Braves secured double grand final titles in the boys and girls championship divisions at the 2020 Bendigo Basketball Junior Classic.
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The girls secured their fifth consecutive title with a 45-point victory over central Victorian rivals the Ballarat Rush, final score 81-36.
Braves coach Cameron Wilkosz said the team's cohesion was its key strength.
"The girls don't need to communicate, they are always in the perfect position at all times as they know exactly where the next person is coming from," Wilkosz said.
"The cohesion between these girls is truly insane, they have essentially all played together since under-12s.
"That's the way we identify ourselves as a team is through strong defence and hard work."
The team was able to lock down the Rush to only seven points across two quarters.
"To be able to do that at an under-18 level is phenomenal."
Wilkosz was pleased the team went up against Ballarat in the championship decider.
"When the draw came out we were disappointed that Ballarat wasn't in our pool, it's always the game we look forward to.
"Then to play them on court one in the grand final and to punish them, that's what it's all about."
Braves' Caitlin Richardson was the team's top scorer with 25 points, followed by Dunlop (14), McCarthy (12) and Holly Lockhart (8).
The boys secured their win with a 42-point win over the Horsham Hornets, final score 90-48.
After a neck-and-neck start to the game, the Braves regrouped at the end of the first quarter to get the job done.
"We couldn't hit many shots in the first quarter," Braves coach Justin Cass said.
"But then in the second we started to make a few more.
"Our defensive intensity picked up and created plenty of turnovers and lay-ups which put the pressure on the scoreboard."
Cass said the team played four quarters of strong basketball during each game.
"We've been working on ensuring we play four quarters of basketball for a while, and we pretty much did that in every game we played.
"We had a few lapses during quarters, but not a full quarter which allowed us to post the big numbers that we did during the weekend."
Braves' Dylan McCauley was the team's top scorer with 25 points, followed by Dyson Daniels (20), Lachlan O'Brien (15) and Macey Eaton (12).
"Dylan was a little bit quiet on the court early on, but then shot the ball well after half-time," Cass said.
"For the whole weekend we had a pretty good spread of scorers.
"It helps when you have guards like Dyson creating plays for everyone."
Braves grand final results
- U/18 Champ Boys d Horsham Hornets 90-48
- U/18 Champ Girls d Ballarat Rush 81-36
- U/16 Girls Div 1 d Mt Gambier Lakers 26-20
- U/14 Boys Champ d Warrnambool Seahawks 43-40
- U/14 Girls Champ d Warrnambool Mermaids 61-54
- U/14 Girls Div 2 Bendigo 2 d Bendigo 3 36-15
Tournament coordinator Nathan Williams said the event was an overall success and the plan was to continue its growth in 2021.
"We're looking to bring more teams next year with the possibility with players from Tasmania and New Zealand," Williams said.
"The talent that's coming through not just in Bendigo but all of country Victoria and the rest of the state shows how great the pathways are from juniors into senior basketball."
Over the three days across 21 courts 279 teams competed with 765 games in total.
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