Dante Exum was a standout for Victoria at the National Basketball Championships last month. 75953 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
THE coach of the Victorian Men’s Under 18 basketball side has praised the efforts of a Western Suburbs’ trio in helping his team secure a silver medal.
Dante Exum (Keilor), Michael Luxford (Werribee) and Deng Riak (Werribee) travelled to Perth last month to take part in a hard fought National Championships.
After breezing through the initial group stages the team came up against New South Wales in the gold medal playoff.
Leading by as much as 11 points at one stage during the third quarter, Victoria looked in control of the match before New South Wales switched to a zone defence and began to peg back the margin.
The Big V trailed by two points with 20 seconds to go before hitting two free throws to even the score. However, with just one second left on the clock, a foul was awarded to a New South Wales player who converted on one of his two free throws, sealing the win.
Coach Nick Abdicevic applauded the hard work of his team in the lead up to and at the championships.
“We would call it a big success had we won the gold medal but we came up just short. Other than that I think the whole preparation, the Sydney tournament and the week in Perth, was a great success simply because all the boys got the opportunity to play and develop their skills,” he said.
“From day one we knew that we would have to face New South Wales if we wanted to win the grand final. We were definitely the best two teams in the competition.
During the crunch final, it was Exum who rose to the top, hitting a game-high 24 points to cap off what was a stunning carnival for the fast rising star of Australian basketball.
Abdicevic said he was the team’s best player throughout the campaign.
“He stepped up and took his game to the next level and I was really happy with how he played.
“Dante is just an exceptional player. He is a great talent a nd he has a great future in the sport,” he said.
Luxford also proved to be a standout during the tournament, dominating the early rounds to establish himself as the premier point guard. But it was more than just his playing ability which impressed his new coach.
“In that role as a point guard he has tremendous skill and normally the point guard will be making the calls and instructing the others where to go and what to do. He has got great respect from the rest of the group and has the leadership skills. Hopefully he will continue to grow in his basketball.”
