Basketball Australia U20's & Ivor Burge National Championships live blog - Day 6

It is the shot that will be heard around the nation for some time, but Victorian coach Braden Cotter has revealed more than just one man made it happen. Read more in our finals BLOG.

It’s the shot that will go down in Under-20 National Championship history.

But there was much more to Austin Rapp’s game winner than just the fadeaway on the buzzer.

Victorian coach Braden Cotter was quick to point out that Luke Fennell deserved just as much credit.

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He made what Cotter labelled as the “great” inbound pass to give the South East Melbourne Phoenix young gun the opportunity to send himself viral.

Victoria's Austin Rapp at the Under-20 and Ivor Burge National Championships. Picture: Taylor Earnshaw

“As we were talking in the time-out, my assistant Andrew (Cutler) made the great point in sticking with what we do,” Cotter said when asked whether that was how the play had been drawn up.

“That’s what we’ve done all tournament, we haven’t been drawing up really anything off those sorts of situations or changing anything.

“Aussie was hot and he had made some good decisions. There was the option of getting Joel open if needed to be but Aussie grabbed.

“It was a great pass from Luke.”

The last minute of the game capped a brilliant week of basketball, it was 60 seconds you couldn’t have predicted.

Rapp had the opportunity to put the Vics up by four but missed his free throw.

From the resulting rebound, Queensland ran the floor at pace – as they did like any other situation – before Jaylen Pitman hit a dagger.

Cotter has seen all the types of finishes in his coaching career but even that was something else.

“Probably not that frenetic,” he said.

“Queensland had just played so hard and fast the whole tournament, we just tried getting in behind the ball.

“They really pushed us and put us under pressure. They were coached very well.

“It’s not always the way you want to win.”

Throughout the game, Victoria had players who stepped up when their moment allowed.

Rapp including his game winner had 32 points while Joel Foxwell had 28 after starting like a house on fire.

Victoria's Luke Fennell at the Under-20 and Ivor Burge National Championships. Picture: Taylor Earnshaw

Fennell had 22 including a huge triple on the three-quarter-time buzzer.

Then Jack Whitbourn came to life with a huge final quarter at both ends of the floor.

“At under-20s, these players have to forgo being the man, in any team they’re in,” Cotter said.

“And they’ve all brought into that.”

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While the ending was as wild as they come, Cotter was thrilled with his team’s overall finish as they claimed a first gold medal in four years.

“The whole thing for us was to try and be consistent. We called it being boring,” he said.

“The boys brought into it and it went a little off script the last 24 hours.

“Aussie was able to come in for the whole tournament was a big shot and the boys were just great.

“We knew what we were doing every game we walked out with the coaches and support.”

It was a day of celebration for the home state who claimed all four gold medals on offer.

‘Phenomenal’ Harvey delivers golden moment for Victoria

Even Victorian coach Jo Wood was finding it hard to describe Sienna Harvey’s performance.

“I don’t even know what she ended up with,” Wood said just moments after her side claimed the Under-20 Women gold medal.

Harvey had 29 points – 15 of which came in the last quarter.

Stepping up in the moment is an ability you can’t teach and the Wodonga product has it in droves.

Once the first shot dropped in the last quarter, you felt like she wasn’t going to miss.

“Her scoring has probably been a little bit down but she’s found other ways to contribute,” Wood said.

“She hit some big buckets. She was phenomenal.

“She’s had 15 in the last quarter, which is incredible especially after a week of competition.”

Unlike some of her teammates, Harvey will be back next year with an opportunity to defend the crown.

For several others, it meant the end of their Victorian state team journeys.

It had been a theme used as motivation throughout the week.

“For some of them this is it, the end of that Victorian journey, for some of them that started at under-12s,” Wood said.

Sienna Harvey hit 29 points in the final.

“To get through to under-20s and walk away with that gold, because we were disappointed with last year, it’s nice to come away with the reward.

“A super team effort.

“I think we did a terrific job defensively and then rewarded ourselves on the offensive end.”

While the battle was won on the court, Wood said she couldn’t have guided her team without the support staff around her.

She was quick to thank her assistant coaches, Bec McIntyre and Kelly Walker, for their support.

“I felt like we were super prepared for every game. Everyone who was involved in this team did a terrific job.

“Emma our team manager, Winnie our physio and, of course, our families who helped us get here.”

The efforts of South Australia can’t be downplayed either in what was a rollercoaster decider.

When the margin appeared to be blowing out midway through the third quarter, they launched a mighty comeback to close the margin to eight.

Unfortunately for them they ran into a determined Harvey in the last.

But Wood was quick to sing the praises of her side’s opposition.

“SA have been brilliant all week,” she said.

“They just play great team basketball, anyone can step up, you just don’t know who it could be.

“They’re deadly from the three-point line, so you’ve really got to respect that.”

‘I’M PROUD OF THEM’: VICS KICK OFF HUGE DAY IN STYLE

Gold medals mean everything in sport.

But there’s something about Victoria’s Ivor Burge Women’s victory which carries a bit more significance.

On the court, the Vics have been dominant – posting some huge scores throughout the week.

So much so, online trolls targeted the team’s wins – accusing results of not being in the spirit of the game.

When it came to the gold medal came against NSW, they saved their best performance for last with a 72-50 win.

Victoria celebrate their women's IB Cup win

It came as the players rose above the keyboard warriors just sitting in front of a screen.

“I just said to the girls, everything we’ve gone through and everything I’ve wanted them to work on, I’m proud of how they’ve handled it,” coach Emily Attard said.

“We’ve strived on playing a fast game but also having poise when we’ve needed it as well. I think we were able to do that on both ends of the court today.”

One of those to produce a stunning performance was Mia Wilson.

She finished with an equal game-high 15 points alongside teammate Montana Haag and seven steals.

Wilson kept the momentum in her side’s favour with a brilliant ability to read the passing lanes.

“Her nickname is Mini but she’s been anything but that on the court,” Attard said.

Montana Haag was one of the stars of the show.

“She has a huge presence and the way she reads the ball and is able to get out on the fast break is amazing.

“And it was even more important she managed to finish some of those chances.”

While she was thrilled to have a gold medal to her name as coach, Attard said the tournament had been more about continuing to build relationships with her players.

“I’ve actually got goosebumps right now,” she said.

“The girls mean so much to me. Just being able to work with them, get them on court and have an amazing time.

“The championship with these girls means so much.”

And as the players now prepare to return back to local basketball, you can be assured the Vics will be back to defend their title next year.

“They’ll all go back to their own respective clubs but we’ll continue working hard with Basketball Victoria to keep the program up and running,” Attard said.

“We’re always looking for ways to keep improving and doing that together.”

TASSIE CELEBRATES HUGE WEEK IN STYLE

Two bronze medals are coming back to Tassie from the Under-20 and Ivor Burge Championships.

The under-20 men’s team secured their medal with a thrilling four-point win over South Australia on Sunday afternoon in Ballarat.

Kye Savage (29 points) and Jacob Furphy (26) shot the lights out to lead Tassie to a third place finish after an impressive week of competition.

A brilliant opening term put Tassie on the front foot before they were able to withhold the fast-finishing South Australians, after leading by as many as 19 points.

Furphy wasn’t just a scorer either as he finished the encounter with a triple double including 15 rebounds and 12 assists.

Aiden Gibson also played some important minutes for Tassie with 14 points, well above his tournament of nine, and eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, in the Ivor Burge Men’s game, Brayden Cowell was sensational in leading his side to a 87-61 win over New South Wales.

He posted a video game like statline of 24 points, 17 rebounds, 14 assists and six steals.

Bailey Menzies was also an important factor on the offensive end with 24 points of his own.

The third term was pivotal for Tassie after they scored 32-13.

Deegan Campbell had a nice game on the defensive end with nine steals as Todd Adams had five blocks.

INJURED JUFFERMANS STILL PART OF BRONZE CELEBRATIONS

Isla Juffermans couldn't play but was still part of the celebrations.

New South Wales has overcome the loss of star Isla Juffermans in Saturday’s semi-final to finish the tournament on a high and a bronze medal.

Juffermans injured her knee in the 81-76 final four defeat to Victoria but was on hand to watch the 2023 champions produce an impressive 81-67 win over Queensland.

Caitlyn Martin produced an impressive performance with 20 points, four assists and four rebounds.

Dylan Alexander (18 points), Emilie Bessell (10) and Opal Bird (10) also added some scoring punch.

Hilary Fuller finished as the leading scorer for Queensland with 20.

Originally published as Basketball Australia U20's & Ivor Burge National Championships live blog - Day 6