Gold mining from the West: The Bearcats scored one of the gold medals for SA at the Kumon National Junior Classics in a strong showing from our state last weekend. Picture by West Adelaide Bearcats
3-Minute Read
Girls
West Adelaide Bearcats Under 16s
Tournament Result: 1st – Gold Medal (Kumon NJC)
The first of two teams from SA to upset the high level fancies from across the border. The Bankstown Bruins from east, Gippsland United and Casey Cavs were amongst the national favourites but they obviously missed our girls from SA in this one. The Bearcats went 3-0 through the minor rounds before their biggest win of the weekend was against the Melbourne Tigers which saw them get into an all SA affair with the Mavs. They took that one out 53-35 in a clean sweep of the weekend.
South Adelaide Panthers Under 12s
Tournament Result: 2nd – Silver Medal (Kumon NJC)
It was a dominant weekend for the two top teams of the age bracket with both Panthers and their grand final opponents the Kilsyth Cobras boasting a combined 15-0 record coming into the tournament. The Panthers rolled their way to a 5-0 record with the two giants of U12 meeting in the grand final. The Panthers went down in an absolute thriller 32-34 but came from 6 points down with two minutes to go tying the scores with 15 seconds left. The Cobras struck and it was enough for them to hang on to get the gold.
Eastern Mavericks Under 16s
Tournament Result: 2nd – Silver Medal (Kumon NJC)
In fairness to the Mavs, they had the much tougher run in their pool games playing all the favourites across their weekend so their performances despite coming up just short at the final hurdle were outstanding. They had to knock off Casey in the pool game 46-42 then play the Bruins in the semi-final where they won 56-50. It was a really impressive silver medal performance from these beasts from the east.
Eastern Mavericks U12s
Tournament Result: 3rd (Nunawading A)
Another solid performing girls outfit was from the Mavs. In Pool A they were a stones throw away from a place in the final going 4-1 and coming up three points short 26-29 to the runner-ups in Knox Raiders.
Eastern Mavericks U14s
Tournament Result: 4th (Kumon NJC)
One of the next highest finishes was the Mavs U14 Girls in a tough competition. The Mavs went 2-1 through the minors defeating Keilor Thunder and Sydney Comets then had huge wins over Sandringham Sabres and just came up short to the Melbourne Tigers in the semi-final 56-60. They finished up to Diamond Valley Eagles to claim 4th place in a stacked competition.
Boys
South Adelaide Under 12s
Tournament Result: 2nd – Silver Medal (Kumon NJC)
The Panthers from a national perspective were considered outsiders with the favourites considered to be Casey, Bulleen Boomers and the Sydney Comets. Despite a 3-0 record in Pool A, the Panthers entered the finals as underdog knocked off Bulleen 48-41 before going down to a strong Casey outfit 65-44. They fought it out pretty hard deep into the fourth quarter of that one.
North Adelaide Rockets U12s
Tournament Result: 3rd (Kumon NJC)
U12s were well represented by SA at the business end and this Rockets team were right there at the end as well. They went through their pool games 3-0 drawing a quarter final against Camberwell winning 65-60 to setup some tough games against one of the pre-tournament favourites in Casey. They went down 55-62 but not without a fight leading at one point 50-32 before the Cavs ran them down. The Rockets through a big second quarter then beat another favourite in Bulleen to claim the Bronze for SA.
Woodville Warriors U14s
Tournament Result: 4th (Kumon NJC)
One of the Warriors most successful teams of the weekend. They knocked off contender Ballarat Miners in the minor rounds to zip to 3-0 and place themselves in a very good position. The Warriors were considered a smokey for the tournament and continued to hold that belief as they knocked off the South Adelaide Panthers in an SA showdown 64-58 then lost a close one to surprise packet Whittlesea Pacers 60-53. They played off for the bronze and came up short 69-61 to Sandringham.
Central District Lions U18s
Tournament Result: 3rd (Nunawading A)
One of the best performances in the Nunawading tournament came from the Lions U18 group with a 4-1 record through the minor rounds. They ended up third just missing the finals by a loss to eventual champion Kilsyth Cobras finishing second in Pool B.
Forestville Eagles U16s
Tournament Result: 6th (Kumon NJC)
It was another strong pool of teams in the U16 boys with the Eagles going 2-1 through the minor rounds defeating Canberra and Waverley. They eventually ran into one of the favourites in Dandenong Rangers in the quarters going down 81-63 but then got a big win in the minor semi over Kilsyth 70-58. They played off for 5th and just fell short to Keilor but it was a strong performance from the gold and blue.
These are just ten highlighted performances but I think you’ll agree it was a strong showing from the SA teams in 2022 in these championships and tournaments.
Checkout all results of Kumon NJC and Nunawading here (Note no data available for Mildura Tri-State)
Sources from Pick and Roll
https://pickandroll.com.au/p/national-junior-classic-the-top-contenders
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 