Regional NSW/ACT teams shine at the Australian Basketball Schools Championships

It was a golden tournament for teams from regional NSW and the ACT at the Australian Basketball Schools Championships on the Gold Coast last week. Find out which schools took home medals.

Teams from regional NSW and the ACT have dominated the Australian Basketball Schools Championships on the Gold Coast, picking up a swag of medals at the tournament.

The standout school was undoubtedly the ACT’s Lake Ginninderra College, which incredibly took out gold medals in both the men’s and women’s championship divisions.

“We had two very strong teams and we knew that going into the tournament, but we obviously hadn’t seen the opposition and you’re always a bit unsure how you stack up against everyone else,” said Chris Jones, the school’s basketball manager.

“With both teams we came across very strong opponents and had to do a lot of problem-solving in most of the games,” he added. “It was a great week and a great outcome.”

In doing so, Lake G became just the fourth school to claim the double – following the likes of Western Australian school Willetton Senior High and Victoria’s Templestowe College – and the first since Queensland’s John Paul College in 2003.

“They’re three very good basketball schools and we’re very honoured to have our school listed with those,” says Jones.

“It’s a huge achievement, and I suppose the pressure’s now on to try and defend those titles, so we’ll be doing everything we can to try and have competitive teams again next year.”

Lake Ginninderra College had an incredible tournament, winning both the men's and women's championship division at the 2022 Australians Basketball Schools Championships on the Gold Coast. Photo: supplied.

The first team to claim gold on Friday afternoon was the women’s side, which overcame the Gold Coast’s Hillcrest Christian College 73-72 in a thrilling final to cap off an undefeated tournament.

Isla Juffermans, who was recently named MVP for the Australian under-18 side during the Asian Cup tournament in India, starred for Lake G, scoring a game-high 35 points.

Another key performer throughout the week was Jess Petrie, who was named defensive player of the tournament.

“She had an excellent week: lots of rebounds, high scoring and she put a lot of pressure on the opposition and was able to feed the ball into Isla a lot, along with some of the other girls,” says Jones.

“Isla is a very talented player as well. She was very strong with her rebounding and her presence underneath the rim, and was able to show why she is one of the best juniors in the country.”

Cameron Pender starred for Lake Ginninderra College at the Australian Basketball Schools Championships. Picture: Nelson Kahler

Meanwhile, Lake G’s men’s team made it back-to-back titles, beating Melbourne’s Rowville Secondary College 94-83 in the final, with Cameron Pender leading the line with 40 points.

“Cam dominated most of the stat lines for the week in terms of points, assists, rebounds – he was very strong in most aspects of his game,” says Jones.

“He improved as well. There were some teams who did everything they could to shut him down and at times they were successful. So, once again, Cam had to problem-solve, along with the coach and the rest of the team, to look at ways to get back into those games.”

The school also took a clean sweep of the defensive player of the tournament awards in the championships division, with Bowen Beatty – the son of former AIS scholarship holder and Lake Ginninderra College player Tracey Peacock – collecting the award in the men’s division.

“If you look at his stats, his defensive rebounding and blocks – some of which were at crucial moments in some of our games – were a massive element to the team’s success during the week,” says Jones.

Erindale, Avondale claim medals

While Lake Ginninderra grabbed the headlines with its stunning double, it wasn’t the only school to impress on the Gold Coast.

Fellow Canberra school Erindale College made it a golden hat-trick for ACT teams, taking out the men’s under 20, division three title.

After an undefeated run through the group stages and semi-finals, Erindale defeated Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral School 52-47 in a tight, low-scoring final.

Tarik Ezzat starred for the team, scoring a match-high 24 points, and was backed up by Abraham Riley with nine.

Erindale College won gold in the under 20, division three competition. Photo: supplied.

Elsewhere, Lake Macquarie’s Avondale School was another to impress during the tournament, with two different teams picking up medals.

After topping the pool following the group stage, the boys’ under 15, division two side claimed silver, going down to Sydney’s Reddam House 91-71 in the final.

Jayden Tawake was strong a constant threat for Avondale throughout the tournament, which included a team-high 32 points in the final.

Meanwhile, the school’s under 17, division four side took home bronze. After finishing the group stage in second place, the team narrowly defeated local rivals Hunter Sports High 46-42 in the qualifying final to set up a semi-final with St Augustine’s College.

Avondale School's under 15 boys team won silver in the under 15, division two event. Photo: supplied.

Although they lost to the Northern Beaches school, Avondale rebounded to claim third place with a 53-38 victory over Central Coast Adventist School in the bronze medal match.

The results were the cherry on top for Avondale, which sent four teams to the championships.

“It really was a great week from our perspective. We were really impressed with the all the students and the way they performed,” says Karlie Fraser, the co-ordinator of Avondale’s basketball program.

“Also, the growth that was demonstrated in each of our four teams was really great. From where they started at the beginning of the week, adjusting to the levels that they were playing at and to see their skills grow over the week was really nice to see.”

Avondale School's under 17 boys team capped off a great tournament for the school by winning bronze in the under 17, division four event. Photo: supplied.

Indeed, the strong showing at the tournament can be largely attributed to school’s extensive basketball program.

“As the year wrapped up we had 103 students involved in our basketball academy, which is excellent to see,” says Fraser.

“And because we have that number involved it gives us a really great pool to be able to choose our representative players from. When kids are involved and they see other students chosen to represent the school at events like the ASC, it’s inspiring to them to keep pursuing their individual growth as well.”

In a boon, the school was able to call on the services of NBL veteran Terry Johnson for the tournament, with the former professional basketballer joining the students on the Gold Coast.

“We feel so blessed to be able to bring him in as our head coach and actually have him with us,” says Fraser. “He’s excellent. He’s certainly upped the level of basketball skills here at our school and we’re looking at ways to continue his involvement next year.”

Elsewhere, there were strong performances from Port Macquarie’s MacKillop College, which finished fourth in the under 17 division one group.

The school was gunning for a rare state and national double after winning the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges title in the year 9/10 division in October.

Hunter Sports High School’s girls under 15 division two team also finished fourth, while teams from Central Coast Adventist School also enjoyed a strong tournament.

After topping their group in the pool stage, the school’s under 17 division four side ended up finishing fourth, as did the girls’ under 17 division two team.