Live stream: Victoria Country look to make statement at Basketball Australia U16 National Championships

Bendigo is hosting the BA U16 Nationals for the first time and Victoria Country are determined to make the most of the honour. See them LIVE in back-to-back games on Saturday, July 6.

Victoria Country are relishing the chance to make an early statement before their rivals even hit the court at the Basketball Australia U16 National Championships.

Playing in front of home fans at Bendigo’s Red Energy Arena, the two Vic Country teams open the tournament with back-to-back games against NSW Country (girls) and Tasmania (boys) on Saturday, July 6.

It’s a great opportunity to get the jump on the rest of the competition, with the first full day of action not until the following day.

Catch all the action from the week-long championships on three courts LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV. That’s over 100 games.

Check out the full LIVE STREAM schedule below.

It’s the first time since Geelong was the venue the 2014 event that Victoria Country have had the honour of hosting and both teams have high hopes of securing a medal.

The boys edged out South Australia Metro in a thrilling battle for fifth spot while the girls finished sixth, losing to Queensland South in their playoff.

“We’ve been speaking about how it’s our home tournament,” boys coach James McKinnon said.

“We played Vic Metro a couple of weeks ago for our jersey presentation.

“We emphasised that this is our home court, this is our home tournament.

“Not only do we want to get the result we are after, but we also want to put on a show for all the Vic Country fans.”

Importantly, both sides also have a Bendigo presence, with Lexie Fennell picked for the girls and Nicholas Harvey and Max Connick picked for the boys.

“I think that’s super important,” McKinnon said.

“It’s beneficial having both Max and Nick as our Bendigo products.

Jada Button will be a key player for Victoria Country.

“(It’s) a point of difference in our team.”

McKinnon said all 12 members of the team will be vital to their success.

“All of them are going to play different roles,” he said.

“Some may play minutes one game, some may not.”

But two will be pivotal to their success.

Traralgon’s William Hamilton and Sunbury’s Christian Beecroft, who is the captain, are primed for a big tournaments.

“He’ll (Will) be a quality product,” McKinnon said.

“He’s six foot four, looks bigger than most of the NBL One players.

“His ability to play both sides of the ball will be huge at the national.

“(With Christian), he’s our captain and will stand up and lead us from the front in the point guard position.

“Then there’s a couple of boys in that second unit who are going to step up and help the team as well.

TEAMS

UNDER-16 BOYS

Christian Beecroft, Joseph Buckle, Lucas Byrne, Oliver Cape, Max Connick, Riley Dilges, William Hamilton, Nicholas Harvey, Lenny Maxwell, Zacharie Morrell, Dashiell Smith, Jacob Stefek

UNDER-16 GIRLS

Marley Alimpic, Eliza Ashby, Georgia Baensch, Ayisha Balogun, Jada Button, Lexie Fennell, Ruby Mewett, Elise Napier, Charlotte Ogier, Amily Smith, Willow Smith, Neve Terpstra

Originally published as Live stream: Victoria Country look to make statement at Basketball Australia U16 National Championships