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A STRONG under-16 boys team collected another division one grand final win for the Horsham while their female counterparts came up just short in the division two grand final.
The boys team streaked through its pool undefeated before Austin McKenzie led the way with 19 points in a 52-34 win against Sunbury in the semi-final.
Ben Hobbs and Sam Breur then lit the court up in the grand final.
The pair put up 15 and 13 points retrospectively in the powered home to win 40-29 after being challenged by their Ballarat opponents early in the game.
Coach Damien Kilpatrick said the side took some time to come together defensively after a sluggish start.
“In the end our defence was the difference between us and Ballarat,” he said. “There was plenty of talk about Ballarat being a very good team but we did a great job against them.”
Hobbs was named MVP after an outstanding game while Breuer played a big role for the team all tournament in defence.
McKenzie had another strong showing with numerous rebounds at the centre position, while guards Harley and Brody Pope controlled the teams plays and transition.
Kilpatrick was also in charge of the girls team that exceed expectations to reach the grand final.
“I wasn’t even confident they would win a game because we hadn’t had much preparation,” he said.
“We needed to win our final pool game on Sunday morning and we managed to draw it to go through on percentage.
“In the semi-final we had to come from behind again to get the win.”
Kilpatrick emptied his bench late in the semi-final and Jemma Thomas became an unlikely star.
“We were seven points down and she played ten minutes of the best basketball of her life,” he said.
“She banked in a shot and then took one of the biggest charges I’ve seen to win us the ball back.”
After the two-point win against Wangaratta, Bendigo and Horsham came face to face in the grand final.
Bendigo established a lead early and held Horsham at bay throughout the contest to record a 32-20 win and claim the division two title.
“For this team coming runner-up is as good as a win for some other teams,” Kilpatrick said.
“They were so pumped.”