The 2022-23 junior basketball season is officially in the books for the Shepparton Gators under-16s and 18s after they took part in their final tournament of the campaign at the weekend.
The Gators were in action at the Junior Country Championships in Bendigo, held on Saturday and Sunday.
Shepparton’s under-16 boys had a strong showing to conclude the season, finishing as the runner-up in division two.
The Gators finished third in their group before topping the Southern Peninsula Sharks 50-34 in the quarter-finals and defeating Bellarine Storm 51-41 in the semis.
But they couldn’t quite get over the line in the finale, falling to Pakenham Warriors 62-42 in the grand final.
Dashiell Smith was one of the standouts in the knockout finals, scoring in the double digits in all three games for the Gators.
“Overall, it was a pretty good season. The under-16 boys did quite well to make the division two grand final,” Greater Shepparton Basketball Association administrator Tony Long said.
It was the second stellar performance from the under-16s in as many weeks after they won the grand final at the Wodonga Junior Basketball Invitational Tournament held from on February 10-12.
Back at Bendigo, there were strong showings from the Gators’ other sides as well, with the under-16 girls, under-18 boys and girls taking part in finals.
The under-16 girls were defeated by Mildura 33-25 in the division two quarter-final, the 18 boys lost to the Wodonga Wolves 56-39 in the division one quarter-final and the 18 girls reached the semis before falling to the Wonthaggi Coasters 42-22.
“The under-18 girls improved on their position from two years ago. The under-18 boys got pipped at the post in a game that they probably needed,” Long said.
At the Wodonga tournament, the under-14 boys were crowned the division three champions after they defeated Mansfield Eagles by one point in a thrilling encounter.
The under-14 division three boys and under-16 division one boys were two of eight Gators teams to advance from the group stages into the finals overall, with the under-14 division one boys and under-18 division three boys reaching the semis.
Long said the success across the board showed the strength and depth the Gators have in the various age groups.
“It was a great hit-out up at Wodonga prior to the tournament. There was certainly some great basketball for the weekend and the Gators represented themselves well up there,” he said.
While the season is wrapped up for the older junior age groups, there is more basketball still to come for the under-12s and 14s.
The teams will take part in tournaments in Wangaratta and Traralgon, before concluding the season with their respective Junior Country Championships weekends in April.