SOUTH Australia has secured one of the most thrilling wins of the 2025 Under-20 Men’s Basketball National Championships, defeating Queensland by a solitary point despite a heroic performance from Maroons star Roman Siulepa.

In a clash that went down to the wire, both sides had chances to win it in Thursday morning’s action at the tournament for elite talent. However, when it was there to be won, it was Jackson Bowden who put his side in front with just four seconds on the clock, and Queensland could not answer on the final possession, giving South Australia a memorable win.

South Australia (100) def. Queensland (99)

It was a game that was full of exciting young talent, with the likes of Rio Bruton, Patrick D’Arcy and Alex Dickeson representing South Australia, while Queensland boasted big names such as Siulepa, Indy Cotton and Zac McDowell-White in a star-studded affair.

It was a close contest across all four quarters, with South Australia claiming an eight-point lead in the first half, but it was a buffer that never truly felt safe. With the margin still at seven points at the last change, the fourth quarter saw a late charge from the Maroons, and it was game on in the dying minutes.

A big dunk to Siulepa gave Queensland the lead with four minutes on the clock, before a Cotton and-one saw that lead blow out even further, with South Australia losing all momentum and trailing by six points with time running out. Deng Manyang was crucial for the South Aussies as they mounted one last comeback, stepping up with a driving lay-up and putback dunk to reduce the deficit to one, before Bowden finished the job.

Despite the loss, Siulepa was immense for Queensland, and was the reason it was in the contest in the first place. The forward shouldered most of the load on the offensive end, posting 32 points, although it was not his most accurate performance, shooting 9/25 from the field. He also left some points at the free throw line, with nine makes from 16 attempts. However, he was immense in several facets of the game, recording eight rebounds and eight assists in a starring performance.

Cotton was also extremely impressive for Queensland, posting 26 points on 8/10 shootiTaylorng from the field and 8/8 from the charity stripe alongside eight assists in his best performance of the tournament.

For the victors, Dickeson was the leading scorer with 21 points on 50 per cent shooting from the field with five rebounds and four assists. Manyang was not far behind with 20 points (6/10 FG, 8/11 FT) and posted a double-double with 10 rebounds, with six of those coming on the offensive end.