Hillcrest Basketball Success

GOLD COAST INVITATIONAL

Hillcrest Basketball, with the assistance of Jennelle Cameron (Tournament Convener), Esther Ackinclose and Martinne O’Neill (Court Controllers) saw Gold Coast Invitational grow from an eight team Boys Division 2 tournament in 2016, into a National tournament for Boys and Girls, and with Division for U13, U15, U19 Division 1 and Under 19 Division 2. We booked the eight court Coomera Indoor Sports Centre and hosted 53 teams, representing 25 schools, playing 192 games of basketball over the four competition days.

This tournament was a fantastic experience for everyone involved, and feedback indicates that 2018 will be bigger, better and stronger than ever before.

We saw once again how close knit our Hillcrest basketball community is, as volunteer staff and parents stepped into the roles of Coaches, Team Managers, Referees and Score Bench Officials, to enable students from Year 4 Beginner’s Program through to our Seniors in Emerging Squads and Open Teams, were able to take the court for this tournament.

BASKETBALL QUEENSLAND

Hillcrest has been well represented in Queensland basketball recently, with students Lilly Rotunno, Shorna Preston, Jade Peacock, Layla-J Cameron, Mathayus Mata'afa, Ezekiel Stortenbeker and Josh Wolff being selected for the Basketball Queensland Future Development Program.

The program selects the 30 best up and coming boys and girls in Queensland born in 2005/2004. The students attended specialised training sessions over an eight week period which culminated in a State Camp in Brisbane in the holidays.

Congratulations to our selected athletes, and a special mention to Lilly Rotunno, Shorna Preston and Josh Wolff for being selected into the All Star 5 during the camp.

Brothers Tobias and Flynn Cameron, representing New Zealand, attended the Under 19 FIBA World Championships in Cairo, Egypt, competing in games against Korea, France, Germany, Argentina, Mali, Puerto Rico and Egypt. This was the first time New Zealand had qualified for the tournament beating Australia in the Oceania Qualifiers in Fiji in December 2016. The team finished a commendable 11th place overall.

After trialing, and making the final cut for the BQ U17 and U15 Emerging State teams, Emma Stadler, Jordan Schwalger and Katie Deeble travelled to Los Angeles for ten days. They competed in two tournaments, playing elite athletes in their age groups. They toured UCLA and Pepperdine universities, and trained at Shoot 360 – a training facility that NBA players train at. The girls met WNBA players, while the boys got to train next to players including Dangelo Ball & Jaylen Hands at UCLA. Jordan’s team won 4 from 7 games played against some tough competition in an AAU Tournament Gold Division. Congratulations to all student athletes – what a fantastic achievement and experience.

MONDAK AND TEAM HAVOC GAMES

In the last week of the holidays, Hillcrest Basketball hosted games for a USA touring group from Montana and Dakota. The Open Boys and Girls Teams played four fully timed games over two days – claiming victory in three. After the first day of games, we hosted a shared evening meal with our visitors.

Athletes enjoyed a different style of fast paced game, and our students relished the chance to interact and make friends with international visitors, while further cementing friendships with their fellow students.

We then hosted another touring group from the Sydney Institute of Basketball – Team Havoc. Our Year 10 and Year 11 boys did us proud, and stood their ground, claiming victory for both games. Hillcrest Basketball, with the support of parents, hosted an amazing afternoon tea for the boys after their games. Thank you for your continued support!

HOOPS DOWN UNDER 2017

Hillcrest Basketball entered three teams into fast paced, and extremely competitive U19 Down Under Hoops Tournament held at Carrara Sport and Leisure Centre over the weekend of 15 – 16 July, 2017. The tournament included 14 teams from the USA, and 18 teams from the South East Region of Queensland; seeing over 250 athletes, along with coaches and support staff, parents and spectators through the doors to watch this international spectacle. The draw had a total of 137 games, with Hillcrest teams competing in 27.

The Opening Ceremony was a combined event with teams from New Zealand, the USA and Australia competing in Wrestling, Volleyball and Basketball Tournaments. Congratulations to Brayden Hutton for being selected as the Australian flag bearer.

th overall and the Hillcrest Hurricanes (Emerging Boys team) placed 12th overall from the 16 team competition.

A huge thank you must be given to our volunteers and our heartfelt thanks and appreciation also goes to Shandelle Sievers who tirelessly to make all these amazing ideas a reality.