Millicent’s Peter Seebohm Basketball Stadium turned into the hub of Limestone Coast basketball last weekend when the Millicent Magic Junior Basketball Tournament took place.
Teams from Mount Gambier, Naracoorte, Keith, Bordertown, Murray Bridge and Adelaide attended the tournament, while many local and intrastate referees also participated to officiate the games.
The Magic entered 14 teams and put on a show for the home crowd with nine of those making the Grand Final.
The Under 18 Division 1 Boys were one of seven to lift the big trophy at the end of the tough campaign.
Coached by Aiden Schultz, Millicent looked good with wins over Naracoorte, Murray Bridge and Keith in the group stages.
However, a 10-point loss to the Lakers meant the Magic were on the back foot in the rematch during the decider.
The main focus was to finish off the shots and play with a little more intensity defensively and Millicent came out confident to take the lead early 19 to 4.
However, the Lakers did not give up and scored eight points in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter.
The rest of the quarter was a close contest and with 40 seconds to go Millicent was down by one point and Jack Haggett tied the game with a free throw which forced proceedings into extra time.
Jackson Bowden shot some timely buckets to put the Magic in front, but Mount Gambier stayed in the game.
Millicent held on thanks to accurate shooting from Jackson Bowden who shot 19 points for the game.
The Under 18 Girls Division 1 Magic side was untouchable going through the entire competition without a mistake.
Darren Dean coached the team to convincing wins over Naracoorte, Mount Gambier and Keith to book a Grand Final berth with the latter.
The game was physical with a lot of turnovers and missed shots.
At the first quarter break Millicent only held a two-point lead as defensive pressure reigned supreme.
But the Magic capitalised on Keith’s mistakes in the second half to run away with the title.
Top scorers for the weekend were Lacey Haines, Olivia Dean and Tayla Rowe, with strong rebounding by Olivia Dean and Aislinn Schultz.
Peter Seebohm’s Under 16 Girls Division 1 team overcame some challenges to win the grand prize.
A pair of close wins against Mount Gambier was followed by a decent win over Naracoorte.
But the Kings hit back with a six-point win to ensure the rivals would meet again in the decider.
Millicent needed to focus on boxing out and staying out of foul trouble.
The plays ran smoothly in a strong, clean and defensive game easily won by 17 points.
Top scorers were Niah Falkner and Poppy Venn.
No one could get close to challenging the Magic’s Under 16 Boys Division 1 outfit coached by Damian Venn.
Big wins over Naracoorte, Forestville, Keith and both Mount Gambier teams meant Millicent was the favourite in the big one against Bordertown.
The Magic started well with excellent communication and accurate shooting.
Bordertown put up a more physical game in the second half but Millicent was just too strong winning by 21 points led by Will Wimshurst and Kobe Gibson.
The Under 14 Girls Millicent line up also took a liking to its home court and did not skip a beat.
Peter Seebohm’s side smashed Naracoorte and Mount Gambier B.
But Mount Gambier A put up a much sterner fight only going down 24-18 to setup an interesting decider.
Millicent had the lead the whole game but it was a closely fought out match.
Defence on both sides made scoring hard, but the Magic were more patient in offence and to finish on top by nine points.
Top scorers for the weekend were Ashley Dean, Emily Denton and Seballa Coghlan.
The Under 14 Division 2 Boys Millicent team coached by George Wimshurst bounced back from defeats to Bordertown and Mount Gambier A to clinch the trophy.
A 13-point win over Naracoorte B gave the Magic a semi-final berth where they smashed Keith 43-14.
The Millicent boys were nervous and it showed through their slow start in the first quarter of the grand final against Naracoorte B.
Their confidence grew as the game went on and they were able to score from turnovers. In the third quarter, they started playing as a team and their defence work was fantastic to win by nine points.
Top performers were Flynn Collins and Henry Damhuis.
Millicent enjoyed a seamless run to the Under 12 Girls Division 1 premiership.
The side coached by Matthew Falkner was hardly troubled in the group stages and carried plenty of confidence into the decider against Mount Gambier A.
The Magic’s strong defensive effort made it very hard for the Mount to score and all players were able to make intercepts to wrap up the 42-7 triumph.
Leading scorers for the weekend were Indi Coghlan and Livvi Falkner.
Other strong efforts were made by Millicent’s Under 14 Boys Division 1 and Under 12 Boys Division 1 sides.
The pair showed strong form, but could not overcome Mount Gambier A in the Grand Final.
The Under 16 Girls had a character building time losing every game in Division 2, while the respective boys line up fought hard.
Ben Zalme’s team enjoyed a perfect start with a win over Mount Gambier C, but lost the other group games to stumble into the semi-final.
However, the Magic feel five points shot of victory after the gutsy efforts of Leigh Richards, Zac Zema and Noah Duka.
The Under 14 Girls Division 2, Under 12 Girls Division 2 and Under 12 Boys Division 2 also showed plenty of promise, but could not progress past the group stage.
