Basketball
20 January, 2025
Local basketballers star in Australian Country Junior Cup
Luella Burke, Micah Livingstone, and Levi Munyard have starred for the Victorian Goldminers in the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup. This is the biggest junior tournament in Australia, featuring teams from around Australia and New Zealand. It was held in Albury from Tuesday, January 14, to Saturday, January 18.
Burke played in the under-14 girls who won the match for third place, having lost in the semi-final.
She scored 39 points in eight games, said it was a fun week, and explained her role.
"I was helping, dribbling up the court with the guards and doing some shooting as well," Burke said.
"It was an enjoyable week. I met some good girls there that I will be friends with in the future.
"I was happy with how I played. Some days were good, and some days were bad, and I thought I did pretty well in the final game, and I pushed myself hard."
Burke said her coach, Gail Macfarlane, did a great job in teaching.
"Gail was understanding of everything, and if we made mistakes, she would help us," Burke said.
"She would answer any questions we had and be happy to help us and help us read plays.
"I learned more about spacing, being confident with my shots, being a good teammate, and having good sportsmanship. It was a great week."
Micah Livingstone and Levi Munyard played in the under-18s, finishing runner-up to the Victorian Bushrangers and reaching the final undefeated.
Livingstone, who played more defensively, scored 18 points in the seven games and said it was a great week.
"It was a great week with good talent level," Livingstone said.
"I learned heaps from the coaches, from a lot of the little things to structures and tips and tricks on offence and defense, such as rebounding better or cutting and making connections with coaches and getting to know them.
"My role was to play the big man, and I was a bit more of a bruiser, setting up a lot of screens, rebounding, doing the little things, and doing what I could to help us get wins."
Levi Munyard, having participated in the cup last year, scored 51 points in seven games, playing as a leader, and said it was a great week.
"It was a good week and good to play with the boys," Munyard said.
"Getting to the grand final was one thing, but it's how you play with your team and learn, which are key to being selected for the state team."
Munyard said he was a leader and learned to be a role model.
"I thought I had a really good week. Our team wasn't as strong as the other Victorian team, but I took it into my own hands to lead the team the best I could.
"We had a younger team, and we gelled throughout the week and got closer than we thought. I thought I led and played well.
"What I took out of the week was to be a bit more of a role model. Throughout the week, we had a younger age group, and I was mentoring them and leading them on the court, showing good body language because, as an older player, they strive to be like us.
"I get a bit frustrated on the court at some points, and the coaches told me to focus on the team and leading them because if I am down, the team will be down, and always to stay positive, and I was able to do that. It was a good week."