Basketball Academy
NBA RISING STARS INVITATIONAL - AUSTRALIAN QUALIFIERS
The Berwick College Basketball Academy had a huge weekend at the NBA Rising Stars Invitational Australian Qualifier held at the State Basketball Centre, with our Senior Boys team earning the opportunity to represent Australia in Singapore later this year.
The tournament featured some of the best school basketball programs from around the country, with Berwick finishing the weekend as champions after defeating Templestowe College 98–91 in a high-level Grand Final.
The boys showed great composure and toughness across the entire weekend. One of the standout moments came against Trinity College where the team fought back from 22 points down to win 102–86. They then backed it up with a strong Semi Final win over Western Heights College before securing the championship later that afternoon.
Year 11 student Boris Rosner was named Tournament MVP after an outstanding weekend, including 27 points and 12 rebounds in the Grand Final. Parker Rivet continued his excellent all-round form throughout the tournament, while Jake Shaw brought terrific energy and effort every time he stepped on the floor.
A big thank you to all staff, families, students and supporters who came down across the weekend or tuned into the livestreams. The support around the program was unreal and something the boys genuinely appreciated. It was a great result for the team, but also another proud moment for the Basketball Academy and wider Berwick College community.
We’re excited to head back to Singapore in June and compete against some of the best school teams from across the Asia-Pacific region. After getting a taste of it last year, the group is hungry to get back over there and see if they can take the whole thing out.
BASKETBALL VICTORIA 3X3 CUP STATE FINALS
In early April, Berwick College Basketball Academy teams competed in the Basketball Victoria Schools 3x3 State Finals held at the State Basketball Centre, with our Junior and Intermediate teams producing strong results across both tournaments.
The Junior program had an outstanding campaign. Our Division 1 Boys 1 team were crowned State Champions after an impressive undefeated run throughout the day, while Division 1 Boys 2 also performed strongly to finish 3rd overall. In the girl’s competition, Division 1 Girls 1 narrowly missed the podium finishing 4th, while Division 1 Girls 2 finished 5th in a highly competitive field. Our Division 2 Boys team also had a terrific day, taking out the State Championship in their division.
The Intermediate teams followed up with another strong performance the next day. Our Intermediate Boys team battled their way through to the Grand Final before eventually finishing runners-up overall after a consistent tournament across the day.
The Intermediate Girls team continued to improve each game and competed strongly throughout the event, finishing 7th overall against quality opposition from across Victoria.
The 3x3 format continues to provide a great opportunity for our student athletes to develop their decision making, compete at a high level and represent the College against some of the strongest basketball programs in the state. Across both days, all teams represented the Academy and Berwick College extremely well.
Gerard Leonard
Health/PE - Basketball Academy Coach