Warrnambool under 18 boys, girls' teams finish runners-up at 2023 Basketball Victoria country championships

The Seahawks and Mermaids made their respective grand finals on Sunday, February 19.

The Seahawks fell to Wodonga 58-43 and the Mermaids lost to Korumburra 52-30.

Seahawks coach Alex Gynes said he was proud of his side's performances against high-level opponents.

"They were fantastic. We got absolutely everything out of the weekend that we could and out of the (representative squad) season," he said.

"They fought right to the end - I couldn't be more proud of them and they should be more proud of themselves.

"To finish second at country champs is a phenomenal effort."

Gynes was thrilled with the players' defensive mindset.

"We played Wodonga in a pool game first up and they pushed us out of our stuff," he said. "Half the boys were coming off a Rebels' (football practice match) the night before so we were a bit sluggish but after game one we really turned the screws and everyone dug in defensively."

Sam Niklaus was one player who epitomised the Seahawks' commitment to defence while Reggie Mast's all-round performances impressed the coach.

Victorian state player Wil Rantall and Amon Radley also shone while "everyone who came through - whether it was 30 minutes or five minutes on each of the games - played their roles".

"Reggie was phenomenal. He battled right to the end - he did a lot of the hard yards and heavy lifting for us on both ends of the floor," Gynes said.

Paiyton Noonan (77 points) was the Mermaids' top-scorer across the competition while Matilda Sewell was also dangerous with 67.

The association also sent two under 16 teams to the tournament with the under 16 girls making the division one semi-final and the under 16 boys playing off in a division two qualifying final.

Country championships marked the end of the 2022-23 squad season across Victoria.

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