BASKETBALL Victoria is proud to announce the four Under-16 teams for the 2020 Australian Junior Championships, held this July in Perth, Western Australia.
Our Under-16 teams shone in 2019 with both Metropolitan teams winning gold while the Country boys – silver and Country girls – bronze also impressed in Darwin.
Victorian teams have excelled so far at the Australian Junior Championships in 2020, with three teams – Under-20 Men, Under-20 Women and Ivor Burge Women – winning national titles at the Under-20 and Ivor Burge Championships in Canberra.
VICTORIA METROPOLITAN UNDER-16 GIRLS
A new generation of under-16 talent will take the court this July as our Victoria Metropolitan girls team aims to bring home a fifth consecutive title.
With only one returning player, Amy Kurkowski, from last year’s national championship victory in Darwin it’s a fresh look for the side, but head coach Kennedy Kereama said the size, versatility and depth of the squad has them ready for another title tilt.
“I’m really excited and proud to be able to coach this team again and work with the Metro program,” Kereama said. “The coaching staff and I are confident we’ve picked the 10 best athletes that will best represent Victoria Metro and have the best chance of coming back with the championship.
“In terms of strengths this year, the one thing we have a lot of is depth – we’re really incredibly talented from 1 through to number 10; we’re bigger than we were last year in terms of size across a number of positions – length and versatility, athleticism, shooting ability and we pride ourselves on our ability to defend and extend our pressure up the floor.
“These selections were really tough; almost anyone could have made this team so the job was incredibly tough to pick this team.”
Warwick Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for Metro’s under-16 girls, with the side having won the national championship in that stadium in 2017.
VICTORIA METROPOLITAN UNDER-16 GIRLS – TEAM LIST
Player – Association
Paige Burrows – Knox
Amy Kurkowski – Hawthorn
Lucy Dexter – Casey
Hannah Wickstrom – Sandringham
Dakota Critchon – Casey
Tabitha Betson – Bulleen
Liana Kinkela – Waverley
Gemma O’Donnell – Knox
Christina Roberts – Sandringham
Zoe Shaw – Knox
EMERGENCIES
Georgia McBean – Hawthorn
Isla Airey – Sandringham
Jaida Reid – Sandringham
Zoe Harvey – Frankston
Katrina Warton – Ringwood
Georgia Sewell – Dandenong
COACHING STAFF
HEAD COACH
Kennedy Kereama – Sunbury
ASSISTANT COACHES
Jacqui O’Neill – Sandringham
Rachel Quirk – Knox
DEVELOPMENT COACH
Samantha Groves – Sandringham
TEAM MANAGER
Tracey Wightman – Hawthorn
VICTORIA COUNTRY UNDER-16 GIRLS
Ready to take another run at the national championship, the Victoria Country under-16 girls are set to excel in Perth later this year.
Returning to the Victoria Country ranks are Milly Sharp and Izzy Whitelaw, giving the side plenty of experience when it comes to the national championships.
Following last year’s bronze medal triumph, head coach Mat Holmes said the side’s pace and athleticism will hold them in good stead come this July.
“Really happy with the way the team’s shaped up – particularly the versatility that’s going to be in there,” Holmes said. “We‘ve got some really long athletic kids and fantastic guards who can play a fast brand of basketball down the court
“I think they’ll be a team that will come together nicely and be a complete team by the end of the campaign and looking forward to kicking it off and get our hands dirty with this group.
“Depth is really good and the other thing was that there were a number of kids that were so unfortunate to miss out – we just couldn’t fit them all in to 10.
“There are some genuinely good basketballers who haven’t made the squad, and that’s just the reality of selection; it’s a great position for our program to be in, but it’s hard for those kids and we thank them for being part of the tryouts.”
VICTORIA COUNTRY UNDER-16 GIRLS – TEAM LIST
Player – Association
Jemma Amoore – Ballarat
Jessica-Belle Catheray-Harvey – Pakenham
Milly Sharp – Ballarat
Sienna Harvey – Wodonga
Bree Granger – Pakenham
Jaime Gallatly – Maffra
Kyra Webb – Southern Peninsula
Chantelle James – Southern Peninsula
Izzy Whitelaw – Shepparton
Hannah Onley – Shepparton
EMERGENCIES
Ally Leng – Mildura
Kaitlyn Scott – Pakenham
Aleks Connolly – Geelong
Emily Scholtes – Traralgon
Asha Nightingale – Traralgon
Hayley Letts – Melbourne
COACHING STAFF
HEAD COACH
Mat Holmes – Korumburra
ASSISTANT COACHES
Gail MacFarlane – Traralgon
Jo Bowie – Hamilton
DEVELOPMENT COACH
Karen Joyce Traralgon
TEAM MANAGER
Lisa Chesshire – Terang
VICTORIA COUNTRY UNDER-BOYS MEN
From an incredible silver medal run at last year’s Australian Junior Championships, the under-16 Country boys return to the national arena with plenty of talent in the tank.
Alex Molan is set to return from last year’s second-ranked side amidst a number of players from associations and regions across the state.
Head coach Joel Anderson said it was a tough tryout, but that difficulty in selecting the side is reflected in a supremely talented squad heading off to Perth.
“It’s really difficult to pick this team from such a talented group of athletes and cutting anyone at any stage isn’t fun,” Anderson said. “The 10 athletes we have selected I feel can really compete for the gold medal we’ve got a good mix of size, brawn, toughness, shooting and ball handling.
“I really think we can go away together, be a really professional unit and hopefully win gold.”
VICTORIA COUNTRY UNDER-16 BOYS – TEAM LIST
Player – Association
Alex Molan – Ballarat
Corey Hastings – Southern Peninsula
Jack Connolly – Geelong United
Ned Renfree – Ballarat
Garang Dengdit – Melton
Harrison Scott – Wonthaggi
Lachlan Smith – Pakenham
Fletcher Burger – Ararat
Martin Steen – Bendigo
Lucas Impey – Ballarat
EMERGENCIES
Jett Garnham – Wonthaggi
Jesse Ombega – Geelong United
Thomas Field – Southern Peninsula
Hakaraia Tahi – Melton
Thomas Briggs – Wangaratta
Nathan Hargrave – Geelong United
Ryan Beale – Sale
COACHING STAFF
HEAD COACH
Joel Anderson – Ballarat
ASSISTANT COACHES
Ben White – Southern Peninsula
Joshua Waight – Shepparton
DEVELOPMENT COACH
Scott Ramsey – Southern Peninsula
TEAM MANAGER
Scott Ramsey – Southern Peninsula
VICTORIA METROPOLITAN UNDER-16 BOYS
A three-peat is on the table for our Victoria Metropolitan Under-16 Boys with an elite side ready to defend its status as reigning champion and take on the nation’s best in July.
Returning from the successful 2019 campaign in Darwin are Australian representative Kristian Ferronato and Tristan Devers with a number of fresh faces set to relish their first chance to wear the Vic Metro colours this July.
Head coach Nick Abdicevic said the group has a unique mix of skills and from an extremely difficult tryout process, Metro’s elite have risen to the top.
“After a very long tryout period we’ve come to a final 10 plus our six emergencies and I feel that we have an unusual team, in that we don’t really have a lot of height in the group but we have something that is different in a very positive way,” Abdicevic said. “We’re going to be able to play a different style of basketball; we can be quick, small, long and honestly I think we have a group that will be super competitive when it comes to Perth in July.
“The depth was amazing as we started with over 100 athletes three weeks ago and to get it to 24 was very, very tough process and now to narrow it down to 10 was very difficult.
“That’s a very good problem to have for coaches and I think we had to make some really tough decisions, but the decisions we’ve made I think will pay off in the long term.”
VICTORIA METROPOLITAN UNDER-16 BOYS – TEAM LIST
Player – Association
Kristian Ferronato – Eltham
Joel Foxwell – Bulleen
Tristan Devers – Nunawading
Phoenix Windsor – Hawthorn
Billy Hicks – Nunawading
Tiernan Stynes – Nunawading
Hayden Loader – Hawthorn
Ethan Bolton – Casey
Kynan Phillipe– Frankston
Max Zalakos – Bulleen
EMERGENCIES
Mitchell Ferronato – Eltham
Logan Morris – Hawthorn
Bryan Vengesayi – Casey
Jesse McIntosh – Hawthorn
Brody Harrison – Knox
Sam Shinsky – Frankston
COACHING STAFF
HEAD COACH
Nick Abdicevic – Melbourne
ASSISTANT COACHES
Jack Fleming – Diamond Valley
Nick Mihai – Dandenong
DEVELOPMENT COACH
Mike Torres – Coburg
TEAM MANAGER
Paul Groat – Frankston