This event was held at the Starplex stadium, Gawler between the April 18 and 25.

The Championships saw 28 Men’s & Women’s Metropolitan and Country based teams represent all states and territories of Australia including teams from New Zealand. The South Australian Country men’s team was this year made up of players from Murray Bridge, Strathalbyn, Nairne, Victor Harbor, Whyalla, Port Pirie, Kadina & Willunga.

The week long tournament began with a game against Tasmania. SA Country got off to a strong start with good contributions from all players. The quick pace and physicality of the game was evident and at half time SA Country were trailing by 10 points, 28 to 38.

The second half continued to be a tightly fought affair with the game statistics showing that both teams had equal possession of the ball, however Tasmania’s superior shooting percentage and the individual brilliance of a player by the name of Hugh Greenwood (game high, 26 points), who would be named “Junior Australian player of the year” later in the week saw them pull away to an eventual comfortable win by 26 points, 92 to 66.

Day 2 saw SA Country get back onto its winning way with a convincing 34 point win over Queensland North. Jordan Hollitt got use to the pace of the game and quickly became both an offensive and defensive influence eventually scoring 12 points which included 2 three pointers. Jordan’s efforts rebounding were also a highlight of his game with a total of nine which was equal to the best individual effort of both teams. Jake Salter also contributed well getting into the key with a number of offensive rebounds and giving out a couple of excellent assists to keep the score board ticking over. SA Country’s team play was outstanding and they ran away to a convincing win.

Day 3 was a scheduled rest day for the team, resting up for a double header the next day.

Day 4 was to unfold as a “hard day at the office” with two games against two of the power houses of the competition. The first game of the day started early with a game against Victoria Country who would eventually become Bronze medallists at the conclusion of the tournament. SA Country got off to a slow start giving up a 20 point lead by quarter time. Victoria’s outstanding shooting guards and overall size and strength saw the team struggle to be able to contain them offensively. Jake Salter was thrown into the mix to block up the key with the use of a zone defence however the strength and skill of their “big” was hard to match and he individually went on to score 33 points and lead his team to a 27 point victory, 101 to 74.

The team didn’t have that much time to rest until they played Western Australia Metro later that evening. This game got off to a cracking pace with both teams quickly finding their shooting range and strong defensive efforts being the theme of the quarter, W.A Metro narrowly leading by 3 points at quarter time, 19 to 16. South Australia came out in the second quarter showing great desire and a raised physical presence in defence; however the skill and height advantage of their opposition saw them pull away to a comfortable 14 point lead at the half.

The second half saw SA Country show great determination, skill and desire as they wrestled their way back into the game through both great team work and some great individual efforts. The team outscored W.A by 7 points in the third quarter and continued to draw closer as they closed their opposition down with physical defence. Jordan Hollitt again showed his ability to play on both bigger and stronger opposition and with just 40 seconds remaining in the game SA Country came within 4 points. Unfortunately team fouls then saw W.A Metro being sent to the foul line on a number of occasions due to SA Country fouling them to stop the clock, eventually running out 11 point victors, 94 to 83.

Paul Salter had nothing but praise for the his teams efforts and the respect from the opposition was evident with the oppositions coaching and management staff making comment on the high standard game and the way in which SA Country had taken the game up to them.

The game also had a Murray Bridge hometown twist with Sam Le Gallou officiating in the game. Le Gallou showed professionalism throughout the game and throughout the tournament, proving his ability to officiate at the top level of his chosen sport.

SA Country’s next opponent was Northern Territory. The team got away to a strong start and was never headed leading by as many as 32 points midway through the third quarter. The game did however have a down side seeing three of the SA Country players suffering injuries including a dislocated thumb, blackened eye and bruised eye socket and a corky to the upper leg. The rest of the players stepped up playing additional minutes and contributing well. To Northern Territories credit they never gave up, fighting back in the last quarter only to lose by 17 points. Jake Salter contributed some good minutes throughout this game with consistent efforts rebounding.

Day 6 was always going to be a challenge, coming up against New South Wales Metro the team in our pool who were at that stage unbeaten with no one coming within 20 points of them. SA Country got off to what was probably one of our better starts for the tournament only trailing by 6 points, 15 to 21 at quarter time. Beyond then however the opposition placed incredible defensive pressure on us and we found it increasingly difficult to be able to score.

The most disappointing outcome of the game was the tournament ending injury Jordan Hollitt received when his knee was struck in play and he incurred a strained medial ligament. This added to the injury woes we already had from the previous day and saw two of our starters not taking part in the game. The teams overall effort was positive and we ended up losing 50 to 72 against the team that would eventually end the tournament with a silver medal.

The next day of the tournament was the cross-over of the pools where you begin positioning yourself for the final day’s play-off. The team came up against the Australian Capital Territory who was a tall athletic team. Unfortunately we got off to a slow start making a number of turnovers and missing shots from range.

The second quarter saw a fight-back that saw the half finish with SA Country only trailing by a point. SA Country looked like a different team in the third quarter, coming out full of run and hustle, streaming down the floor on fast breaks and placing the opposition under extreme pressure with half court trapping.

The team doubled A.C.T’s score in the quarter going on to score 36 points a record for the team for the tournament. The last quarter was almost a heart breaker as the ACT fought back and SA Country went back into its shell. Late in the quarter SA Country actually gave up the lead and inconsistent foul shooting all but lost the game. The last two minutes saw the lead seesaw and it was only with seconds to go that SA Country arrested the lead and went on to win by 2 points 81 to 79.

The last day of play saw SA County come up against Western Australia Country in the play-off for ninth and tenth place. SA Country looked a little like the walking wounded and unfortunately didn’t get off to a good start and trailed early with poor team play and multiple turnovers. We did however show the fighting spirit that had made us competitive earlier in the week and to the teams credit we had fought back to a one point lead at the half time siren.

The second half saw the team hang in with the opposition but unfortunately the shooting prowess and rebounding strength of W.A Country saw them pull away to a convincing 28 point win. This was the most disappointing end to all of our games where we had gained much respect from our opposition with our aggressive defence and competitive approach.

Murray Bridge’s two representatives should be very proud of their individual efforts. Jordan Hollitt, who was one of the captains, led his team on and off the court with both his individual skills and his great team ethic. Jordan’s efforts over the last two years representing the state have been outstanding.

Jake Salter as a bottom age athlete at this year’s tournament saw limited opportunities but took every opportunity with two hands and showed that he is capable to compete at this elite level and be a real contributor. He now has a year to train and put himself in a position to possibly represent the state again at this level.