Shepparton Storm under 14 boys travelled to Nunawading for the long weekend to compete in the Nunawading Spectres Junior Tournament which attracted more than 200 teams from around Australia and overseas.

Storm commenced the tournament on Saturday with a convincing win over Ringwood Hawks outscoring them by 21 at the final siren. Day 2 loomed with three games necessary to complete the ‘rounds’ and the possibility of a semi final later the same day if successfully placed.

Game one on Sunday saw them line up against Sturt Sabres from SA. With all players settling into the game and shooting well Storm came away with a strong win again – this time 50-25. The next game was played early afternoon against North West Tasmania’s regional team – North West Thunder. This was no easy game (despite winning 48-26) and the boys played extremely tough basketball against some tall opposition. Although having already won 3 out of 3 games and assured a place in the semi finals later that night, Storm still had another game against Knox Raiders to complete the preliminary games. This game proved to be even tougher than the last and an extremely fired up Raiders team won the game in a tight finish 38-36.

A very weary Storm team made their way to Waverly stadium for the semi final with only a 50 minute break. Their opposition, Camberwell Dragons were placed second in their pool and the boys knew they would have to ‘dig deep’ to get a spot in the grand final. Struggling with fatigue and fouls Storm eventually won the game 39-35 to give them a place in the grand final.

After a well deserved rest overnight Storm had an early morning grand final against the SA team Forestville Eagles. Both teams were suitably fired up and wanted to make their trip to Nunawading worthwhile. Strong defense and rebounding from Storm saw them lead for the entire game. All players contributed well and with 12/14 free throws accuracy Storm consolidated their weekend effort with a 43-31 well deserved win.

Article courtesy of shepparton.basketball.net.au