With a couple of additions from a lower age bracket, and some heavy pain killers, Bellarine have whipped its rival Surfcoast at a major regional basketball tournament.
It took a pair of additions from a lower age bracket, and a dose of pain killers, but Bellarine has got the better of Surfcoast in a friendly local derby grand final at the annual Ballarat Junior Basketball Tournament over the long weekend.
The three-day competition brought together regional associations from across the northwest of Melbourne and beyond to Selkirk Stadium, with Bellarine sending 15 teams in all.
And it was a major success for the Storm who had five teams making the finals and its under-12 and under-18 boys outfits winning their respective grand finals on Monday, aided by MVP-winning performances.
Jamieson Renkauskas shone in the finals as the under-18 squad belted local rivals Surfcoast 68-50 on the Monday.
Under-18s coach Nick Stamatopoulos said the grand final highlighted a healthy rivalry with Surfcoast.
“Most of the kids are schoolmates, it was great to play a grand final with some familiar faces on the court,” Stamatopoulos said.
“The kids were looking forward to it all weekend, I assume it was the same for Surfcoast as well.
“It was a great test for us.”
Bellarine beat Altona, Ballarat, Melton and Westgate, and Bacchus Marsh in the semi-final, to qualify for the decider.
And they reserved their biggest win for the tournament in the grand final, with strong contributions from Renkauskas (22 points) Elijay Ottosen-I (16) and Harry Crane (11).
He said forward Renkauskas was relentless all weekend, playing big minutes and scoring heavily.
He also praised the commitment of Jack Davies, who injured his ankle in the semi-final but still ran the floor in the grand final with the aid of some strong pain killers.
Two under-16 players, in Harper Allchin and Jensen Constable, also stepped in to contribute.
Stamatopoulos said the tournament set the Storm up for the remainder of the VJBL season, allowing the team and coaching staff to work on systems and strategy.
“We want up against a lot of zone defence … which is going to set us up nicely for the rest of the season,” he said.
Meanwhile, Balin Evans was named finals MVP for the under-12 team as they whipped Craigieburn 48-27 in the decider.
The Storm went 4-1 to reach the grand final, belting Broadmeadows 71-26 to open their campaign.
Originally published as Bellarine Storm win two divisions at the Ballarat Junior Basketball Tournament