ARARAT Redbacks under fourteen boys have claimed their first tournament grand final in a thrilling encounter.
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It was a couple of busy weeks for the Redbacks, who played two tournaments in a row. The under 14 squad took the premiership glory against Terang in the second week. The win was a reversal of the previous week’s outcome, in which Terang was too strong.
The under-14 boys had some good training sessions leading up to these two tournaments.
Hamilton was the first tournament, held over the weekend of January 30 and 31. The first day of games saw the boys meet Warrnambool Green and Portland. Both games were in Redbacks’ favour, winning by 17 and 21 points.
Coach Casanda Woods was extremely pleased with the boys performance at this point of the tournament.
“All our work at training and working on set plays, had finally come together," Woods said.
Sunday saw Ararat play off in a semi final against Warrnambool White. This match was well contested, with a 10 point win giving them a spot in the grand final against Terang. At this point in the tournament the boys had given all they had and had simply run out of legs for the grand final. It was still a close 14 point game in the end. The boys were awarded runner up medals. Woods' presentation speech concluded with the hope of meeting Terang the following weekend in Portland.
February 5-6 saw Portland run a three-day tournament. It started on Friday night with the hosting of 86 teams across all age groups. The under 14s were unfortunate to draw 8am starts both days.
Their first meeting was against Timboon. This was a confidence-boosting start to the weekend. Jordan Cox and Logan McKinnis played well, contributing to the 39 point win. Next was Warrnambool Green and Redbacks’ Jezza Woods and Alex Van Opstal showed great leadership. The team was challenged but some cool, controlled play gave them a 35-21 win against a fiery Warrnambool.
A long day saw a 6:50 pm meet up with Portland. A second week match up should never be taken lightly. Henry Shea, William Lawrie and Blake Jamieson did their jobs assisting the team to another win, 31-23. An early Sunday morning start saw the boys play their last round match against a small Koroit. Jude Stephens and Tom Cousins, even after a cut eye and knock to the head respectively, saw the two boys bounced back and add some great moves to the team. Koroit were defeated convincingly 42-17, giving the under 14 team yet another grand final meeting against Terang. This time Ararat wanted it, according to coach Woods, and the players came through, recording a nail biting three point victory.
Parents jumped with excitement on the boys first tournament grand final win. All nine players were awarded with basketball trophies along with medals for coach and team manager, Romaine Lawrie.
The under 14 state championships regional qualifiers games will be next on the calendar for the boys. Ballarat is hosting these on February 20, where the Redbacks will meet Horsham, Colac and Terang yet again.