Well it was a very hot one down at Dandenong Stadium for the Grade 3/4 (Junior) Future Stars State Grand Final Day on Thursday 29^th November! The mercury outside pushing 38c and inside you could add the extra humidity as well. For half of the day we were running off our heat policy whereby the referees would call and extra timeout per half to try and give the kids and opportunity to get some extra water into them.

Everyone was great sports throughout the whole day despite the heat and by the time we reached the Finals it was starting to really get warm, but teams continued on and never gave in. It was clear that not only was the team facing them their opposition but the stifling heat would also be against them each game as well.

We slowly whittled down through the finals until we made it to the Final 4 for 2012. All 4 teams having a great chance of progressing through to the State Championship Final and a chance to make slogging it out in the heat that little bit sweeter.

The 1^st Semi Final was Sacred Heart Heat v Pakenham Lakeside Legends.

It was a tight opening half as both teams staked a claim for a final 2 spot. Sacred Heart had gone through the day undefeated and Pakenham Lakeside had shown they were the real deal beating a top ranked side in their Quarter Final. Sacred Heart jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes but Pakenham managed to claw their way back in to level mid way through. But Sacred Heart showed true grit to gain a couple of extra baskets late in the half to take a slender 8-5 lead into the break.

Pakenham Lakeside came out and liked their chances early on as their tempo picked up the pace. Sacred Heart rebutted all their advances and with some very tight defense managed to hold Pakenham at bay for a lot of the half. The Legends unable to penetrate and score on the opportunities they got and the Heat lived up to their namesake and pulled away scorching their opponents with a 6-2 quarter to register a handy 7-point win.

 

The 2^nd Semi Final was OLGC Oilers v Mont Albert Mercury. OLGC going in favourites over their opponents after going through the day undefeated. Mont Albert no slouches though and they had some impressive wins themselves throughout the day to progress this far. Quite remarkable when Mont Albert was a late call up to the State Grand Finals after a team withdrew. In fact they were 3^rd on the wildcard list to gain a spot, but when the 2 schools ahead of them declined to attend also, Mont Albert were in and they were now riding a fairytale all the way to the top 4 sides in the State! Talk about making the most of your opportunity!

It was a real grinding first half with not a lot of offensive movement. OLGC had the better of early possession, but just couldn’t capitalize on the scoreboard. Mont Albert struggling equally up their end, not able to put the ball in the hole once for the first 8 minutes. Luckily OLGC had not put them away like they would have liked only up 4-0 at the main break. Leaving the door open for the fairytale run of Mont Albert to continue.

Sure enough Mont Albert came out stronger and within the first 2 minutes of the 2^nd half had leveled the scores. OLGC hit back by jumping ahead again and it was back to Mont Albert to respond, and respond they did going on a 6 point run heading toward the final minute of the game to leave the previously undefeated Oilers in their wake and struggling to find the answers to get themselves back into the game. In the end there was just not enough time for the Oilers to make any inroads and the Mercury against all odds played a great 2^nd half to overhaul the Oilers to continue their amazing run on the day winning by 4 points.

 

Jr FS State Championship Final – Sacred Heart Heat v Mont Albert Mercury

After a 10-minute break to cool off, the Final 2 were about to square off. At one end you had the Heat who had taken all before them on this final day and were ready to make it just one more. At the other end you had the Mercury who weren’t even meant to technically be here today after not automatically qualifying and just as their luck would have it a school pulled out (which is rare as it is) but the schools ahead of them on the list also turned down the invitation). So they were just taking it a game at a time. Coincidently the last time a ‘wildcard’ made it all the way through to the State Championship Final was in 2010 also in the Junior Future Stars. It was Templestowe Valley PS who surprised everyone on the day by making it through to the final 2. They eventually were beaten in that game by Haileybury Brighton, but everyone remembers that wonderful run. Mont Albert were looking to turn the tide and make history as the 1^st Jr FS State Champion to come from a ‘wildcard’ position.

Ironically on a 38c day we had the Heat v Mercury in the State Final.

Both teams started strongly. Mont Albert the first to draw blood, but Sacred Heart hit right back. No one could really gain the ascendency and with both teams fighting the elements as well we were in for a real hard slog to determine our State Champion. Both teams locked away at the half time break 6-all.

This was it the final 8 minutes to see who could essentially outlast the other. They had pushed themselves all day through heat and opposition and it was no or never for both teams as they essentially started from scratch in the second half with neither team having any advantage. But as the half progressed the tide turned very quickly into Mont Albert’s favour as time after time they managed to shut down the Heat on the defensive end and score up their offensive end. The pressure began to mount on the Heat after Mont Albert scored a couple of baskets in a row, and they just could not respond, call it weariness, call it a fade out. Regardless of what it was Mont Albert clearly finished the better of the two sides putting on a 9-0 2^nd half to walk into the history books.

 

It is Mont Albert PS 3^rd Hoop Time State title. After wins in the Senior ASB in 2000 & 2003.

 

Semi Final 1 – Sacred Heart Heat d Pakenham Lakeside Legends (14-7)

 

Semi Final 2 – Mont Albert Mercury d OLGC Oilers (10-6)

 

State Championship Final – Mont Albert Mercury d Sacred Heart Heat (15-6)