Victoria survived a scare from Western Australia to remain unbeaten after the second round of the men’s national under-20 basketball championships.
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The Vics, who won their first two games on Sunday impressively, were stretched all the way by WA in Monday night’s feature game.
The visitors took the lead early in the final quarter before Victoria bounced back to take what appeared to be a match-winning eight-point lead with less than three minutes remaining.
WA surged again and a Lachlan Evans three-point bomb cut the Vics’ lead to just one point with 40 seconds on the clock.
Victorian star Gabe Hadley stood up under pressure for his side and nailed a big three-pointer to seal victory.
The Vics iced the game from the free throw line and won 88-82.
Daniel Grida was outstanding for WA, scoring 25 points. Mate Colina led Victoria with 19 points.
South Australia scored the most impressive win in the men’s competition when it trounced New South Wales 106-73.
SA set up its with a stunning 38-8 first term. Jacob Rigoni and Isaac White tore the NSW defence apart, scoring 31 and 29 points respectively on a combined 18-29 from the field.
In the other men’s game played during the day on Monday, Tasmania defeated Queensland 93-80.
In the women’s under-20 competition, WA retained its unbeaten status with a hard-fought 71-64 win over Queensland.
After defeating the ACT in round one, WA had four players score in double figures and at the defensive end they overcame a sweet shooting performance from Queensland’s Briana Bailey.
Bailey was 6-9 from behind the three-point line in her 25-point haul.
South Australia proved too strong for ACT 78-71, while in Monday night’s late game Victoria women were up against NSW.
In the Ivor Burge Championship for players with an intellectual disability, Victoria men scored a thrilling 96-91 win over South Australia. In the other men’s game, Japan defeated NS Metro 82-63.
In the Ivor Burge women’s division, ACT defeated NSW Country 83-48, while NSW Metro outclassed SA 83-27.
Tuesday’s games start from 11.30am. The Victoria under-20 women play WA at 6pm and the Victoria under-20 men tackle NSW at 8pm.
