Braves deliver championship winning performances to close out the Bendigo Junior Classic | Photos

The Braves under-12 boys championship team put on a top performance by overcoming a near double-digit deficit en route to defeating the Warrnambool Seahawks 40-23 in a thrilling grand final at Red Energy Arena.

The team's coach Tom Thorn said the championship division triumph was a satisfying conclusion to three days of basketball.

"The biggest and most pleasing part of it all is that everyone on the team continued to improve every game by taking on feedback and aspiring to get better," he said.

"They love developing. As their coach it's been really enjoyable to see them grow throughout the tournament."

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Near the half-way stage of their grand final match against Warrnambool the Braves were trailing, but after a quick talk at the main break the hosts were able to get their championship campaign back on track.

"At half-time we just asked them to keep moving the ball while in offence as it will then lead to good things," Thorn said.

"We were happy with how they were playing but we just needed to be that little bit more aggressive."

Another aspect of the team's game that improved was their shooting after a few missed opportunities during the first-half.

"Their shooting just naturally improved as they started to attack the rim and get as many lay-ups as possible," Thorn said.

"The more they did this it opened up opportunities to shoot from the outside."

Thorn also heaped praise on the fellow championship team coaches, in addition to the others who were leading the other age-group division teams..

"All of the hard work was done at training and with fantastic assistants and other coaches by my side we were able to get it done," he said.

"We are one big team."

The under-14 championship boys won their division grand final battle against Ballarat 45-26.

The under-14 championship girls also wrapped up the tournament with a fulfilling grand final win over goldfields rivals Ballarat.

The Charlie Smythe-coached squad got the early jump on Ballarat to set themselves up for victory, final scores 31-24.

"Our start to the game was what got us over the line today. We got out to 12-0 nice and early which was paired with our intensity from the semi-final, it really gave us a nice buffer," Smythe said.

Smythe said there were stages of the match when Ballarat started to get back within striking distance, however, a few quick changes were more than enough to maintain control.

"We just kept mixing up our team," he said.

"It's always a nice thing to get a win over Ballarat, especially with this team as we have five bottom-age kids who are playing against top-age players.

"This win has certainly helped them come a long way."

Out of the 33 associations at the tournament, 17 found grand final glory on Saturday.

See below a full list of results from each age group division.

Championship: Bendigo def Warrnambool 40-23

Div 1: Hamilton def Portland 35-33

Div 2: Myrtleford def Maryborough 64-28

Championship: Warrnambool def Traralgon 33-31

Div 1: Wodonga def Hamilton 27-8

Div 2: Colac def Wangaratta 21-18

Championship: Bendigo def Ballarat 45-26

Div 1: Kilsyth def Horsham 39-26

Div 2: Rochester def Horsham 34-23

Championship: Bendigo def Ballarat 31-24

Div 1: Horsham def Hamilton 39-18

Div 2: Sunbury def Warrnambool 46-31

Championship: Ballarat def Geelong 49-43

Div 1: Wangaratta def Swan Hill 36-20

Div 2: Kyneton def Tatura 53-44

Championship: Traralgon def Wodonga 50-40

Div 1: Horsham def Swan Hill 36-29

Div 2: Portland def Colac 25-15

Championship: Wodonga def Warrnambool 41-40

Div 1: Horsham def Ararat 45-29

Div 2: Maryborough def Kyneton 43-35

Championship: Warrnambool def Geelong 42-22

Div 1: Melton def Wangaratta 52-30

Div 2: M'borough def Wodonga 31-28

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