The Ben McCauley-coached Braves defeated long-time rivals Horsham Hornets 44-37 in a tense and exciting grand final.

It was a title built on solid all-round contributions from all 10 players.

Dylan McCauley (14 points) and Dyson Daniels (12) led the scoring for the winners, while Sam Breuer (12) topped the scoring for the Hornets.

Breuer was one of three representatives playing for the Hornets to feature in their CBL win over the Braves earlier this month.

Coach McCauley said he could not be prouder of how the boys competed during the weekend.

“It’s who the fittest and healthiest at the end of the tournament because it’s six games in two days,” he said.

“On Sunday, we played a game at 10am, 1pm and then again at 3pm, so it’s about managing your players and everyone stepping up and playing their role.

“I coach a team where everyone plays their role within that team; some kids score more, some kids play good defence.

“There are a lot of stats that don’t get collected, but it is the one-percenters that make a difference with this team.”

The grand final was the continuation of a rivalry between the two clubs, stretching back to the Hornets’ under-14 state country title win against the Braves in 2016.

“It was fantastic to get this win this time; it was a ripping game,” McCauley said.

“There were some really talented athletes on both sides and it was good to see them all competing against each other.”

McCauley said his team had now ticked both its goals of a state country title win and qualifying top-20 for the Victorian Junior Basketball League.

Meanwhile, the Braves under-16 girls came up just short of title success, losing a nail-biting grand final to Southern Peninsula Sharks 48-52.

The Nick Salm-coached Braves had led by seven points at half time and by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, but were unable to hold out a fast-finishing and well-drilled Sharks.

Salm said the loss – that young Braves group’s first in three years – was shattering.

“Especially with the amount of work the girls have put in,” he said.

“We had four of the bottom-aged kids help us out as we were depleted with injury and they all played games over the course of the weekend.

“They all deserved to be there, even if we could only suit 10 for the grand final, but everyone played a part in it.”

Piper Dunlop, who averaged 11.83 points for the tournament, and Tayah Watkins (nine), had big weekends, as did point guard Meg McCarthy, who top scored in the grand final with 17 points.

Salm said his side would next aim for a top four finish in the VJBL in a bid to secure a berth in the National Junior Classic.

In under-18 competition, the Braves boys reached the semi-final but were beaten 53-40 by eventual champions Ballarat Miners, while the girls bowed out following a 37-40 loss to Ballarat Rush.