The 2014 City of Mount Gambier Junior Basketball Tournament conducted last weekend has been rated as the best in Country SA. Praise and positive comments flowed in from the visiting Associations during presentations on Sunday afternoon.

 Special mention was made of the professional manner in which the weekend was organised, the consequent smooth running of the competitions and the “blue ribbon” hospitality extended to the several thousand people involved in the Tournament. The manager of one of Mount Gambier’s food venues described the City as buzzing with capacity meal bookings

Highlights of Basketball Mount Gambier’s premier event include the magnificent efforts of the many dedicated volunteers, who gave countless hours in preparation and during the weekend and the impressive playing standards especially in the younger boys’ age groups. Two teams from the strong Adelaide District Club Forestville, were successful in the Under 16 Boys Division 1 and 2 competitions, setting the bench mark in terms of playing standards.   

The 2014 Tournament proved to be the biggest ever in Country SA in terms of numbers of competing teams. One hundred and fourteen teams from 15 Associations competed in 23 divisions of the Under 12 through to Under 18 Boys and Girls age groups. More than 260 games were played at 10 courts at venues within the City to decide the winner in each division.

The assistance and support of the City of Mount Gambier and local business houses also played a critical part in this success. The willingness of Schools to make their Gymnasiums available reflects the support of the community to this major annual sporting event.

Another highlight of the weekend was the overall performances of the Lakers Junior teams.

The Lakers won five of the Division 1 titles; Under 18 Men and Women, Under 16 and 14 Girls and Under 12 Boys Black.  

The Lakers Under 18 Men’s Division 1 team finished the weekend undefeated. They met Eastern Hills in the final and found the assignment much tougher than in their minor round clash when the Lakers won comfortably, 63-32. At three quarter time in the final the Lakers led by just one point, 30-29. The Lakers extended the margin to 17 in a “barnstorming finish”, led by SA Country squad member, Brad Rathjen.

The Lakers Under 18 Women were the class side in the Division 1 competition. They easily accounted for their five opponents in the minor rounds and then kept their winning record    intact by scoring a 56-29 final win against Millicent. Rachael Hines, Tenille Gray, and Brenna McKay were the consistent scorers in a most impressive performance.

The Lakers Under 16 Girls Division 1 team also maintained its unbeaten Tournament record by defeating Murray Bridge 35-30 in the final. This result was however very different to that of the minor round when the margin was 20 plus points. The Lakers started well only to see Murray Bridge lead by 2 at the main break. The Lakers then regained the lead to 24-20 with a solid team effort in the third quarter and extended it by one on the final siren.

Tenacious efforts by Strathalbyn forced the Lakers Under 14 Girls Division 1 team into overtime for a grand final result. A mere two points separated the sides at three quarter time and then Strathalbyn levelled the scores at the end of regulation time. Timely baskets by Emily Close and Manon Finch led the Lakers to a 5 point win.

The Lakers Under 12 Boys Division 1 team showed obvious benefits from their training sessions over the past several weeks. They won their four minor round games and then went on to defeat Strathalbyn, 36-29, in the final after going down by a double figure margin to Strathalbyn at the Murray Bridge Tournament last month. Sam Lock was the consistent scorer in this somewhat unexpected win.         

Two other Lakers teams played in grand finals. The Under 16 Girls Division 2 side went down to Hamilton 21-31 and the Under 14 Boys Division 2 team showed how much they have improved since the Millicent Tournament by losing the final to a bigger and stronger Bordertown 36-41 after being easily beaten by Bordertown in Millicent.

Many of the competing Associations have already made bookings for the 2015 Tournament, which will be conducted over the weekend of November 21^st and 22^nd.