https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/rising-stars-meteoric-rise-for-under-16s/3673696/ BASKETBALL: It was an inspiring comeback in Townsville for Mackay's young basketball champions. The Meteorettes' under-16 side clashed with their Townsville's counterparts last Sunday at the Queensland North Junior Basketball Championships, with a gold medal on the line. Down by 14 points at the end of the first quarter and still trailing at half-time, the girls rallied to get the win. Starving off their fancied rivals, they secured a dramatic 19-point victory. Point guard Paris Santacaterina has been a part of junior representative teams since she was nine-years-old. It has taken a relentless worth ethic to achieve such lofty heights. However standing alongside her passionate team-mates, she said Sunday's triumph was the sweetest moment of her blossoming career. "I train six days a week, and on what's meant to be my rest day, I still have a shoot around. Lots of hard work goes into it," Santacaterina said.
"It was pretty amazing when we won, I was crying at the end of the game - excitement really runs through your veins when you win a gold medal." The team hasn't been afforded the opportunity to rest on their laurels. Eight girls from their gold medal-winning team were chosen to compete for Queensland state team selection at a training camp back in Townsville this weekend. With the best junior players throughout north Queensland striving for a spot, Meteorettes under-16's coach Jamiey Doevendans said the winning formula the team had found would give his troops an edge in their pursuit for state selection. "If you want to go to nationals ... you have to take winning players that are willing to do the extra bit. For us to get the gold medal shows we have the group that can compete and go to those next levels," Doevendans said. "Anyone that watched the game (against Townsville) would've enjoyed a really up-tempo game, where we shot the ball well, had a lot of ball pressure and a lot of defensive pressure. "That's what collapsed Townsville on the day, and I think they were surprised with the way we played." With the Under-16's State Championships in Brisbane taking place next month, Doevendans said the girls' exposure to Queensland team trials would prepare them for success. Drawing on his lengthy representative coaching experience, he said this side has the talent to pursue greater heights in Australian basketball. "This group is very talented, it was just getting that winning culture and belief," Doevendans said. "Energy, passion, effort and pride in the Mackay jersey is something that needs to be instilled in a lot of the kids who come through these programs and if we can do that it's a leg up before you compete against teams like Townsville."
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November 2019
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