In front of their home crowd, both the men's and women's Vic Metro teams have put the finishing touches on a dominant weekend, culminating an unbeaten tournament with the gold medal in both competitions.
Recaps of the two bronze and gold medal games from the final day of the Champs can be found below while all results from the classifcation games on Day 8 as well as the final stat leaders can be found here.
WOMEN’S BRONZE MEDAL
SA Metro defeated QLD South 60-42
The defending champs were keen to finish with a medal in 2016 as they started the game with a 13-6 run but SA Metro put the clamps on in the second term to head into the main break with an eight-point advantage.
They then consolidated that margin thanks to Ambah Kowcun (15 points) and Gabriella Vidmar (12 points) while Hannah Hank proved a force under the rim. For QLD South, top-ager Shyla Heal led nine players on the scoreboard with 12 points of her own but they only shot 35% as a team and hit 1-15 from beyond the arc.
MEN’S BRONZE MEDAL
WA Metro defeated QLD North 69-55
QLD North began the game with a 7-2 run but WA Metro were not rattled with a three-pointer from Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (14 points, nine rebounds) bringing them into the game. It sparked a 15-0 run but the defending champs answered in the second half, regaining the lead thanks to Tamuri Wigness and Blake Couper (eight points, eight boards).
QLD North’s lead was as much as eight in the third period but the momentum again swung as Kye Chamberlain and Luke Travers (11 points, seven assists) connected from distance to make it a one-point game at the final change. There would no more see-sawing in the fourth quarter though as WA Metro ran away with the win on the back of a 24-11 fourth period. Luke Jackson was outstanding, recording 17 points on 7-9 shooting with 12 rebounds and six assists to match Wigness’ 23 points.
WOMEN’S GOLD MEDAL
Vic Metro defeated NSW Metro 64-38
Vic Metro culminated an absolutely dominant week to finish unbeaten and claim the Under-16’s title after another impressive defensive performance. They held their opposition to just 12 points on 3-18 shooting in the first half to open up a 20-point advantage and while NSW Metro were able to their opponents with some restrictive defence in the second half, they were not able to win a quarter in the loss.
Sharing the scoring duties around, every player hit the scoreboard for Vic Metro led by Lily Scanlon’s 11 points as their bench out-scored NSW Metro’s 33-18. Points off turnovers also proved costly for the visitors as they allowed 19 points off their 25 errors but Meg Jefferson again shone, recording 12 points and 12 rebounds.
MEN’S GOLD MEDAL
Vic Metro defeated Vic Country 76-67
Neither side was able to gain any separation until the second period when Vic Metro went on a run thanks to some stops at the defensive end. Paul Tsapatolis (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Samuel Taulapiu (six points) recorded steals to help Vic Metro to a 16-8 quarter and a six-point lead at half-time.
Vic Country never panicked though, cutting the margin to a one-possession game a few times before a late three-pointer from Dominic Occhipinti (eight points) and fantastic repeat efforts by Liam Herbert (16 points) in the third quarter had the crowds on the edge of their seats. A big three from Mitch Mellis gave the ascendancy back to Vic Metro early in the fourth quarter though with Jose Capetola and Mark Steiner putting the finishing touches on a strong performance down the stretch from the hosts.
