The Deni Junior Giants travelled to Benalla on February 25 and 26 for a tournament finish that will be one to remember.
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The under-18s boys and girls sides both made grand finals, and the boys dominated in the final contest.
They finished on top of the Division 2 ladder with wins over Mansfield Eagles Blue 29-20, Tumut Timberwolves 45-19 and Mansfield Eagles Gold 23-18 securing a semi finals show down against the Myrtleford Saints.
The Giants started strong, but every time it looked like they were going to extend their lead Myrtleford fought back, hitting a three pointer on the half-time buzzer to level the scores.
The Giants took an early lead early in the second half only to have Myrtleford chip away and take a one point lead late in the game.
Foul trouble for the Saints sent Deni to the line two times, but they were only able to convert twice giving them a one point lead.
With 17 seconds left Myrtleford had the ball and the Giants were on nine team fouls.
Tyson Willis stood his ground, creating a charged foul and converted one shot to secure a nail biting two point win and a grand final appearance.
The grand final was always going to be tough against a strong Wodonga side.
Again the boys started strong, showcasing amazing defensive pressure and resulting in numerous turnovers and hitting the score board when it was needed.
The Giants took the lead and maintained it the entire game, keeping calm, staying focussed and enjoying their last ever game together in the orange.
They came away with a well deserved eight point win.
Coach Brendan Willoughby expressed how proud he was of how far these boys have come this year, with everyone playing their role and enjoying the game.
Benalla was the last tournament ever for seven of the under-18s girls, and they finished with a grand final appearance.
Game one was against Benalla and it did not disappoint.
The game was back and forth and came down to the wire with the Giant’s eventually taking the win, 18-17.
Bonnie Everett led the way with 11 points on offence and Mia Parks and Kate Westcott caused plenty of turnovers on the defensive end.
The second game against Wangaratta followed the script of cracking games.
The game was an absolute defensive battle.
Mia Parks again provided the pressure but pushed slightly too far and was fouled out at the end of the game.
Giants had the lead running into the last five minutes of the game with points from Stella White, Trinity Larcombe and Jarrah Fitzpatrick.
Wangaratta brought the pressure and in the dying minutes they scored two fast break baskets to win the game, 16-14.
This was Wangaratta’s second win and secured them a grand final birth.
On Sunday the girls took on Benalla in the semi-final.
They were flat in the first five minutes, but after a quick time out they readjusted.
Emma Parks took the game by the horns and dominated at the offensive end, finishing with 12 points.
The girls flew through the second half with Hayley Noonan controlling the defensive boards, and the Giant were blow out winners 33-12.
The grand final was the last game of most of the girls’ junior basketball careers.
Fittingly it was to be against Wangaratta.
In the girls’ first tournament seven years ago, they played and beat the same Wangaratta team in a grand final.
The Giants were ready to go and started the game off the right way with a quick basket to Jarrah.
The game was back and forth in the same defensive style as the first match up.
Wangaratta got the better of some opportunities and nothing else dropped for the Giants.
At half-time, Wangaratta had a 12-2 lead and Mia Parks was stranded on the bench with a leg injury.
Things were not looking great in the huddle for the Giants girls.
The plan was to speed up the play.
The girls gave everything until the final siren, but Wangaratta proved too strong and won in commanding fashion, 29-12.
Coach Mick Everett has coached most of these girls for the majority of their junior Giants careers and congratulated them on a fantastic tournament season - three grand finals from five tournaments is a great effort.
Benalla was also the last tournament of the season for the under-16s boys and girls.
The under-16s boys came up against an unknown Warracknabeal in game one.
It proved to be an evenly matched contest which could have gone either way in the last 30 seconds, but Warracknabeal got the win 26-24.
The boys were keen to turn the disappointment of game one into a positive and fired in game two coming away with a nine point win over Wangaratta, 42-33.
Game three was tough against the sharp shooting Tatura Titans, going down 57-23 in the final game of the tournament.
Congratulations to first time coach Chloe Way and the group of boys who committed to working hard and showed improvement at every tournament.
It was a great start to the tournament for the under-16s girls with a win against Benalla Breakers.
Clearly the passes training paid off with good ball movement in offence, creating lots of easy shots and resulting in a 23-9 win.
Game two against Mansfield was always going to be a tough one.
The Giants played really well, only letting themselves down in the last 10 minutes and allowing Mansfield a 24-13 point win.
Although they suffered a loss, the girls were beaten by the same team only a week ago by 40 points which shows significant improvement.
Game three saw the girls start strong and defensive pressure resulted in turnovers and the Giants scoring the first three points of the game.
Unfortunately the girls couldn't keep it up and goals wouldn’t fall when the opportunity presented.
Shepparton were able to play consistent basketball, winning 21-3.
It was another great tournament for the under-14s Giants boys, who beat the Myrtleford Saints comfortably 58-19.
In game two the Giants were up against a new Seymour side.
With a lot of height they were a tougher team than the Giants played in Maryborough.
Unfortunately the boys’ shots just weren't on for this game, and they lost in a nail-biting finish 23-26.
Game three was a must win to make finals, however it just wasn't their day. Mooroopna took the win, 37-27.
The under-14s boys development team opened up their tournament against the much favoured Bendigo Braves.
They locked in defensively to start their campaign and held their opposing team to only seven points for the half, to trail by one.
The Braves’ bigs dominated at both ends in the second half to pull away to a comfortable victory 31-11.
In game two the boys faced Mansfield with a similar result, losing 33-16.
The final game of the weekend was their most exciting and heartbreaking, going down by one point to Wangaratta.
In a low scoring affair, neither team could capitalise on their defensive efforts on the offensive end.
A 6-0 run saw Wangaratta pull away by as many points before the boys hit back with the last five points of the game.
With only seconds on the clock, Wangaratta held possession to take the win 20-19.
The under-14s girls played the tournament under the direction of different coaches and against some tough competition.
They came up against strong Wangaratta Division 1 and 2 teams in their first two games, both resulting in losses.
Game three was against Benalla Breakers and was an absolute thriller.
The girls were able to again improve on their defence.
Strong pressure up the court enabled many stops and the talls were able to send guards into many fast breaks.
The talk, positive energy and support from the entire team and parents was evident and pushed the girls for the entire game.
The last game of the tournament saw the Giants take on a strong Mansfield Eagles Gold, going down 52-20.
The highlight of the tournament was mastering the 3:2 pressure end zone, which created plenty of turnovers.
The under-12s boys had a draw that meant that they would come up against three unknown teams.
The boys had strong wins over Euroa Magpies 23-4, Albury Cougars 44- 6 and Tatura Titans 23-9.
This gave the boys a top of the ladder finish (from 16 teams) with a huge 438 per cent. They would meet the Bendigo Braves in the semi.
The boys started the semi well, scoring and putting the pressure on defensively.
Bendigo scored a few consecutive goals and the Giants started to get rattled and put pressure on themselves.
The Bendigo Braves were just too strong and composed for the young Giants, and took out the win to advance to the grand final - which they ended up winning over Wangaratta.
The under-12s boys development team came up against strong Shepparton (26-11 loss) and Bendigo (43-5 loss) teams before an exciting round three game against Albury Cougars which resulted in a 33-all draw.
The Giants played an excellent game with lots of passing and teamwork.
A free throw after the buzzer by Charlie Murray provided the drawn game.
The under-12s girls had a tough tournament going down to Myrtleford, Mansfield and Wangaratta.
Although unable to take a win over the weekend, the girls have shown improvement and the ability to implement all the skills being practised at training.
To the girls’ credit all opposing team coaches were complimentary to the style of basketball the girls are playing.
This was the last tournament of the season for the under-18s and under-16s teams, while the under-14s and under-12s teams will travel to Wodonga this weekend to participate in the Wangaratta tournament.
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