The Lakers’ Under 12 Boys travelled to Victoria last weekend to compete in the annual Colac Junior Basketball Tournament for Under 12 and 14 teams and came home with Runner-up Medals.

The Lakers competed in Division 1 of their age group against four other teams, powerhouse Associations Geelong and Ballarat, together with Terang and Hamilton whom the Lakers played at Portland last month.

They opened the Tournament playing Geelong’s second Under 12 Boys team and turned in their best performance so far this season. Their determined defence, team-work and passing were features of their first half and resulted in a double figure lead. The second half developed into an arm wrestle in which Geelong’s height advantage took over against the hard working Lakers. The final result of 39-33 gave the players confidence for the coming games.

Their next opponent, Terang, had scored a 36-25 win over Hamilton before meeting the Lakers. The game followed a similar pattern to the contest in Portland, they were aggressive and relied on individual efforts. It was pleasing to see the defensive work of the Lakers in trying to contain their key players and stifle unpredictable plays. It was close throughout with just one or two points’ margin on the scoreboard. Terang led by one in the closing minutes, but the Lakers grabbed back the lead and managed to maintain possession for a gritty 27-26 win.

Hamilton, Lakers’ next opponent, defeated them by one point in the closing seconds of the Portland Tournament. The Lakers were determined to turn this result around and quickly assumed control to lead 21-8 at half-time and produce a final score-line of 41-18, built on solid team-work at both ends of the court.

Ballarat’s Division 1 Under 12 side was the bench mark of the competition, recording three big wins on Saturday setting up a grand final against the Lakers. Ballarat lined up with four of their starting five players 20-30 cms taller than any Lakers player. Nevertheless the Lakers gave their all for the full 40 minutes of the contest and managed to hold Ballarat to 36 points, their lowest score of the weekend. The pressure applied on the Lakers’ offence took its toll as players struggled to score and sometimes made poor shot selection. Final scores saw Ballarat win 36-18.

In the Presentation Ceremony the Lakers were praised for their achievement and especially their efforts to execute team strategies in the games. They were also commended on their behaviour and togetherness throughout the weekend.

The players, who came home proudly wearing runner-up medals, were Nick Wilke, Zach Nulty, Noah Sims, Joel Bryant, Jack Domaschenz, Ethan Gladman, Sam Lock and Brad Male.

The team is now preparing for the SA Country Basketball Junior Championships in Adelaide on March 21^st and 22^nd.