a phenomenal tournament”.

Charli Kenny for the Mackay Meteorettes at the U18 state basketball championships on the Gold Coast, January 19, 2022. Picture: Nelson Kahler

“It was really cool to see his development, because there are so many ways you can win,” he said.

“You can win on the scoreboard, you can win in the box score with personal stats, or you can win when you learn about yourself.

“Max had a phenomenal tournament and put up fantastic numbers, but he also developed as a leader on the court and he didn’t win a game, so hopefully he can carry some momentum into the men’s competition next season.”

The girls’ division one side, who was undefeated until the grand final, had a number of players who stood out.

Monique Bobognie for the Mackay Meteorettes at the U18 state basketball championships on the Gold Coast, January 19, 2022. Picture: Nelson Kahler

Grieve said he was excited to potentially coach Monique Bobognie and Phoebe Holmes in the senior program in 2022.

“Phoebe Holmes was terrific, she averaged 22.4 points per game, but was also a great two-way player and provided great energy on defence,” he said.

“Monique Bobognie is still crazy young but she’s going to be a player, she was invited to the Australian development camp but that was cancelled.

“That put her on notice to make the junior Australian team, and we expect her to be a pivotal role player for the team this coming year.

“There are other players who don’t have great stats, but are incredibly smart players and they work really hard, so it’s really exciting to potentially see them be successful as the local contingent in the NBL1 side.”