LAKERS CONTINUE SUCCESSES IN MILLICENT JUNIOR TOURNAMENT
The Mount Gambier Junior Lakers continued their strong performances overall in both the Boys and Girls age groups in the Millicent Junior Basketball Tournament last weekend.
A contingent of 13 Lakers teams competed in the two day Tournament and eight teams played off in Grand Finals maintaining the standards set at the Murray Bridge Junior event earlier in the month when nine teams played off in title matches. Five of the eight were Lakers Division 1 teams and three Division 2. Three Division 1 teams were victorious, the Under 16 and 18 Women and Under 14 Boys, all following up on their wins in Murray Bridge.
The Lakers Under 14 Boys Division 1 team, coached by Robbie Young, set high standards in terms of team work at Murray Bridge and continued in Millicent posting five wins and then showed improved form to easily account for Warrnambool 56-34 after defeating them by one in the minor round.
The Lakers Under 18 Women Division 1 side, under the guidance of Bryan Green maintained their unbeaten record for this season by easily accounting for Great Southern, Portland and Naracoorte in the pool games, then went on to score comfortable win over Warrnambool in the semi-final and defeat Millicent in the grand Final.
The Lakers Under 16 Division 1 Girls with caretaker coaches Bryan Green and Melissa Rathjen in charge, finished in top place at the end of the minor rounds. They won three, defeating Millicent, Warrnambool and Great Southern. They drew against Portland after standout player Waiata Jennings was not available due to national Touch Football Commitments. In the rematch against Millicent in the Grand Final her team-mates, led by Emily Close, found that little bit extra and went on to win a close one, 41-35.
The Lakers Under 14 Girls and Under 18 Men Division 1 sides played well over the Tournament but lost narrowly in their respective grand finals. The Under 14 Girls went down to Millicent 34-50 in their opening game of the Tournament but then lost by just 3, 33-36 in the title game. This improved result was encouraging for the players and Coach Morgan Amy. Coach Kane deWit struggled to find the answers to Portland’s strength and consistency in the Under 18 Men’s Division 1 Grand Final as the Lakers were forced to play “catch up” basketball. Final scores were 47-39.
Three Lakers Division 2 sides played off in Grand Finals and each played the first teams of Associations. The Under 14 Girls lost to Bordertown, 25-31, the Under 14 Boys lost to Terang, 20-42, and Under 16 Girls lost to Riverland which had a player who represented SA Country at the Under 16 nationals suit up in their team.
The Lakers Under 16 Boys teams had a somewhat disappointing Tournament, the Division 1 side finished first in their pool but then lost the quarter final to fourth placed Forestville while the Division 2 team, in the stronger of the two divisions of competitions, found the going tough, winning one game 30-18 against Portland.
The Under 12 Girls and Boys, along with the Under 14 Boys, in their first Tournament outing, showed improvement from game to game and are gaining “hands on” experience at these higher levels.
The Junior Lakers squads will now be preparing for the home event, the City of Mount Gambier Junior Basketball Tournament, being played over the weekend of November 19th and 20th.
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