2019 UNDER-16 CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP- DAY 8
For the second consecutive year, Vic Metro have completed the double with the boys defeating their intrastate counterparts to win the Championship and the girls taking home their fourth straight gold medal.
In a battle of two undefeated teams, the Vic Metro girls took on SA Metro in the final but flew out of the gates to assert their authority with a 33-18 first quarter.
Nyadiew Puoch (31 point, 12 rebounds, five assists) and Abbey-Lee Wood (12 points) set the tone with three-pointers to open the contest and Puoch went on to score 11 points for the quarter while Wood added eight.
Vic Metro’s advantage extended to 21 at half-time courtesy of Tess Heal (13 points, five assists, two blocks) but SA Metro were gallant, consistently knocking down shots to ensure Vic Metro could not quite get comfortable in the second half.
Izzy Borlase (24 points, nine rebounds) played an important role in keeping SA Metro in the hunt before Tayla Brazel (13 points, three steals) hit two three’s in a row to make it a ten-point game with just over three minutes left.
Their run was left too late though and Vic Metro consolidated down the stretch to prevail 89-71.
The win is Vic Metro’s fourth consecutive gold medal as well as their 18th title from the past 20 years as they continue to dominate this age group.
The boys have not been as successful historically but are still enjoying an incredible run of 12 Championships from the past 20 years including three of the last four.
In similar fashion to the girls, they set up their gold medal win over Vic Country in the first half, leading 46-21 at the main break before going on to claim a 90-63 victory.
A complete team performance saw every player record a rebound, nine hit the scoreboard and eight collect an assist with David Amum (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Jerome Pierre (15 points, 11 boards) starring.
Blake Shankland and Beau Tranter also notched double-figures in scoring as Vic Metro flexed their muscle to complete an unbeaten tournament.
Vic Country were led by Coby Burgiel’s 18 points off the bench but their starters were held to a collective 11-39 shooting as they fell to Vic Metro in the final for the second straight year.
Both teams were aiming to end extended medal droughts when SA Metro met ACT in the boys bronze medal game.
Having not reached the podium since 2010, SA Metro pushed ahead after a tight opening to lead by 12 points at half-time.
Noah English led the charge with ten points in that quarter while Benjamin Carlson went on to finish with 13 points and eight rebounds as the SA Metro front court took control.
ACT showed incredible fight though as they chased their first medal since 2011, going on a 9-0 run down the stretch to make it a one-point game with 20 seconds to go.
Alex Toohey had 14 points, 15 boards and two blocks to pace ACT but Cooper Osborne (ten points) responded with two clutch free-throws at the other end.
The boys from the nation’s capital still had a chance to force overtime but were unable to get a shot up before the 24-second clock sounded and SA Metro clinched a nail-biting 54-51 result.
Bouncing back from their disappointment yesterday, Vic Country were too good for NSW Metro in the girls’ bronze medal playoff, succeeding 85-48.
Nine players hit the scoreboard, each tallying at least six points, and they were led by Dallas Loughridge (23 points, six assists), Georgia Koopmans (12 points, four assists) and Myah Healey (six points, 14 rebounds, two blocks).
NSW Metro have now felt the pain of consecutive bronze medal defeats across the last two years but should be buoyed by the performances of Carla Pitman (16 points) and Tenayah Logan (11 points).
In other classification games for the boys, WA Country finished on a high with a victory over the home side, NT.
Rory Charles helped them pull away in the second half, scoring 20 points overall while Thomas Smith (12 points, ten rebounds) had a double-double and Maxx Della Franca had 13 points off the bench.
WA Metro claimed seventh spot as they came from behind with a 29-19 last quarter to win by eight over NSW Metro.
Ben Hensall scored 11 of his 31 in the final term and Kauri Tipene-Grace finished strongly to record nine points and five rebounds.
The WA Metro girls also concluded their week on a positive note, getting past NSW Country by a point in overtime to finish fifth.
Emily Foy notched 27 points in the losing effort but was countered by Mia Jacobs’ 24 points, 12 rebounds and six steals.
For all the draws, results and LiveStats click here.
Final Placings
Under-16 Boys:
1. Vic Metro
2. Vic Country
3. SA Metro
4. ACT
5. Queensland South
6. SA Country
7. WA Metro
8. NSW Metro
9. QLD North
10. Tasmania
11. NSW Country
12. WA Country
13. NT
Under-16 Girls:
1. Vic Metro
2. SA Metro
3. Vic Country
4. NSW Metro
5. WA Metro
6. NSW Country
7. QLD South
8. Tasmania
9. SA Country
10. ACT
11. QLD North
12. WA Country
13. NT
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