Aiming high … Members of the Keilor under-14 basketball team who will compete at the Australian Club Championships. 66215 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By Liam Twomey
KEILOR and Altona basketball clubs have won the right to represent Victoria at the Australian Club Championships in the under-14 division in September this year.
Both sides manoeuvred their way through qualifying rounds and will now come up against 22 other clubs from around Australia when the championships take place in Brisbane.
Altona coach Darren Hindle had a good feeling about his team when they first began tryouts.
“Once this team came together I knew they would have a great chance of qualifying,” Hindle said.
“I knew the potential the kids had and I knew once we got them together we could go to nationals.”
Altona will have high expectations heading into the championships after a number of impressive lead-up tournament victories. They have beaten the three South Australian teams to qualify and the top ranked side from New South Wales within the last few months.
“We will be a big chance,” Hindle said.
“To have a 14-and-under side in that level is great. They are very proud of themselves.”
Their major threat may be fellow Victorian team Keilor, which finished first in their qualifying pool.
Keilor have improved enormously in the last two seasons, according to coach Nick LeBron.
“In under-12s they came 10th in the Victorian Championships. They have improved a lot since then,” LeBron said.
Keilor is undertaking a number of club fundraisers to help pay for the trip and is hoping local businesses may also sponsor the team.
“If they could get involved and help out, that would be great,” LeBron said.
The championships begin 26 September.
