Basketball ___________________________________Page

VICTORIAN COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Victorian College Championships has now become the major tournament for our College basketball teams. The event is run by Basketball Victoria. Qualifying rounds need to be won to attend the State Finals rounds at MSAC. For the first time in many years all the St Joseph’s College teams competed at the highest level in Division 1.

JUNIOR TEAM

The Junior Division 1 team was a mixture of Year 7 and Year 8 students. Not playing much basketball together prior to the State Finals was going to make the finals a difficult day. However, the boys acquitted themselves extremely well and were highly competitive in all their games. A highlight was beating Rowville SC. This school has a dedicated elite basketball program but our team played exceptionally well to beat this school for the first time ever in any age group. Unfortunately, other results did not go our way and the boys just missed out on the semi-final round. The Junior Team finished overall in sixth place.

INTERMEDIATE TEAM

The SJC Intermediate Team entered the VCC tournament in Division 1. During the regional round held at Werribee the boys managed to progress to the final. In this game the group played extremely well and qualified for the State Finals. Unfortunately, some injuries occurred prior to the day of the Finals. Nevertheless, the boys were outstanding. Playing on points far less than all the other Division 1 schools, many of which run specialist basketball programs, the boys had an amazing day and qualified for the semi-finals. Although they fell at this hurdle a top four finish in Division 1 was a fantastic result. In fact, the highest Division 1 finish in this tournament for SJC. Congratulations to all involved.

SENIOR TEAM

This year the Senior Team also played in Division 1, as a result of having many players who were playing representative basketball in 2017. The other schools in this division were exceptional and the boys were competing against some highly competent opposition. In the regional day at Werribee the boys were highly competitive in all their games and reached the semi-finals. Unfortunately, the semi-final wasn’t their best game and they did not progress to the next round. Special thanks to the Year12 boys in this group who represented the College for the final time. Many have played basketball for St Joseph’s in every year since they were in Year 7. Finally, I would like to thank Mr Bryson Milverton, Sportsmaster, for his continued support and assistance with all our College basketball teams.

- Simon Jovic, Basketball Coach

Junior Basketball

L-R: Luke Bartolo, Angus Codd, Oscar Morrison, Alexander Dunn, Rhys Devlin, Tyran Lynch Absent: Harry Den Dryver, Thomas Dickinson, Harry Moran Staff: Simon Jovic

Intermediate Basketball

L-R: Dakota-Kai Alcorace, Jackson Cone, Mitchell Hovey, Noa Northam, Marach Marach, Finn Spence, Kale Marion, Benjamin Hough Absent: Ethan Blythe Staff: Simon Jovic

Senior Basketball

L-R: Jared Boyce, Kyle Milanovic, James Zielinski, Rody Spoormakers, Jack Dunstan, Thomas Senftleben, Dallas-Jai Alcorace Absent: Aaron Stone Staff: Simon Jovic