HOME DELIVERY 1300 361 604 SILVER LINING FOR OUR MOUNTAINEERS
Neers pick up silver at state titles
The Toowoomba Mountaineers have shown the future is bright for our state league teams after returning from a successful campaign at the U18s State Championships on the Gold Coast.
The boys and girls division two sides both fought their way to a spot in their respective gold medal games, taking home silver medals in the process.
Southern Districts was the only team in the boys competition to beat the Mountaineers throughout the group stage, and they were able to do it again in the final, prevailing 7164.
Mountaineers U18s boys division two coach Daryl Allen praised the tenacity of his team to work their way into a position to fight for a gold medal after it looked highly unlikely just months prior.
“The biggest thing with this group was where the boys finished in the first half of the rep season,” Allen said.
“They were fighting to stay in division two. They had the swap-over challenge to remain there, and to come back six weeks later and compete in the gold medal match is a fantastic effort.
“All bar three of the players were top age, so they will move up to the U21s next year, and they get the chance to build on this result.”
After a gruelling semi-final against South West Metro the day prior, Allen commended their ability to push a tough Southern Districts side in the final.
“We had our main point guards back, and that allowed us to get Ngaa (Ngaakudzwe Ngorimaain) a bit more rest during games,” he said.
“Both of our point guards did a fantastic job with the way they lead the team. That fatigue just meant they weren’t able to get over the line in that last game.
“They were in the game deep into the fourth, but the semi-final the day prior really took it out of them. It was like they played their grand final on that day, but they were so close to taking it to Southern Districts.”
Josh Allen finished the tournament as the second highest point-scorer (25.57 ppg).
In the girls division, the Mountaineers came into their final riding a wave of momentum, having won all six of their pool matches by an average margin of 42.
After accounting for Sunshine Coast in the semi-final, their dream run came to an end against Townsville, going down 55-42.
A balanced effort with the ball throughout the competition was emphasised with the Mountaineers dominating the top-11 scorers with four players (Jorja Bolton, Lilain Adler, Rhiannon Phelan, Phoebe Hinz).
The boys division three side finished their tournament on a high, defeating the Caboolture Suns by 19 in a playoff for 11th spot.
The focus for all three teams now shifts to the start of the second half of the representative season, which recommences on February 2.