Grand final heartache for Albany Basketball Association under-16 division three side at country championships
Albany Basketball Association under-16 division three fell at the final hurdle of the Basketball WA Country Championships in Perth at the weekend.
The ABA sent two teams away to the third week of the annual championships held at Bendat Basketball Centre, competing in the under-16 girls division three and under-16 girls division one-two competitions.
The division three side fell short in the grand final, losing the decider on Sunday by five points.
After winning three of four qualifying games, Albany finished second to book their spot in the decider.
Three teams were locked together on points but Albany and Pinjarra got through on percentage.
Albany trailed by six points at half-time in the grand final and the margin blew out to a game-high 13 points.
Albany pulled the deficit back to two late in the game, but Pinjarra held their nerve to prevail 33-28.
Kira-Lee Dimer and Mabel Markey led the way with eight points each for Albany, and Milla Trichilo added six.
Albany won their opening game on Saturday by 10 points over Waroona as Trichilo top-scored with eight points in the 19-9 victory.
A nine-point win over Pinjarra gave Albany back-to-back wins as they prevailed 30-21, led by eight points from Dakota Bremner.
Albany continued their impressive run with a comfortable 24-9 win over Eaton to finish day one undefeated.
Their unbeaten run ended in the final qualifying game on Sunday, losing 26-22 to Margaret River despite eight points from Markey.
Albany’s side in the division one-two competition finished fourth after winning two games.
They won their opening game against Karratha 26-15, with Keely Berry top-scoring with 10.
Berry guided Albany to a second straight win with 12 points in their 23-18 victory over Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
But they lost their next three games, starting with a big 45-17 loss to Bunbury, as Berry hit nine points.
Albany lost 46-16 to Australind in the fourth qualifying game and went down to Northam, 20-15, to end their grand final hopes.
Berry’s fantastic tournament was recognised when she was selected in the All-Stars team for her division.
Denmark Basketball Association also sent two teams away to the third week of the championships.
Their under-15 division three girls side won three out of six qualifying games to finish in fourth spot.
The under-15 division three boys team only managed one win from their six games to finish in sixth spot.
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