Gold Coast hosts state's best young hoops stars at Basketball Qld u18 Championships (Under-18 State Championships)
Some of Australia’s most promising young hoops stars fought it out on Day 1 of the the Basketball Queensland Under-18 State Championships on the Gold Coast. WATCH THE REPLAYS!
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Gold Coast is once again playing host to some of Australia’s most promising hoops stars at the Basketball Queensland Under-18 State Championships.
Starting Wednesday, teams from all around the state will hit the court at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre at Carrara at one of Queensland’s biggest tournaments of the year, which will finish Sunday afternoon.
WATCH ALL THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP DAY-TWO REPLAYS
WATCH THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP DAY THREE ACTION LIVE
Gold Coast (girls) will be out to defend their Division 1 title from last year at the tournament, which will be played with limited capacity crowds due to the recent Covid spike.
Defending under-18 boys champions Townsville Heat have been forced to sensationally withdraw from the tournament after a major Covid scare in the team camp.
However, for those who may miss out on watching the games live and for general basketball fans, all games from Hall 1 Court 7 during the tournament will be livestreamed by NewsCorp
Both Gold Coast Division 1 teams will head into the week as gold medal favourites after taking out their respective SQJBC competitions in December.
WATCH REPLAY: SWM PIRATES RED DEFEAT BRISBANE CAPTIALS BRONZE 84-76 (BOYS DIV 4)
Zachary Chandra and Bronson Aparicio have combined for 49 points to lead the South West Metro Pirates Red to a convincing 14-point victory over the Brisbane Capitals to tip-off today’s livestream schedule.
The opening game of the tournament on the showcourt of the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre was a battle for most of the first half until the Pirates came out firing to start the third quarter.
From there the Capitals could not find their form again as Chandra (25 points) and Aparicio (24 points) did whatever they wanted on the offensive end for the Pirates.
Exauce Makiadi also had 15 for South West while Joel Mynott and Cooper Bell both had 14 for Brisbane.
WATCH REPLAY: GC WAVES DEFEAT TOWNSVILLE LIGHTNING 121-55 (BOYS DIV 2)
Five players have scored in double figures as the Gold Coast Waves started their tournament in the best way possible on their home court, recording a 66-point victory over the Townsville Lightning.
The Waves were a class above from the opening tip, with their full court pressure and firing offence proving too tough a challenge for their north Queensland opponents.
Gold Coast were led by Marley Enders-Green with 22 points, while Xavier Eddington (18 points), Samuel Mattress (14 points), Sascha Alexeef (14 points) and Cooper Hatton (13 points) all reached double figures.
Jack Minogue top scored for Townsville with 13 points.
WATCH REPLAY: GOLD COAST ROLLERS DEFEAT ROCKHAMPTON CYCLONES 98-45 (GIRLS DIV 1)
The Gold Coast Rollers have shown why they are the favourites to take out the Under-18 girls tournament after starting their campaign with a 54-point demolition of Rockhampton in their opener.
Filled with state and national representatives, Gold Coast were never challenged by a Rockhampton side, who fought hard for the entire 40 minutes but struggled to get any momentum during the game.
The Rollers had six players score in double figures led by Katelyn Donovan with 21 points.
Bella Janes led the scoring for Rockhampton with 10 points.
WATCH REPLAY: GOLD COAST BREAKERS DEFEAT MULGRAVE MAGIC 97-43 (BOYS DIV 3)
The Gold Coast Breakers have put up one of the biggest scores in all competitions on day one of the state championships, scoring 127 points in an 82-point victory over the Mulgrave Magic in the Division 3 tournament.
Ryan Schuback and Tyler Longfield both scored 23 points each to lead the Breakers but they had plenty of support with Alejo Hutchins and Taiton Hamlin scoring 18 points each while Fletcher Hermansson (16 points) and Zane Sherrington (11 points) also reached double figures.
George Maladakis led the scoring for Mulgrave with 14 points.
WATCH REPLAY: GOLD COAST ROLLERS DEFEAT MACKAY METEORS 88-78 (BOYS DIV 1)
Gold Coast have rolled through their group games on day one, finishing Wednesday with a convincing 24-point victory over the Mackay Meteors as they firm as the gold medal favourites.
After a victory over local rivals the North Gold Coast Seahawks in the morning, the Rollers maintained that momentum against Mackay with an impressive team effort as five players scored in double figures.
Nevarda Higgins led the way with 20 points while Elijah Kamu had 19, Jalen Blanchard scored 18, Tyler O’Neill had 16 and Jacob Peters had 12.
Max Cain was the leading scorer for Mackay with 25 points.
WATCH REPLAY: GOLD COAST WAVES DEFEAT SC PHOENIX TEAL 47-45 (BOYS DIV 1)
The Gold Coast Waves have recorded their first win in Division 1 competition after stepping up following a gold medal in the second division SQJBC late last year following a 22-point victory over the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.
Gold Coast were looking to bounce back from an earlier loss to Logan and they did exactly that, jumping out to an early double digit lead and never looking back from there.
Cyra Iliuk led the way with 18 points for the Waves while Mia Jordan and Alice Jones both had 13 and Tyra Bing also added 10.
Bella Heath top scored for the Sunshine Coast with 20 points.
WATCH REPLAY: GOLD COAST ROLLERS DEFEAT CAIRNS DOLPHINS 55-33 (GIRLS DIV 1)
Like the club’s Division 1 boys team, the girls Gold Coast Rollers have dominated their first day of competition, recording a 39-point victory over Cairns in their second game.
The Rollers demolished Rockhampton earlier in the day and continued their red-hot form against a brave Dolphins outfit.
Katelyn Donovan again starred for the Gold Coast with 23 points and Jess Petrie also had 20 while Teyahna Bond led the scoring for Cairns with 25 points.
LIVESTREAM SCHEDULE
Day 1
8am: U18 Boys Div 4 – SWM Pirates Red v Brisbane Capitals Bronze
9.30am: U18 Boys Div 2 – GC Waves v Townsville Lightning
11am: U18 Girls Div 1 – Rockhampton Cyclones v GC Rollers
12.30pm: U18 Boys Div 3 – Mulgrave Magic v GC Breakers
2pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – GC Rollers v Mackay Meteors
3.30pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – SC Phoenix Teal v GC Waves
5pm: U18 Girls Div 1 – GC Rollers v Cairns Dolphins
Day 2
8am: U18 Boys Div 1 – Cairns Marlins v GC Rollers
9.30am: U18 Girls Div 1 – SD Spartans v Cairns Dolphins
11am: U18 Girls Div 1 – Sunshine Coast Rip v GC Rollers
12.30pm: U18 Girls Div 1 – Townsville Flames v GC Waves
2pm: U18 Boys Div 2 – Cairns Stingers v Northside Wizards 2
3.30pm: U18 Boys Div 2 – Toowoomba Mountaineers v GC Waves
5pm: U18 Girls Div 1 – SD Spartans v GC Rollers
Day 3
8am: U18 Boys Div 2 – GC Waves v Moreton Bay Fire
9.30am: U18 Girls Div 1 – GC Rollers v Northside Wizards
11am: U18 Girls Div 1 – Brisbane Capitals Gold v GC Waves
12.30pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – SC Phoenix Teal v GC Rollers
2pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – Northside Wizards 1 vs SWM Pirates Gold
3.30pm: U18 Girls Div 2 – TBA
5pm: U18 Boys Div 4 – GC Tides v Maryborough Magic
Day 4
Quarterfinals and semi-finals
Day 5
Grand finals and classification games
DAY 1 PREVIEW
In the boys tournament, the Gold Coast Rollers – led by young stars such as big man Elijah Kamu, Jalen Blanchard and Nevarda Higgins – have all the momentum heading into the state championships after winning 11 games straight to win SQJBC.
Gold Coast coach Steve Kerr said his team his team was ready to try and finish their season with a state title.
“I believe the boys are still hungry to get better and to finish our season off by putting together a solid performance at state championships which I believe these boys can do,” he said.
“With the 11 game win streak yes it was a big effort especially in this age group and especially with so many competitive teams.
“But I need to commend my boys for sticking together and pushing through the tough times and producing a talented bunch of boys that would play hard for each other, which has made us the team we are today.”
But the Rollers will face tough opposition from the likes of Roman Siulepa, Joseph Wilson and the Southern Districts Spartans while the Northside Wizards, featuring the twin towers of Josh Hughes and Rocco Zikarsky, will also have a gold medal in their sights.
The Cairns Marlins, who were runners-up from two years ago and will be led by Jalen Pitman and Tyson Crees, will also travel to the Gold Coast with the aim of going one step further than 2020.
In the girls competition, the Gold Coast Rollers featuring Katelyn Donovan, Jade Peacock Jordan Billing and Layla-J Cameron will also head into the tournament full of confidence after beating the Southern Districts Spartans to claim the SQJBC gold medal.
But the Spartans, led by one of the latest talents to join the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in Summah Hanson, will be out for revenge and will be in the same pool.
While other challengers such as the Mackay Meteorettes, who dominated the NQJBC competition, as well as the Logan Thunder will also be looking at pushing for a gold medal.
See the full livestream schedule for the tournament below.
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