Brothers in ball sweep it all at national championships

Last week a youth tradition continued as hopefuls from all corners of the nation converged on the Albury-Wodonga district for five days of hoops at the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup.

Among the contingents were some local hopes, with Gators juniors Spencer Wright and Dash Smith donning Victorian Bushrangers colours in the under-16 and under-18 divisions, respectively.

Smith featured in all seven games for his under-18 side, dropping his most potent performance in the Bushrangers’ final group game against NZ Weka with 16 points featuring four of his five three-pointers for the tournament.

Having run the table in pool play, Smith’s side had no issues in finals either and, come Saturday afternoon, he was a national champion as the Bushrangers took out an all-Victorian grand final 57-42 over the Goldminers.

Meanwhile, Wright was a picture of consistency throughout his eight appearances in the Vic jumper, notching 10 points in his first game and nine on a further three occasions.

Much like Smith’s outfit, Wright put nothing but wins in the column and, sure enough, overcame the other Victorian outfit in the decider to deliver Shepparton basketball another grand success.

Greater Shepparton Basketball Association’s Tony Long heralded the pair’s efforts and signalled that there are bigger things in mind at club level for the seasons to come.

“It’s always great to have the kids make these kinds of competitions and then to be part of winning teams is even better,” Long said.

“Both of these kids have been training with our Big V team; we expect the both of them to be playing with our seniors and slot into our program at the senior level, and I’m looking forward to that.

“We’ve got a Bendigo tournament this coming weekend with four teams competing there — it’s all moving in the right direction and we’re having a great time doing it.

“We congratulate the boys for their efforts, it’s been fantastic.”