Hills Hornets survive overtime thriller to be No.1 under 14s boys team in Australia
What a win! The Hills Hornets under 14s boys team have come up trumps to end an extraordinary season.
Hills Shire
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They started the season with three events on their hit-list and now the Hills Hornets under 14s boys team have ended it with three pieces of silverware.
The team, based in Castle Hill, have returned to Sydney with the prestigious title of the No.1 under 14s boys basketball team in Australia.
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But the team of Andrei Honrada, Arsam Nikaeen, Ashton Pahnel, Bailey Thom, Brooklyn Ili, Joseph Khoudair, Joshua Hill, Oliver Wyatt, Sergej Jakovljevic and Yuvraj Bimwal had to work for the honour with the grand final decided in overtime.
The Hornets eventually left the court with the 52-49 victory over Hawthorn Magic the No.1 team in Victoria and the pre-event favourites.
It was their first win at the event since 2011.
“Their coach Dave Hayman set them three goals for the season,’’ said Hornets CEO Steve Burke.
“To win the (Waratah) Metro junior league, the state titles and the nationals.
“They’ve ticked all three boxes.’’
Prior to this four members - Pahnel, Hill, Honrada and Thom - also won the NBL 3x3 Big Hustle National Championships.
“I knew from the outset that we had some very talented players. We also had a couple of new players who developed during the year and contributed in a big way,’’ said coach Hayman. “We worked hard on getting the basics right because offence may win games but defence wins championships.
“We also built a real trust between the players and coaching staff so that when we see what’s going on during the game, we can give an instruction and they just inherently know what to do.
“My guys play for each other, there’s no egos on this team, they all wanted to win, for the team and they have done it. We couldn’t be more proud.’’
The Hills Hornets under 14s girls won a silver in the Shield (Div 2).