Live Blog: News from Basketball Australia Under-20 and Ivor Burge National Championships, Day 6 (U20's & Ivor Burge National Championships)
It has been 22 long years, but a pair of Baby Boomers have brought WA’s title drought to a comprehensive end. Follow along with our grand final day blog.
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Western Australian stars Alex Condon and Ben Henshall might have the biggest weeks of their life ahead of them but it’s all about team success.
After being named as train-on players in the Boomers squad for the upcoming World Chup qualifiers, the pair played a starring role to lead their state to under-20 men’s glory at the national championships in Geelong.
Both had 24 points apiece in the gold medal game as they showcased why they’re among the country’s best basketball prospects.
Despite looking ahead to the national team opportunity, they preferred to make it about the WA side they just experienced success with.
“It will be good to get a hit out with the older boys, we’re going to learn a lot from them,” Henshall said.
“But at the moment, I’m just living in the moment, taking one thing at a time starting with this win.
“It’s a special group to be a part of. We all get along off the court and that really helps us transfer it on the court.
“We do everything together. It has been a really fun week to spend together.
“It’s a moment we’re never going to forget.”
Condon was equal in his praise for his teammates.
“We’ve got a big week ahead but it doesn’t stop here,” he said.
“We’re going to keep working hard.”
The gold medal performance was arguably WA’s best performance of the season, dominating the contest from start to finish.
According to Condon, his side be able to flick the switch on the offensive end proved pivotal.
“We struggled to shoot the ball all tournament, we had a real emphasis on defence,” he said.
“But it all just came together in that last game. We play as a team, we’ve got each other’s backs and we all play for our coach ‘Coops’ (Andrew Cooper).
“I enjoyed the battle with Jimmy (James O’Donnell) today, we face each other at the CoE (Centre of Excellence) and we’re good mates off the court. It was a shame Josh Dent couldn’t get out there either because he’s also a good mate of mine.”
Henshall believes WA had been building to produce the type of performance in the gold medal game.
Especially after surviving a major scare against a plucky Victoria in the semi-final on Saturday afternoon.
“We haven’t been playing our best all week and we knew we were going to be able to step it up a gear when we had to,” he said.
“Tonight I think we showed we were the best team here and we managed to get on top early.
“It was unfortunate Josh Dent was out and we didn’t get their full strength team but it is what it is.”
The pair were also quick to praise their coach Andrew Cooper who calmly led the West Aussies to victory.
“We’ve had a few tough years and we didn’t get to have him at the last 20s and we struggled a bit,” he said.
“It just shows you how good of a coach he is and we just thrive under him.”
NSW women make diamonds under pressure
It’s funny what emotions a pressure release brings out in sport – just ask NSW young gun Carla Pitman.
After her second three in a matter of minutes hit the bottom of the net late in the gold medal game against Victoria, she was far from her calm and collected self.
Victoria called timeout trying to figure out a way back into the contest.
The free scoring Pitman let out a roar knowing the Blues had the gold medal in their grasp.
They eventually held on to win 71-61 with Pitman scoring 14 final quarter points, including her side’s last nine points.
“I was so gassed because earlier in the game I was air balling, I wasn’t shooting well at all,” she said post-match.
“To bring it back at the end was really good – I screamed, I never scream but I was that excited I just couldn’t help it.”
The Tommy Garlepp NSW side were forced to overcome an early deficit after Victoria raced out of the blocks thanks to some hot shooting from Paige Burrows.
But Pitman said the Blues were never going to stop believing.
“We didn’t start as well as we would have liked but our team has always said we’re together and we’re going to fight for absolutely everything,” she said.
“We wanted to be the team that fought hardest for every loose ball. And if we’re doing that we’re always going to give ourselves a chance to come out on top at the end.
NSW captain Felicity Henderson was quick to sing the praises of her teammates of her teammates who regularly stepped up when called upon.
Emma Donnelly was a fire starter off the bench with 24 points.
“We’re a great bunch of girls,” she said.
“I never feel like I have to captain them because everyone on this team comes across as a leader.
“We work really well together as a team so it’s honestly great to be able to lead them on and off the court.”
Henderson also credited the NSW supporters who made plenty of noise throughout the contest.
“We have the best supporters, we just want to thank them because we wouldn’t have been able to get here without them,” she said.
“They’ve always been behind us even when we’ve had our tough losses and our setbacks. They’ve always been there, and we’ve always been able to bounce back.
Pitman said every bit of support counted in the gold medal success.
“We have girls from other teams watching us at home and you see all the support and it’s just great,” she said.
“I love it. I always watch the nationals when I’m not playing and it’s just great to see everyone watching us at home as well.”
Victoria’s leading ladies overcome obstacles
Throw countless challenges at Victoria’s Ivor Burge women’s team and they’ll just keep getting back up.
And they’ve got the perfect prize to show for it.
A gold medal.
The Vics completed their rollercoaster campaign with a 15-4 victory over New South Wales in the decider on Sunday morning.
In a tough and physical contest, the Vics built an early lead and never looked back.
A strong presence on the boards was the perfect foil to allow clean opportunities to attack back the other way.
The physicality was just the latest challenge Victoria had to embrace.
Previously it was the change to three-on-three basketball with the game’s governing body looking ahead to the World Cup in Paris later this year.
Victorian coach Emily Attard said she was proud of how her side had handled themselves.
“The girls have worked so hard and I’m so proud of them, every week they’re putting in the work to get better,” she said.
“With all the challenges they’ve had in the past week and even leading up to the tournament, I’m really proud of how they’ve handled all of those.
“They’ve just knuckled down and put in all the hard work to get the job done.
“It wasn’t too long ago that we got told that it was three-on-three and we thought ‘what do we do?’ But we were able to work through that as a team and transfer our skills to this format.
“We made sure the girls format was set for three-on-three, which was the biggest thing for us to do in the end.”
Victoria entered two teams at this week’s championships and while the second side – Navy – didn’t reach a medal game Attard praised the strength of the state’s program.
“We’re lucky enough to have two really strong teams,” she said.
“And we just find that our white team really challenges our navy team. So we’re able to work really closely with both of them.”
The grand finals burning questions
With a massive grand final day on the cards at the Basketball Australia Under-20 and Ivor Burge National Championships, Mick Randall asks the burning questions ahead of the two major gold medal games.
Use the link below to make sure you don’t miss a minute of the gold medal action.
WOMEN’S U20 GOLD MEDAL GAME
VICTORIA v NSW
CAN SHE BE STOPPED TWICE?
The key to Victoria’s pool game win over NSW was clear - stop Isla Juffermans at all costs. They did that with a concerted effort to get her into foul trouble and deny her the ball, throwing towering Southside Flyer development player Holly Griffiths and powerful Bendigo Spirit DP Erin Condron at the NSW superstar, along with a steady dose of double teams. It’ll happen again, but expect Blues coach Tom Garlepp to be ready for it. The tournament standout’s ability to overcome the Vics’ plan will be key in deciding the title and, perhaps, the tournament MVP. It’s going to be so much harder for them, given The Big Juff is coming off a monstrous 21-point, 19-rebound effort in her side’s semi final win over Queensland.
SURVIVING SOPHIE
It was such a shame to see Sophie Burrows hobbling around on crutches after she suffered bone bruising to her right knee earlier in the tournament. She’s off the court for at least a month and it could prove to be a huge loss for the Victorians, given the Melbourne Boomers WNBL development player was key in the Vics’ 72-67 pool game win over NSW, pouring in 23 points to go with 8 rebounds. That’s a huge scoring gap to fill.
DYANI-MITE
A unique person and player, Dyani Ananiev is one of those kids who just loves hooping. She says she hates getting asked to describe her game, but it was easy to see she has a huge bag of tricks as she torched NSW for 28 points in that win. She’s been the Vics’ go-to girl among a number of talented scorers, leading the way with 15.5 points per game and produced an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in the semi-final win over WA. Add a tournament-high 4.17 steals per contest and she’s the match up nightmare that will give NSW fits.
UNDEFEATED CHAMPS?
The Vics are the only team yet to drop a game in the tournament and there’s a reason for that. They have six players on WNBL rosters, a number of them having already committed to college programs in the US. They’re so smart and talented. But they cannot underestimate a NSW side that has the advantage of playing together throughout the age groups in the national championships. Carla Pitman, Felicity Henderson and Emily Foy are all elite talents with the ability to swing a game by themselves. Henderson, who leads the tournament in assists, had a near-triple-double in the semi win over Queensland with 15-11-8. It’s the match up neutral basketball fans absolutely wanted to see in the decider.
BOYS U20 GOLD MEDAL GAME
WESTERN AUSTRALIA v NSW
WILL JOSH DENT PLAY?
It’s the big question of the grand final. The best point guard in the tournament and the orchestrator of NSW success. They survived without the brother of Illawarra Hawks development player Lachlan Dent after he went down with a shoulder injury in the semi, but can they cover the key man’s absence against the might of WA? If they do, Isaac Ayoubi might be the hero again after he stepped in with 18 points and five dimes in the semi final win over Queensland.
DEFENSIVE CHOPS
It’s no coincidence the two best defensive teams in the tournament are in the grand final. Just look at the NBL, where the four remaining playoff teams were the top-four in defensive rating across the season. The difference here is these two teams are No.1 and No.2 in offence, so whichever sits down and defends for the bigger chunk of 40 minutes probably wins.
BOOMER PEDIGREE
Ben Henshall celebrated his Aussie training squad call up with the fifth-highest scoring average in the tournament at 18.71 per game - he gets to the free throw line with ease and almost never misses - 33 of 36 across the week. He’s a genuine weapon in almost every facet of the game, whether he’s hitting the glass, finding teammates or pilfering the pill from unsuspecting opponents. Add his mate Alex Condon’s 16 and 9 and you have a pair of guys with the ability to rip a game away from you. Just ask the Vics, who copped a combined 43 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in their overtime semi final.
EVEN STEVENS
NSW had six players in double digits in their semi final win over Queensland and that’s what this unselfish unit has done throughout the tournament. James O’Donnell has had a sensational tournament, pouring in nearly 19 points a game to go with almost 10 rebounds but outside of him, they’ve taken it in turns stepping up, and enjoyed an even spread of scorers. Who will be the hero against WA?
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