Basketball Academy
VSSC State Finals Week
Last week was a busy and successful week for the Berwick College Basketball Academy, with multiple teams competing at the Victorian Secondary Schools Challenge (VSSC) State Finals.
Our Intermediate Division 1 Boys team competed at the State Basketball Centre on Wednesday 17 June and produced an outstanding performance throughout the day. The boys progressed through pool play with their only loss coming against Rowville Secondary College by just four points.
The two teams met again in the Grand Final, with Berwick leading by four points at half-time before Rowville finished strongly in the second half. The boys finished as State Runners-Up, an excellent achievement against some of the strongest school basketball programs in Victoria.
The day prior, both our Division 1 Girls and Division 1 Boys teams were crowned VSSC State Champions. The girls defeated Flinders Christian Community College in the Grand Final, while the boys overcame Rowville Secondary College 27–20 to claim the State Title.
It was a fantastic result for both programs and a reward for their hard work and commitment throughout the year.
On Thursday 18 June, our Senior Boys and Senior Girls teams competed in the VSSC State Finals. Both teams battled hard throughout the tournament but narrowly missed progressing to the crossover stages. While the results were not what the teams had hoped for, the experience gained against quality opposition will be invaluable as they now turn their attention towards the upcoming Champions Cup competition.
NBA Rising Stars Invitational - Singapore
Adding to an exciting period for the Academy, ten of our student-athletes departed for Singapore on Monday 22 June to represent Australia at the NBA Rising Stars Invitational.
After winning the Australian Qualifier earlier this year, the team will now compete against some of the best school basketball programs from across the Asia-Pacific region.
Representing Berwick College are Boris Rosner, Jake Shaw, Lachlan Pickering, Oliver Van den Brink, Parker Rivet, Stevan Tasic, Zach Morrell, Zane Windsor, Aiden Turkkan and Jack Dawson.
The team is coached by Brent Hobba, with assistants Chris Pentland and Craig Kennedy.
We encourage the Berwick College community to follow the team's journey throughout the week.
Be sure to keep an eye on the Berwick College Basketball Academy social media pages for game times, livestream information and tournament updates.
Congratulations to all players, coaches and staff involved throughout the week. To have multiple teams competing at State level, two State Championships, a State Runners-Up finish and a team representing Australia internationally highlights the strength of the Berwick College Basketball Academy and the commitment of our student-athletes.
Gerard Leonard
Health/PE - Basketball Academy Coach