Grand final spots are on the line on day four of the Basketball Qld u18 State Championships
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Some of Australia’s best young hoops talents will take centre stage with everything on the line as epic semi-final match-ups headline day four of the Basketball Queensland Under-18 State Championships on the Gold Coast.
The pool stages are done but now it’s win or go home in both the boys and girls tournaments with teams fighting for spots in Sunday’s championship games.
Starting the day’s action will be a girls division one crossover between the Sunshine Coast Phoenix and the Southern Districts Spartans, who missed out on a semi-finals spot to the South West Metro Pirates on a countback.
But then the big games hit the venue’s showcourt.
First with the girls division one semi-finals between the undefeated Mackay Meteorettes and Logan Thunder, followed by the home side Gold Coast Waves taking on the Pirates.
Then the boys division one semi-finals will take place as the favourites, Townsville Heat, clash with the Brisbane Capitals with the undefeated RedCity Roar meeting the hometown team, Gold Coast.
WATCH ALL THE REPLAYS
Replay: QLD U18 basketball championships - U18 Girls Div 2 Semi-Finals (NW v SCR)
Replay: QLD U18 basketball championships - U18 Girls Div 2 Semi-Final (Wild v Bear)
Boys Div 1 Semi-Final - Gold Coast Waves def Redcity Roar 81-70
Both Gold Coast Waves division one teams will feature in tomorrow’s grand finals after a dominant defensive display helped the boys side upset the RedCity Roar in today’s semi-final.
The Roar came into the clash undefeated after beating other contenders, including the Brisbane Capitals and the Southern Districts Spartans with superstar guard Kobe McDowell-White leading the way alongside Mason Davis.
On the other hand the Waves were looking to bounce back following a heavy defeat at the hands of the Townsville Heat in their last pool game.
From the opening tip it was clear the Gold Coast weren’t going to let McDowell-White take the game away as he did earlier in the tournament as the Waves guarded him closely, packed the paint and encouraged the other Roar players to beat them.
And it worked as the home side jumped out to an early lead as Joshua Wolff fired on the offensive end for the Waves as well.
However Davis kept the Roar in the game along with Ethan Tashke, who connected on three early three-pointers for RedCity to stay in touch.
Both teams matched each other basket for basket and run for run in the second half before the Waves clamped down on the Roar midway through the fourth quarter and big man Elijah Kamu tore apart the RedCity zone to give his team a double digit lead.
From there, Gold Coast were able to close it out despite several attempts from McDowell-White to lead his team back.
Kamu has a huge game with 22 points and 21 rebounds while Wolff was also impressive with 16 points.
Davis led the way for RedCity with 21 while McDowell-White and Tashke both had 15.
The Gold Coast will now face Townsville in the grand final while the Roar will take on Brisbane in the bronze medal game.
Boys Div 1 Semi-Final - Townsville Heat def Brisbane Capitals 93-70
One of Australian basketball’s future stars is continuing to make his mark after leading the Townsville Heat’s demolition job over the Brisbane Capitals to book a spot in the championship game.
Rory Hawke showed once again why he was selected to join the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence after an offensive showcase in his team’s 23-point victory.
Hawke, an athletic guard/forward, put up 41 points while shooting more than 50 per cent from the field and also grabbed 17 rebounds.
The Queensland North star has been the player of the tournament so far along with RedCity Roar guard Kobe McDowell-White.
Townsville jumped out to an early lead in the grand final qualifier and extended the margin to almost 20 points before the Brisbane Capitals made a comeback in the third quarter through Rafferty Morris, who ended up with 30 points.
But the Heat, coached by former NBL big man Shane Froling, executed on both ends when it mattered and closed it out with a comfortable win.
Luca Yates also had a big game for Townsville with 16 points and 15 rebounds while Marshall Wilson also had 16 points and nine rebounds.
REPLAY: Girls Div 1 Semi-Final - Gold Coast Waves def South West Metro Pirates Purple 96-68
The Gold Coast Waves will have the chance to complete a clean sweep of state championships for this age group after booking a spot in tomorrow’s grand final following a convincing win over the South West Metro Pirates today.
Gold Coast, who have won every state championship in this age group and also a National Club Championship along the way, went into the semi-final undefeated while the Pirates edged out the Southern Districts Spartans to feature in the crossovers.
But the Waves weren’t about to let an upset happen, dominating the Pirates in the first half to hold a 54-31 lead with Australian junior representative point guard Lilly Rotunno leading from the front while Jade Peacock also came out firing.
But South West responded to the challenge in the second half with state guard Lil Dart finding her touch on the offensive end and the Pirates junking it up defensively to stifle the Waves.
However, the depth of the Gold Coast proved too much in the end with Rotunno, Peacock and also Katelyn Donovan answering back with important baskets to push the lead back out.
From there, the Waves could not be stopped, finishing the game with momentum and a 27-point victory to seal a spot in tomorrow’s championship game.
Peacock put up big numbers for the Gold Coast with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Rotunno had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Donovan also scored 18 points.
Dart had 30 points for the Pirates.
Gold Coast will now face the Mackay Meteorettes in the grand final at 2.15pm tomorrow.
REPLAY: Girls Division 1 Semi-Final - Mackay Meteorettes def Logan Thunder 73-52
The Mackay Meteorettes will have a chance to win two state championships in two years after sealing a spot in tomorrow’s grand final following a dominant win over the Logan Thunder this morning.
Mackay’s fast-paced game and hot shooting proved too much for the Thunder in the first three quarters, leading Logan 54-30 going into the final quarter.
Early on in the game, it was all Queensland North star Paris Santacaterina who had 11 points in the opening period and ending up with 17.
Fellow state representative Phoebe Holmes was also impressive with 13 points and sharpshooter Brooke Jensen went five from nine from the three-point line to put up 15 points for the Meteorettes.
The Thunder found some form in the last quarter but it was way too late with Logan unable to capitalise on the offensive end.
Hannah Dalton was the best for the Thunder with 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Mackay will face-off with familiar foe, the Gold Coast Waves, in the grand final after the two teams matched-up in last year’s under-16s decider.
REPLAY: Division 1 crossover: Southern Districts Spartans def Sunshine Coast Phoenix 83-49
The Southern Districts Spartans have bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on the semi-finals to demolish the Sunshine Coast Phoenix and earn a spot to playoff for fifth tomorrow.
Southern Districts were too good from the opening tip, forcing the Phoenix into turnovers and turning them into easy baskets on the offensive end.
From there, the Sunshine Coast were never able to get back in the game.
Summah Hanson was impressive against her old team with 21 points while Lulu Twidale scored 15 and Hayley McDowell-White had 11.
Jordyn Diegmann and Breeanna Seaby both had 10 each for the Phoenix.
WHAT COACHES THOUGHT AHEAD OF THE GAMES
DIVISION 1 GIRLS
MACKAY METEORETTES – Coach Lukass Blicavs
“Obviously really happy with where we have ended up. We set some really high expectations for our group, and we are working towards meeting those goals, but come up against a tough, well coached, Logan team who stand in the way. Our group, which comprises of 4 bottom age girls who claimed a gold at the Under 16 State Champs, have really come together well, considering the circumstances. They are confident but we know there is a big challenge on our hands. If we can match Logan’s physicality and their depth, it will go a long way towards a victory. Working to stop Mackensie Auton who has been identified as an NPP athlete is going to be a tough matchup but we have some girls in our group who are hungry for the challenge. Really looking forward to a big game.”
LOGAN THUNDER – Coach Anita Peckham
“We haven’t yet played to our full potential. We have had glimpses of what we are capable of, but credit to our girls who have had their backs against the wall and have shown their determination and fighting spirit. The girls are feeling good, confident and excited about the semi-final. Against Mackay, a team we haven’t yet played but feel we will match up well.
Mackay have had a great tournament so far. If we can slow their transition and execute at our end, we will have a good chance and are confident we can get the job done.”
GOLD COAST WAVES – Coach Cassie Dover
“We had a slow start but overall a solid game today. The girls have been taking on board the feedback after each game, have been trying to implement into the next games and today adjusted quickly which are all positives signs coming into semi-finals. I am looking forward to the challenge tomorrow and think the girls are improving each and every game which is exciting at this stage of the tournament Our last hit out with them was a battle and I expect the same. If we can continue to play a great brand of team basketball on offence and keep pressure on defence, I think we have the talent and depth to take it one game further. I don't expect it to be easy. I am looking forward to the challenge.”
SWM PIRATES PURPLE – Coach Steven Edwards
“Firstly, very thankful that the girls were able to even participate in the State Championships.
To be honest we have been up and down, but have been able to steady the ship when we needed it the most. We have so much respect for the dominance that GC has had in this age group. They’re well coached and have a lot of talent, so we will need to be at our best to have a chance and we are excited to have our chance.”
DIVISION 1 BOYS
TOWNSVILLE HEAT – Coach Shane Froling
“We’ve been a bit ratty throughout our games so far, we’ve shown some patches of really good basketball but probably haven’t been consistent enough yet. We’ve managed to win ugly at times, which is a good sign – it’s better than losing. Finals are a completely different game, the pressure is raised a fair bit but our boys are ready for it and we know Brisbane are a pretty tough team so we just need to execute our stuff. They’ve got a big man (Geordan Papacostas) who has some great touch in the post and some good shooters around him as well so we will need to be switched on defensively to get the result.”
BRISBANE CAPITALS – Coach Patrick McInerney
“I’m really proud of the groups resilience to play mature basketball down the stretch in close games. The group is really energised to continue playing good team basketball against quality teams. We’re excited to play a great team with great players in townsville we need to limit our mistakes, play as a team and play the full 40 minutes to get the job done.”
REDCITY ROAR – Coach Darryl McDowell-White
“I’m very proud of how the team has embraced the adversity that they have endured thus far. When the going got tough, the boys came together more and more. We are only human and cannot perfect the game of basketball but as long as we pursue perfection and enjoy the game of basketball for all it is along the way, we will continue to build elite habits and just have fun. Learning and improving is easy when there’s a sense of joy behind it. The boys have been able to perform like this by pushing their physical and mental barriers as individuals and as a team. And those change will impact their experiences on and off the court in their future lives.”
GOLD COAST WAVES – Coach Steve Kerr
“Our team performance so far at the State Champ have been up & down, we are thankful for the position we are in but more consistency is needed if we want to advance leading into these final games. The team is feeling good moving forward. They put themselves into a semi-final game position. Now we need to focus on the task at hand. Playing Redlands, they are a free flowing team, that can get on a roll in a blink of an eye. As a result we have implemented some set goals as a team that we like to achieve playing this semi final game and also for us it would be consistently at both ends that we are looking for if we want a good result tomorrow.”
DAY FOUR STREAM SCHEDULE
8am: U18 Girls Div 1 Crossover – Sunshine Coast Phoenix v Southern Districts Spartans
9.30am: U18 Girls Div 1 Semi-Final – Mackay Meteorettes v Logan Thunder
11am: U18 Girls Div 1 Semi-Final – Gold Coast Waves v South West Metro Pirates Purple
12.30pm: U18 Boys Div 1 Semi-Final – Townsville Heat v Brisbane Capitals
2pm: U18 Boys Div 1 Semi-Final – RedCity Roar v Gold Coast Waves
3.30pm: U18 Girls Div 2 Semi-Final – TBA
5pm: U18 Girls Div 2 Semi-Final: TBA
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