Several Sale Sonics junior teams travelled up to the Southern Peninsula Tournament over the weekend for the biggest tournament the teams have played in so far.
Many quality sides from metro and country regions participated.
The Sale Under 12.1 girls had another great weekend, playing Warragul, Keilor 2, Phillip Island and Chelsea, with some great learning along the way. Sale girls continue to show improvements in their individual games and skill and as a team.
The Sonics Under 12 boys had an incredible breakthrough weekend at the tournament, playing with strong defensive pressure and finding good form in their offensive team plays.
The boys remained undefeated in their four pool games, including a nail-biting win when Tyler Harrison made both his free throws after the final siren for Sale to win by two points against Bendigo Braves. The win landed the Sonics on top of the ladder, sending the boys into the Grand Final against Frankston.
Frankston was too strong on the day, but the Sale boys should be incredibly proud of their achievement, playing in their first tournament Grand Final.
Sale’s Under 14 girls squad had quite a good weekend, finishing two from two in pool play, after managing a nail-biting one-point win against Hawthorn, and a 47-point blowout against Mornington.
The two wins just weren’t quite enough to get a finals appearance; however, the girls enjoyed their time playing away and showed great teamwork.
The Sale Sonics Under 14.1 boys were awarded runners-up in Division 1 at the tournament.
The boys made it through Day 1 undefeated, playing off against undefeated team Sandringham on Sunday morning for a spot in the Grand Final.
State training commitments left the team with six players Sunday, including Cooper Hole, who played through injury; however, the boys showed amazing self-belief and scored an exciting win against Sandringham 28-31, followed by a nail-biting four-point win against Maffra.
Lining up for their third game of the day, still with just six players, the boys faced Wodonga in the Grand Final. Sheer determination saw them still fighting at the end for a gallant five-point loss in the Grand Final.
Hunter Wynd was awarded Most Valuable Player in the Grand Final.
Coach Jo Crawford-Wynd said she was proud of the team-first approach, with all players working together and creating space for each other.
Showing the strength of the team, Sale had four scorers named in the top five for the competition, including Hunter Wynd, Archer Crawley, Charlie Young and Max Cox.
The Sale Under 16.1 girls had an up-and-down weekend, playing some brilliant patches of basketball, but couldn’t match the consistency of the Melbourne VJBL teams.
Although they didn’t win a game, they were highly competitive and always kept the opposition’s score within reach. Their best game was against eventual winners Frankston 3, only being defeated by three points.
The Sale Under 16 boys had a tough weekend away at Southern Peninsula with only six players, and while they weren’t quite able to get a win, they managed to stay competitive against some quality sides.
The Sonics Under 18 girls had a rough weekend, coming away with just one win from their four games; they battled hard despite being outsized, but as the weekend went on they were just worn down and ran out of gas.
The Under 18.1 Sale Boys had a tough weekend in Division 1.
With two close losses Saturday to Wodonga, losing by nine points, and Sandringham, (eight points), and a convincing loss to Frankston – the boys composed themselves on Sunday and came away with a 17-point win against Western Port.
After a hectic start to the representative season, all players and parents are looking forward to a quick break over Christmas, before beginning preparation for the Eltham/Dandenong tournament hosted over the Australia Day weekend.
