The three-day tournament ended with a pair of runner-ups for the Echuca Pirates under-12 boys team and the under-18 girls in a competitive weekend from the young basketballers.
The under-18 division 1 campaign started with an 11-point loss to Campaspe rivals Rochester, but claimed their first win later that day on the back of a thrilling two-point win over Romsey.
The Pirates also had a mixed ledger on the Sunday, with a strong 15-point win over Wangaratta before falling 18-31 to eventual grand final opponent Wodonga.
Another win over Wangaratta on Monday saw Echuca progress to the semi-finals, where they defeated Yarrawonga-Mulwala Lakers to book a rematch with Wodonga in the decider.
But grand final glory wasn’t to be for the Pirates despite an improved performance against the Wolves under-18’s, falling 29-38.
With undulating squad numbers throughout the tournament, coach Liv Taverna credited her team for fighting through to the deciding match.
“We were going into the Monday thinking we probably weren’t going to make finals,” said Taverna.
“However, we won the game on Monday by enough points to put us into the semi.
“We lost to Yarrawonga by a point the last two times we played them so the girls were pretty determined to go out there and beat them.
“(The grand final) was a good game, the girls fought hard. We were down by 10 going into the second half, but they pulled it back.
“Sienna Agg had a really good tournament, Raina Fimmel as well. Lexie Gregor played really well throughout all our games.”
In the under12s, Pirates coach Josh Rankins highlighted his teams “fire and ice” mentality for their run at the division 1 championship.
Drawn in pool B, Echuca had a tough initiation to the tournament against Wodonga on Saturday, but like their under-18 counterparts turned it around with a 41-24 win.
Echuca then went on a three-game winning run on Sunday to book their place in the semi-final.
The Pirates defeatd Colac, 33-16, to proceed to the grand final against Wodonga.
Despite a winning second half, Echuca would also fall to to the Wolves in the final game, 23-27.
“It was quite a successful weekend and we’ll definitely take a lot out of that,” said Rankins.
“The boys play with a lot of fun, a lot of passion, and we set a bit of a mentality for the boys from previous tournaments.
“We have fire in the belly, but we have ice in the mind in terms of keeping things cool and controlled.
“They’re a pretty ruthless bunch of kids who are very good to coach in terms of being adaptive in taking on new challenges and new structures at the turn of a hat, which just makes mine and (assistant coach) Andrew Walker’s job a whole lot easier.“
Rankins held praise for his entire squad.
“Our talls, Billy Sutton and Oliver Phyland, they played a lot of minutes and they played their role to perfection,” said Rankin
“Mason Rettalick and Reeve Sellars, they’re a couple of the most intense little fellas you could ever want on your side — they just leave everything on the court.
“Jobe Williams probably had his best tournament. When his opportunity came, he just played his role to the key.
“Arli Walker, he’s probably the best player in the division and leads from the front for our team, and backed up by Kai Rankins who had one of his best tournaments as well.’’
Rankins also thanked Walker, team manager Jarrod Williams and the parents and volunteers who offered their support over the tournament.
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