News

Camberwell Dragons are celebrating at the end of a history-making long weekend for the program after our 12.1 Girls and 16.1 Boys broke through to win bronze medals at the National Junior Classic on Monday.

Our girls became the first-ever Dragons team to win a medal at the Classic when they held off Melbourne Tigers in the playoff for third and fourth at Dandenong – Grace Tallis (12 points) and Gracie Otter (nine) combining for 21 points in a 40-33 win.

It was the fifth win in six outings at the 16-team invitational event for the girls, who pulled away with a 9-4 final quarter.

The good times continued for the Dragons at the same venue less than two hours later, when the 16.1 Boys rallied late to edge Gippsland United in their bronze medal game.

After trailing by seven points after three quarters, Camberwell, making its first-ever appearance in the Under 16 Boys competition at the Classic, outscored Gippsland 22-13 the rest of the way to secure a 57-55 win. Max Pavey had 22 points, Will Tyrrell added 10 and Hunter Dent finished with eight points, including the go-ahead basket late, for the Dragons, who finished with a 4-2 record at the tournament.

And our 14.1 Boys closed their Classic campaign with four straight wins to finish ninth in the Under 14s competition – the Dragons signing off with an 83-71 win against Bulleen in the 9-10 playoff at the State Basketball Centre.

Jake Zeunert had a game-high 27 points in that one and Bailey Russell added 22 for Camberwell, which finished strongly after dropping their first two games at the tournament.

With three of our teams finishing among the top 10 in their respective age groups at an event many consider to be the most prestigious junior event on the Australian basketball calendar, Camberwell Dragons and the basketball community in Melbourne's inner-east has a lot to celebrate this week.

We'll have more photos and reports from the Classic to share as the week unfolds.