Live stream: Lake Ginninderra aiming high at 2023 Basketball Australia Schools Championships

The school from the nation’s capital was back to their dominant best in 2022. Now they return to the Gold Coast with a point a prove. Catch five days from the BA Schools Championships LIVE.

The pressure is on Lake Ginninderra to repeat their historic double success from the 2022 Basketball Australia Schools Championships.

But rather than ignore all the hype and build up surrounding such a momentous achievement, the proud school from the nation’s capital is embracing the weight of expectation.

Lake Ginninderra College took out the men’s and women’s Championship events at last year’s tournament on the Gold Coast, the first time in more than two decades.

They return to the Gold Coast with a point to prove this month.

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See every match from the Championship division streamed LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV from November 27 to December 1.

The school has a proud history in the competition and has an alumni list that includes Australian basketball’s biggest names, from Andrew Gaze to Josh Giddey.

It would be enough to pile the nerves on any player, but the school’s director of basketball, Chris Jones, said the teams are ready to impress.

“I know the girls are definitely up for the challenge,” Jones said.

The successful Lake Ginninderra College girls team from 2022.

“We have three players returning from last year’s champion side, they are hungry to go back-to-back.

“We have struggled in the girls space for the past 20 years, so it has been really good to put together a strong, balanced squad that we have been able to keep together.”

The Lake Ginninderra squads have always been well supported by the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence, with athletes who have relocated to Canberra encouraged to join the school in the nation’s capital.

But it can be a blessing and a curse.

Jones admitted they didn’t get access to their CoE athletes until late in the third term, meaning their preparation as a full squad would be much shorter than rival schools in the Championship divisions.

“Our system, it is pretty relaxed,” Jones said.

“It is not strenuous, especially for those girls from the CoE program. We don’t do too much with our team. We let the kids go off and do what they need to do in their individual programs, then we bring them together in term four for that late run into this tournament.

“In fairness what we do is not looking at skill development or the fundamentals. We know our players have that. What we focus on is how we bring all that together as a team and the plans we want to have in place. Finding a strategy that will benefit the squad as a whole.”

The CoE athletes in the Lake Ginninderra squads this year include Tasmanian sensation Rubi Gray, Opal Bird, NBA Global Academy guard Josh Dent and towering NSW wing James O’Donnell.

Check out the Championship teams below.

Originally published as Live stream: Lake Ginninderra aiming high at 2023 Basketball Australia Schools Championships