THE COUNTRY’S brightest, young basketball stars will take to the courts in Dandenong this week to find out which state deserves to call itself the best.
Victoria Metro is out to defend its suite of gold medals at the Basketball Australia Under-20 National Championships – after taking victories at last year’s championships.
Called up from the emergency list after a late injury, Dandenong’s Mason Peatling will be part of the Victoria Metro men’s squad set to challenge for a sixth consecutive title.
A pair of Dandenong Rangers WNBL players – Lauren Scherf and Rachael Antoniadou – from Ripplebrook – will lead the Victoria Metro women’s side.
The Rangers duo has a wealth of experience playing together – having represented Australia for the Gems’ under-18 team and will likely be first choice selections for the Australian under-19 World Championships team to face off against the rest of the world in June.
Antoniadou captained the side in Sunday’s 105-79 win over New South Wales, backing it up with 14 points and five steals in only 21 minutes against South Australia.
While Peatling didn’t get a run in Sunday’s 68-59 win over Queensland, the 200cm forward’s got his chance on Monday as he reeled off three points, three rebounds and two steals against Western Australia.
Alongside the under-18 championships, Basketball Australia is also holding the Ivor Burge Championships – for players with an intellectual disability – with Victoria Metro the defending champions in both men’s and women’s divisions.
The championships run from 22-28 February at Dandenong Basketball Stadium.
