The Echuca basketballers will add another representative accolade to their budding resumes, after they were selected to attend next year’s Country-Metro Challenge.
The two post players impressed selectors when attending the Gold Nugget Camp at Bendigo earlier this month, with Phillips selected in an under-15 Country team and Napier included in one of three under-14 squads.
Echuca Moama Basketball Association president Lisa Baker said Phillips and Napier should be “incredibly proud of their achievements”.
“They have both worked really hard to get to where they are now with their basketball,” Baker said.
“They are improving out of sight and they’re really dedicated too; they are practising whenever they get a chance and making sure they are getting all that guidance from coaches when it’s available.
“They are role model players.”
Phillips, Napier and other representatives across the 20 country squads will earn insight into development and higher-level gameplay throughout the four-day tournament in Melbourne next year.
“It’s been a long time coming for these players to return to high-performance basketball tournaments and they have shown how excited and passionate they are about representing Country at the challenge,” Basketball Victoria High Performance Head Coach of Country Women Zoe Carr said.
The tournament, which temporarily replaces the Southern Cross Challenge due to inter-state travel concerns, will also give players a chance to push their case for state team selections later in 2022.
The Kumon Country-Metro Challenge will be held at the State Basketball Centre in Wantirna South from January 14-17, 2022.
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