The Hawthorn Magic Basketball Club is proud to annouce our U16 Boys have claimed the prestigious 2022 U16 National Junior Classic Championship following an undefeated campaign over the Queen’s Birthday weekend!
The Under 16.1 Boys started the National Classic Tournament with a 26-point victory over Southern Tigers from SA – jumping out of the blocks in the first quarter was extremely important to setting up the rest of the Tournament. In Game 2, the Magic boys faced off against a talented Hills Hornets squad from NSW. Another great first quarter saw the boys open an 18-point lead by quarter time and that was too much for Hills to get back, with the boys running out 98 to 49 winners. The last pool game our boys face off with Kilsyth Cobras in what was always going to be a tough physical match up. The boys stuck to their roles perfectly and were able to run out with a 76 to 48 win. This this victory, our boys would finish top of Pool B and a quarter final berth with the Number 1 ranked NSW team, North Bears.
The quarter final was an extremely tough and physical match up with the teams going score for score. A quick 12-0 run to finish the first half got the lead out to 12 and it was the break we needed to get the game on our terms. The boys were sensational in the second half and won the game 100 to 69.
This now set up a semi-final match with rivals Knox Raiders. After losing to Knox last week, the boys had revenge on their mind, and from the start showed the intent and energy needed to win the game. Knox put up a tremendous fight throughout the entire match, but the Magic boys prevailed with a very professional 68 to 49 win.
Monday morning saw the boys play their sixth game in 3 days – a Grand Final match up with the Frankston Blues. Frankston had also gone through the tournament undefeated and were playing some amazing basketball. Our boys were locked in defensively from the opening tip off holding Frankston to 7 points at quarter time, followed by a dominate 27-4 second quarter to have a 30-point lead at halftime. The boys kept their foot down and made everything extremely tough for Frankston over 4 quarters, winning 81 to 39 to finish off a 6 win and 0 loss Tournament. Ryder Cheesman was awarded the MVP of the Grand Final.
Coach Dion Jewell was extremely proud of the efforts of his group. “This weekend showed us all what level of basketball we can reach as a group, defensively we were locked in and focused and guys were able to really get jobs and tasks completed. This is some of the best ball movement we have had all season and really gives us a baseline for what we expect the rest of our season to look like. I am really proud of all the boys and I can’t thank our parents, families and support crew enough for all the time and effort put in to allow us the success that we had over the weekend. It is a massive result for the club, especially after the last 8 months that we have faced.”
Congratulations to our U16 Champions!
