WANGARATTA Warriors had eight boys and girls under 16 and 18 teams represent the association at their tournament on the weekend. The Wangaratta hosted tournament was played in Wodonga due to the new stadium still not being open with the under 16 and 18 boys teams reaching grand finals. Wangaratta Basketball Inc president Adam Maher said although it's always nice to play at home, Wodonga was a more than a comfortable alternative. “There was a really good buzz around the tournament again this year, although we had to hold it in Wodonga,” Maher said. “People really like Wodonga which sounds terrible for Wangaratta but it’s more manageable there because there’s three courts within three minutes. “It’s harder on our volunteers and officials but they all did a great job, they stood up and delivered a really good tournament.” While it was a successful tournament, all Wangaratta people would prefer to be playing their home tournament locally. “It’s pretty tough but we’ve been told that we should have more answers this week,” Maher said. “The sad thing is we had to book Wodonga again for next year’s under 12s and 14s tournament in March because we can’t wait until the last minute – people need to prepare and book accommodation. “I’m not sure what to tell people anymore, I understand building is a process but it seems to be taking forever.” The under 18s finished second in their pool and eventually went on to take on Wodonga in the grand final. The Warriors held a three-point lead at quarter time and then went on to outscore Wodonga 45-27 in the remaining three quarters to run out convincing winners 56-35. The Grand Final MVP was awarded to Wangaratta Warrior Charlie Maher. In the under 16s, who finished top of the table after a narrow two-point loss to Wodonga, followed by strong wins against Mansfield and Echuca and proceeded to the grand final with a comfortable win against Mansfield in the semi-final. In a tightly contested game, Wangaratta held a one point three quarter time lead. The final quarter saw numerous lead changes with Wodonga getting the advantage late in the game and defeating Wangaratta 49-43. “Friday night I lost two players to injury and illness, so going into the tournament with seven players, I knew it was going to be challenging,” under 16’s coach Ian Pople said. “This weekend was the most complete games that the team has played and while there is a lot of room for them to improve still, the improvement over the first three tournaments of the season has been remarkable. “Wodonga are the benchmark in the North East, when we played them at the Echuca tournament, they beat us twice by nearly 30 points, whereas this weekend we could have beaten them twice if a couple of things went our way. “The grand final came down to the last 60 seconds and we only had four players on court because three had fouled out, but they just kept on fighting to try and get the win. “While disappointed to lose the grand final, I’m very proud of how the boys played and the character that they showed.”
