WARRNAMBOOL Seahawks' basketball is in safe hands with its next generation finishing second at the Basketball Victoria under 16 country championships.
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The junior Seahawks won seven of their eight games, including against major regional centres Ballarat and Bendigo, at the two-day competition in Traralgon.
Their only defeat was a narrow five-point loss to Geelong in Sunday's grand final. They scored comprehensive wins in their pool section, beating Maffra (81-35), Bellarine (65-13), Shepparton (47-34) and Colac (53-33).
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Their finals victories were also dominant. They defeated Ballarat 57-41 in their quarter-final before downing Bendigo 52-28 in the semi-final.
Seahawks coach Alex Gynes was proud of his players' performances.
"Our goal was to win the whole thing and take out the final but in all it was a fantastic effort," he said.
"The effort all weekend was at a high standard and their attention to detail was fantastic.
"Two 20-point wins against Ballarat and Bendigo gave the boys a lot of confidence and proved to themselves they can compete with anyone."
Nine players - Amon Radley, Finn O'Sullivan, Kayne Rae-Rentsch, Wil Rantall, Ollie Harris, Sam Niklaus, Jaiden Wells, Charlie McKinnon and Reggie Mast - formed the Seahawks' team.
"They all contributed across the board and I think that is why we did so well this tournament," Gynes said.
"Amon Radley really shone on the defensive end. He took every challenge and he was fantastic.
"Finn O'Sullivan really set the tone in terms of energy and effort for us and had some high-scoring games as well."
Gynes rated the Seahawks' semi-final win against Bendigo as a highlight.
"We moved the ball really well and everyone was locked in on defence and we got a few long-range threes to drop which kind of put us on the front foot," he said.
The country championship wrapped up the under 16 Seahawks' representative campaign.
Gynes said they played three tournaments and the country championships in a "short and sharp COVID-restricted season".
"Most of the boys are ready for footy season now," he said.
Warrnambool finished fourth in the under 16 girls and eighth in the under 18 boys at the country championships.
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