The under-18 girls were tournament runners-up. Pictured with coach Wally Bulmer are (from left) Aysha Mitsch, Ava Richards, Sienna Elphick, Shontai O’Callaghan, Ruby Cowley, Hannah McBurnie and Bae Willis.
The Deni Junior Giants travelled to Wodonga over the weekend to take part in the third under-16s and under-18s Wangaratta tournament.
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The u18 girls not only secured their first win for the tournament season, they also did enough to secure a grand final appearance.
The girls started round one against the ever strong Wodonga Wolves.
Although they worked hard, it was not enough to overcome the wolf pack, going down 50-19.
In a tight round two game, the Giants took their first win of the tournament season over the Yarra- Mul Lakers, 23-20.
Bae Willis’ 11 point effort led the Giants offence.
The team had foul trouble in round three, which disrupted their flow and allowed Euroa to take the 44-29 point win.
An early morning Sunday game saw the girls take on Euroa again in a semi-final, and coach Wally Bulmer asked the girls to dig deep and play strong.
They followed instructions for the entire game and showed incredible defensive pressure and rebounding, winning 25-19 and securing their place in the grand final.
The grand final was always going to be tough, coming up against the Wolves again.
The girls started strong, using their defensive strength to stay in the game.
Inaccurate shooting against a well-skilled Wodonga team allowed the Wolves to secure another win, 56-23.
Overall, the girls showed resilience, strong defence and growth across all areas.
Bae was awarded the Deni Clothing Co award for her consistent performances.
The u18 boys were always going to be up against it in a five round draw and with only six players available to take the court over the weekend.
They had three games on Saturday, and despite strong performances in each, the team battled fatigue.
They lost to Tatura (44-36), Myrtleford (44-38) and Mansfield (46-40).
They secured their first win of the tournament on Sunday morning, scoring 47-42 against Euroa with strong offence.
The fifth against Tumut resulted in a 50-31 loss.
Henry Robinson was awarded the Fitzpatrick Family Tournament award for his excellent leadership, play making, and control of the game.
The u16 boys came up against their toughest competition of the 2024/25 season so far.
Their first game against Wodonga Wolves resulted in a 58-29 point loss, but a highlight was Fred Everett netting his first tournament goal.
A calm and structured offence led to a strong win against Wangaratta in game two, 53-39, while strong defence in game three allowed the boys to overcome Benalla 66-44.
A quarter-final on Sunday morning against an unknown but very tall Milton-Ulladulla saw the boys exit the competition after a 63-21 loss, despite the team’s efforts.
The Murray Construction Tournament Award went to Ari Strongman for his relentless defence, work rate and decision-making in offends
The u16 girls started their campaign string with a 41-23 win over Yarra- Mul Lakers.
The second game was against the Wodonga Wolves who started strong and secured a commanding lead at half-time.
But the giants fought back in the second, but went down 37-44.
Game three was a nail-biter against the Tumut Timberwolves, again giving them a commanding half-time lead before a second half come back, going down 35-37.
A Sunday morning quarter-final saw the girls regroup and have a big win over the Wangaratta Warriors, 37-17. Bella Hillier’s 17 points contributed significantly.
The semi-final was against Tumut. The girls fought hard but couldn’t overcome the Timberwolves’ defensive strength and lost 30-43.
The Berrima Engineering Tournament Award went to Jorja Woolston for her exceptional defensive hustle and pressure.
The teams will now have a break until the new year when they will head to Wodonga early February.
Under-18s player Bae Willis looks to get a pass away against Euroa.
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