IT will be an all-NSW affair in the under-18 boys grand final of the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup after both the Kookaburras and the Waratahs emerged victorious from their semi-finals yesterday.
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With Albury young gun Jessy Wilson at the helm, the Kookaburras withstood a late fightback from the Victoria Settlers to claim a 74-62 win at the Wodonga Sports and Leisure Centre.
Wilson scored 16 points as NSW maintained a double-digit advantage for much of the second half after an even first quarter.
NSW led 39-24 at half-time and looked to have the game well in hand with a 12-point lead and only eight minutes remaining.
However, the Settlers steadily reduced the margin to close to 65-58 with under three minutes to play.
But that would be as close as they would get, with Wilson helping to close out the win from the free throw line.
Wilson was delighted with the win but was even happier at the way the squad banded together after losing stars Angus Glover and Kyle Zunic to injury.
“Great to get a win, all the boys came together really well,” Wilson said.
“Knowing that we have the fight to win without them is really good.
“We all take pride in our defence, that’s country basketball right there.
“It’ll be a really good game against the Waratahs; we’re confident, we want to win and we’re going to win, that’s the way we see it.”
Kookaburras coach Shawn McEachin admitted his squad had struggled to put together four quarters of consistent basketball until the win over the Settlers.
But with intra-state pride on the line in today’s grand final, McEachin said he was confident the Kookaburras would emerge as cup champions for the second straight year.
“It’s going to be really fun,” McEachin said.
“The boys really look forward to this, whether it’s a grand final or not, at some point during the week, the teams want to play each other.
“Happy with the win, there’s ebbs and flows to every game and once we lost Angus we really had to focus on our defence.
“We put that effort in, guys like Jessy stepped up and they’re going to have to do it again.
“His (Wilson) ability to defend the ball will be critical.
“I like our chances, it’s NSW v NSW, there’s a lot of pride.”
The Kookaburras will square off against fellow state squad the Waratahs, who were also forced to overcome a fourth-quarter comeback from a New Zealand Kea outfit.
Having trailed 35-15 at half-time, the Kiwis roared back in the final minutes.
But the Waratahs stood firm to win 66-51 and set up a hotly-contested decider at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre this afternoon.
