The Lakers Under 18 Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams had their outstanding on court performances rewarded with dual Division 1 Championship titles at the 2019 SA Country Junior Basketball Championships played in Adelaide last weekend. Both teams remained undefeated in their respective high standard competitions. The Lakers Men defeated arch rival Eastern Hills 59-49 and the Women overcame a determined Mildura 57-48.

Coaches Bryan Green and Matthew Berkefeld were thrilled with the successes and commended their players on their hard work and commitment throughout the season. The Lakers Men were not rated as one of the pre-Championship favourites but they made telling progress as the weekend unfolded to dominate the competition for the majority of minutes played. Coach Matt Berkefeld made a special mention of effective team work and determined defence being the base on which the wins were built. He commented that several players had been Lakers players for some years and had experienced more losses than wins and how pleasing it was to see these players in their final state event as juniors, come home with Championship rings.   

In contrast, the Lakers Women were declared favourites before the Championships began. Whilst they cruised through the regulation rounds and minor finals, they were placed under extreme pressure by a tenacious Mildura in the grand final. The pressure of being expected to win along with the opposition’s solid defensive work made life difficult for Coach Bryan Green and players. Green claimed that composure and self-belief shown late in the game eventually led to the Championship title.

From the first jump ball of the Women’s final, Mildura played with a typical tenacity and appeared to have answers to all the challenges thrown at them by the Lakers. At half time Mildura led 30-21. The Lakers, led by Emily Close and Keryl Ousey, managed to level the scores on 40 points at three quarter time. The Lakers eventually gained control and played with a level of confidence not seen in earlier minutes to record a 9- point win, 57-48. Top scorers in the final were Keryl Ousey with 16, Emily Close with 12, Sarah Nulty 9 and Emily Dawe 8. Claire Hunter, Mikaela Horrigan, Ellen Brown and Nikeisha Facey all contributed to this success.

Eastern Hills dominated the first quarter of the Men’s Under 18 Division 1 final and led 15-5. The Lakers then settled and gradually took control through the smart on court leadership of Ollie Thomson and solid defence to dominate in a 34-6 run. A Duncan Reid score had the score board showing 39-21 in the Lakers’ favour. Credit goes to Alex Jarnevic, who played relentless defence on Hills’ key player, Riley Smelt during this period. The third quarter closed on a three pointer by Ollie Thomson to make the scores 51-33. Thomson found the hoop from outside again to open the scoring in the final quarter. Eastern Hills then went on to outscore the Lakers but the margin was too big. Lakers players who scored consistently were Thomson with 21, Duncan Reid and Jaidyn Lawrence each with 11. Will Wright, Josh McGregor, Oscar Adams, Ethan Norman and Toby deWit played important roles in the strong team performances throughout the Championships.

The Lakers Under 14 Boys Gold team, coached by Kym Hammond, came home as Division 4 champions. Coach Kym Hammond commended his players on their improvement and their team work over the weekend. They defeated Keith 37-31 in the final. The first half was an arm wrestle with scores level on 17 points. The third quarter was all Lakers as they went on a 14-0 run and show scores of 31-17. Oliver Pohlner and Addison Noble led the scoring in this run. Keith however bounced back in the final quarter to outscore the Lakers 14-6 as the Lakers hung on to win 37-31 in an exciting finish. Leading scorers in the final were Addison Noble 12 points, Isaak Bouchier 9, Kade Allen and Oliver Pohlner on 7, along with other members of the Lakers team Tate Hammond, Brodie Scott, Cooper McCann and Jhett Hannett (until injured).

The Lakers Under 14 Boys Blue team lost their semi-final to Great Southern 24-37, but bounced back to win the game between the SF losers, 47-22 over Port Lincoln. Lachlan Ray on 13 points, Kobe Crowhurst 9 and Aaron Dally on 8 were the leading scorers in this game.