Ultimate form guide for Basketball Queensland Under-18 State Championship
Queensland’s best talent hits the Gold Coast today for the under-18 state championships as we give the ultimate form guide for the first major tournament of 2023.
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The first state championship tournament tips-off today with Queensland’s best under-18s talent going head-to-head all the aim of taking home a gold medal.
And after revealing the top players to watch in the division one tournament, we have put together a form guide for each team after their respective regular season competitions.
Whether teams are coming into the tournament at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre on the back of recent SQJBC, NQJBC or CQJBC titles or sides are looking to bounce back after losses during the regular season – see what’s happened for each team leading into this week.
FORM GUIDE – U18 BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
POOL A
BRISBANE CAPITALS GOLD
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 1st (14 wins, 0 losses)
A star-studded Brisbane side were the benchmark throughout the Premier League season, going undefeated and having so much depth, which proved too much for opposition teams to cover with the likes of Roman Siulepa, Cooper Rowlings, Daniel Graham, Emerson Juhasz and more starring for the Capitals.
No one came within 25 points of Brisbane during the finals, with the team from Auchenflower earning big victories over Southern Districts and Gold Coast to complete their undefeated season and carry a mountain of momentum into this week’s tournament.
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS 1
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 3rd (10 wins, four losses)
Even though Northside were without star guard Lebron Brooks for much of the regular season, they still had a successful SQJBC competition, finishing second on the ladder heading into the semi-finals, where they fell to the Gold Coast Rollers.
But the Wizards are the defending champions in this age group and welcome back big man Rocco Zikarsky for the tournament, where they will go in as one of the favourites to take home another gold medal.
REDCITY ROAR
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 7th (Three wins, 11 losses)
Featuring mostly bottom age players, Redcity showed positive signs throughout the regular season, pushing top teams such as Southern Districts and Gold Coast all the way but just falling short.
But this team has big tournament experience after making it all the way to the under-16 state championship grand final last year, so the Roar maybe able to draw on that experience to put it all together this week.
ROCKHAMPTON ROCKETS
Regular season competition – CQJBC
Finish – 1st (14 wins, 0 losses)
The Rockets were never really challenged during the central Queensland competition, going undefeated to roll through their opponents and travel south for the state championships with a bunch of confidence.
But the question will be, can the Rockets keep it up against the tougher opposition from the south and north Queensland competitions.
TOOWOOMBA MOUNTAINEERS
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 5th (Seven wins, seven losses)
The Toowoomba Mountaineers just missed out on a semi-finals appearance after losing the head-to-head split against the Southern Districts Spartans after both teams finished the regular season at .500.
But led by Samuel Geu and James Nugent, Toowoomba showed they can match it with anyone on their day and are a dangerous match-up heading into the state championships.
TOWNSVILLE HEAT
Regular season competition – NQJBC
Finish – 2nd (Eight wins, four losses)
Townsville may have finished second in the top of the north competition behind the Cairns Marlins but they also ended the competition with two straight wins over their rivals to head into the state championships in red-hot form.
Their only losses came against the Marlins but the Heat continued to improve and will look to show that improvement on the Gold Coast this week.
POOL B
CAIRNS MARLINS
Regular season competition – NQJBC
Finish – 1st (10 wins, two losses)
Cairns dominated the top of the north competition, easily taking first place with the likes of Tyson Crees and Travis Drinnan leading the way.
The Marlins were undefeated until the last round of the season, where they lost two games to northern rivals, the Townsville Heat.
GOLD COAST ROLLERS
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – Runners-up (10 wins, four losses, lost in GF to Brisbane Capitals)
With many bottom-age players in their side, Gold Coast had a successful SQJBC Premier League season, dropping just four games along the way and earning a huge win over the Northside Wizards in the semi-final.
They may have lost the final to the powerhouse Brisbane side but the Rollers will be better for the experience heading into a home state championship tournament.
MACKAY METEORS
Regular season competition – NQJBC
Finish – 3rd (0 wins, 12 losses)
Going up against two tough Cairns and Townsville teams in the regular season, the Meteors found it tough, finishing the competition without a victory.
However, there were signs of improvement throughout the season and if they can put it together at the tournament the Meteors could earn themselves a breakthrough win at the state championships.
SWM PIRATES
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 6th (Three wins, 11 losses)
Despite some inconsistent performances throughout the SQJBC competition, South West Metro finished their campaign on a high after a victory over the Redcity Roar.
Their only other two wins came against Northside 2, who won’t be competing in division one at the state championships, but the Pirates did show some good signs during the season, including a close four-point loss to runners-up, Gold Coast.
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 4th (Seven wins, seven losses)
Fighting through some injuries to several key players, the Southern Districts Spartans still performed well during the regular season, splitting their games to scrape into the top four and earn a semi-finals spot.
The Spartans gave the Capitals a run in the grand final qualifier as well until the talented Brisbane side pulled away with a 100-74 win.
SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX
Regular season competition – SQJBC (Division 2)
Finish – 1st (14 wins, 0 losses)
The Sunshine Coast Phoenix simply dominated the division two competition, going through undefeated and beating their cross-town rivals, the Sunshine Coast Rip 95-84 in the grand final to take home a gold medal.
More importantly, the Phoenix won their crossover challenge, moving up and booking their spot in the division one tournament for the state championships, where they can test themselves against tougher opposition.
FORM GUIDE – U18 GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
POOL A
GOLD COAST ROLLERS
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 3rd (10 wins, four losses)
As always, the Gold Coast Rollers are one of the top teams in this age group and the SQJBC competition showed no different as they finished second heading into the finals before falling to the Brisbane Capitals in the semi-final.
But with only five losses against their name heading into the state championships and boasting a team full of talent, the Rollers will be a team to watch this week.
LOGAN THUNDER
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 1st (14 wins, 0 losses)
The regular season was a challenge for the Thunder after injuries to several key players gave the chance for other teams to make a push to beat the Thunder for the SQJBC gold medal.
But Logan were able to fight off these challenges, led by the likes of Sharni Reisinger, Alleah Hanson, Jess Smith and more to go undefeated and earn a hardfought victory over a tough Brisbane Capitals side in the grand final.
And the Thunder could be boosted by several returns at the state championships.
ROCKHAMPTON CYCLONES
Regular season competition – CQJBC
Finish – 1st (12 wins, 0 losses)
The same as their boys team, Rockhampton dominated the central Queensland competition to roll through undefeated and lift their confidence heading into the state championships.
But as mentioned earlier, can the Cyclones repeat those performances against the tougher opposition from north and south Queensland?
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS SPARTANS
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 5th (Seven wins, seven losses)
The Spartans had some inconsistent performances throughout the regular season but showed glimpses of potentially being a top four side if they can put it all together.
Led by the league’s top scorer in Alice Dart, Southern Districts could pose a big threat to teams at this week’s tournament if they can fight off the inconsistencies from SQJBC.
SUNSHINE COAST PHOENIX
Regular season competition – SQJBC (Division 2)
Finish – 1st (14 wins, 0 losses)
Just like the Phoenix boys team, Sunshine Coast started this season off in division two, where they dominated the competition, going through undefeated and taking home the SQJBC gold medal after a 57-44 win over their rivals, the Sunshine Coast Rip.
There’s no doubt the Phoenix go into this week’s tournament with confidence as they sit without a loss but the state championships will be a massive test as they go up against tougher opposition.
TOWNSVILLE FLAMES
Regular season competition – NQJBC
Finish – 2nd (Seven wins, five losses)
In a tough northern competition, the Townsville Flames showed just how damaging they can be at times, beating the talented Cairns Dolphins for second spot and even earning a victory over the powerhouse Mackay Meteorettes in the first round.
With Mackay being one of the favourites to take out the gold medal, the Flames will have the confidence they can beat anyone on their day at the tournament.
POOL B
BRISBANE CAPITALS
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 2nd (Runners-up, lost to Logan in the GF)
The team who showed they could really match it with the Logan Thunder was the Brisbane Capitals, with the team recording several single-digit losses to the team which has dominated this age group for years.
Led by Hilary Fuller, the Capitals will be looking to build on their impressive regular season but face a tough challenge in a pool full of strong teams.
CAIRNS DOLPHINS
Regular season competition – NQJBC
Finish – 3rd (Six wins, six losses)
They may have fell to third in the top of the north competition but the Dolphins are a team full of rising stars in Queensland basketball, who will look to rebound from the regular season finish to perform better at the state championships.
Cairns are led by young gun and top-age guard Tayahna Bond and aside from her, the Dolphins are full of players, who took the club all the way to the under-16 grand final last season and will look to draw on that experience this week.
MACKAY METEORETTES
Regular season competition – NQJBC
Finish – 1st (11 wins, one loss)
The joint favourites for the state championships, alongside the Logan Thunder, are the Mackay Meteorettes who have been one of the best sides for years in this age group with a team which has stuck together since under-12s.
Featuring stars such as Monique Bobongie, Mackay will be full of confidence after an impressive NQJBC season, where they finished top and only dropped one game to Townsville in the opening round.
NORTHSIDE WIZARDS
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 6th (Four wins, 10 losses)
Despite missing out on challenging for the top four, the Northside Wizards showed signs they could compete with some of the toughest teams going around during the regular season.
The Wizards, who recorded four wins, fought hard against teams such as Southern Districts and South West Metro, which will provide them with some belief going into the state championships.
SWM PIRATES
Regular season competition – SQJBC
Finish – 4th (Nine wins, five losses)
A bit of a surprise packet during the regular season was the South West Metro Pirates, who recorded nine wins to book a spot in the semi-finals before pushing the Logan Thunder all the way to just miss out on a grand finals appearance.
Their impressive SQJBC campaign will give the Pirates confidence, which they will need in a tough Pool B.
SUNSHINE COAST RIP
Regular season competition – SQJBC (Division 2)
Finish – 2nd (11 wins, three losses, lost to SC Phoenix in the GF)
Continuing the trend of Sunshine Coast teams stepping up to division one for the state championships is the Sunshine Coast Rip, who impressed during the SQJBC division two regular season, recording just three losses and falling short against the Phoenix in the grand final.
But the Rip will look to build on their performances against tougher opponents and in a tough pool on the Gold Coast this week.
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Originally published as Ultimate form guide for Basketball Queensland Under-18 State Championship
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