Baselines were bouncing at Shepparton Junior Tournament

Dec 7, 2021

Holding it up: Lucas O'Hora. Photos: Rodney Braithwaite Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

Barely an inch of the city’s hardwood was left untouched during Saturday and Sunday as teams spanning from Portland to Mildura congregated for Greater Shepparton Basketball Association’s Junior Tournament.

Brick wall: Shepparton Gator Naite Mellington guards his Swan Hill opposite. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

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Buckets, blocks and buzzers formed the weekend’s aural medley as hundreds of Victoria’s best and brightest battled it out for supremacy on courts across Shepparton.

GSBA domestic manager Tony Long spoke on the tournament’s success, saying it was a major win for basketball in the city.

“Overall it went pretty well from an organisational standpoint; there were a few minor hiccups which were to be expected but everyone went away happy after a great weekend of basketball,” he said.

Working an angle: Gators’ Liam Sofra. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

“All the kids were excited to be back out there and had a lot of fun playing.

“Shepparton did really well with a couple of wins for the Gators in the under-18s and other local teams were well represented with a couple of wins.”

There were few individual performances as impressive as Hannah Onley’s for Shepparton Gators in the under-18 division one girls’ grand final.

Stacked against fellow unbeaten side Wodonga Wolves, Onley was unguardable as she drained 25 points to commandeer the Gators’ 42-28 overcoming of the Wolves.

On the swivel: Maelan Allan. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

Onley was well supported by Isabel Whitelaw (eight points) and Holly Egan (seven points) during the win.

A similar Cinderalla story lay in store for the Gators’ boys.

Shepparton’s under-18 side went undefeated in its pool, storming the court with five consecutive wins to punch a ticket to the division one big dance — where it would go on to trump Mildura Heat 59-45.

I’m watching you: Cody Munro on defence for the Gators. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

Down the grades, both the male and female Gators’ under-16 outfits finished with 2-2 ledgers but were unable to make it out of their respective division one groups.

The going was tough also for Shepparton in the under-14s’ top bracket, however the Goulburn Valley was well represented in division two as Benalla ousted Mansfield 44-35 for bragging rights.

Looking for options: Umar Munu dribbles forward. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

Rochester reigned supreme over Horsham Hornets in the under-12 second division boys’ decider, edging the Hornets by a single point to round out the region’s winners.

With the weekend marking the tournament’s first return to Shepparton in two years, Long said it was onwards and upwards for the association moving forward.

Ice in her veins: Isabel Whitelaw lines up a free-throw for the Gators’ under-18s. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

“2019 was the last time we were able to hold this tournament prior to COVID-19, so this was a good measure as the first one we have hosted since then,” Long said.