Toowoomba Mountaineers take silver medal in under-12 state titles

A Toowoomba Mountaineers under-12 side put their best foot forward with a stellar performance at the state titles this week. See where they finished here.

Under 12 State titles action between Toowoomba Mountaineers and Gold Coast. Picture: Basketball Queensland.

The Toowoomba Mountaineers Division 5 under-12 side took Queensland by storm this week as it put in a scintillating performance on the way to a silver medal at the Basketball Queensland state titles.

The side – which had only two players with state titles experience and players as young as nine years old defied the odds in a stellar run to the final before falling just three points short of the Ipswich Force in the gold medal clash.

“We had our ability to win and we just couldn’t convert the win but massive props to the boys, they lost to that Ipswich team by about 36 (points) two days earlier,” coach Lachlan Hunter said.

Toowoomba Mountaineers players with their silver medals after the 2024 under-12 boys state titles.

“We played the winner of the other pool and we beat them, it was a close game, we were down 10 early in the semi and then it felt like we were playing from behind in this game (grand final) the whole way.

“We got up a couple of times but it was within a couple of shots the whole game.”

With such a stark contrast between the pool game and gold medal clash between the two sides, Hunter revealed the keys to the sudden turnaround.

“More experience – they were more ready for that team the second time,” he said.

“We had a game plan and they actually delivered the game plan perfectly so that put us into a position to try and win the game.

“We did what we needed to do in defence, we knew what we needed to do in offence and what we needed to change and we changed it and it made all the difference.”

With all but two players making their state titles debut, Hunter was impressed by the way his side performed despite their minimal experience.

“It is a lot for these boys, especially the nine year olds, it’s a lot for them to play so many games in four days and the games are all hard, there’s no easy games,” he said.

“These are the best kids from the state all playing against each other, there’s nothing easy and every game they lifted and lifted and lifted.

“The first year boys they did awesome and the two experienced boys, they just led from the front.

The 2024 Toowoomba Mountaineers under-12 Division 5 side

“They ended up being the two top scorers for the division.

“That extra year has really helped them and then next year when these younger boys come back, they’re going to be so much more ready for both the regular season and the state titles.

“They are ready for the reps, they are ready for the fact that reps are different between games.”

Andrew Hunter and Logan Doyle were sensational for the Mountaineers, combining for 87 points in the finals and 120 points in the pool stage.

With the boys’ state titles held in Toowoomba, Hunter said it was a massive boost for his players as they could finally have a normal preparation before games, as opposed to their regular season where every game was away.

“(It was) amazing, to be able to eat at your normal eating spots and even go home between games would have been just amazing for the boys,” he said.

“Just having their crowd there as well, we got a really big crowd and the crowd were really supportive in the semi-final and the final.

“We played two teams that are close so Gold Coast and Ipswich and they all brought their big crowds as well so it was a massive atmosphere with the crowd and everything, we couldn’t even hear the sirens going off at the end of quarters.”

While they were initially stunned by the vocal crowd, Hunter said the Mountaineers thrived under the intense finals atmosphere.

“Initially in the semi final they were a bit almost put off because they are not used to playing with that much noise and having someone else cheer against you,” he said.

“But after probably half a game they got used to it and they really got into the fact that they’d get cheered along.

“The boys on the sidelines would get right into it as well.

“It has been a really positive improvement for the boys, they’re a team of brothers these boys so they’ve got each others’ backs.”