VICTORIA’S most talented Under 18 basketballers are setting their sights on the 2023 Under-18 National Championships in April, with both the Country and Metropolitan squads named for the men and women. The four underage teams – along with the side for the Kevin Coombs Cup (wheelchair basketball) – will travel to Queensland to compete for the national title.

The event will be held from April 9-16 at Brendale, the home of the Northside Wizards, and co-hosted by Basketball Australia. Victoria has always competed strongly at the event, with the Under 18 Vic Metro women taking home gold in 2022 after defeating Queensland South, while the Under 18 Vic Metro men’s side lost their grand final to the same opponent. The Vic Country sides finished fifth and sixth in the men’s and women’s divisions respectively.

Basketball Victoria’s General Manager of High Performance Grant Wallace said the players who have now had some continuity in their basketball after the interruptions of the past few years, provided a highly competitive selection process.

“After an extensive process and a jam-packed start to the high-performance program in 2023 – it’s a good problem to have so many athletes pushing each other and being supportive during the recent tournaments. You could see the sense of urgency and passion from the players, and it was an extremely difficult task to finalise the teams,” Wallace said.

“Our biggest strength is our culture, and we have seen the success of our High-Performance Hubs as part of our State Development Program that has helped drive the standards and competitiveness to a new level. Our whole group is looking forward to the trip to Queensland in April.

“Our versatility will be one of our strengths as well as being fiercely competitive. We will share the ball and make teams defend us at every position. Ultimately, we’d love to come back with some gold medals, we aim to compete at the highest level across all of our teams and support everyone who takes part in the tournament.” 

Vic Country’s women’s squad will be lead by coach Haydn Kirkwood (Wodonga), with Bulleen’s Mike Brookens taking the reins of the Vic Metro women’s side. Diamond Valley’s Matt Shanahan coaches the Vic Metro men’s team, while his Vic Country counterpart is Nunawading’s Brenton O’Brien.

VIC COUNTRY TEAMS:

VIC METRO TEAMS: