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Congratulations to our own Sophie Richardson, who has been invited to attend a national selection camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra before November's FIBA Under 15 Oceania Cup.

Sophie, who played for Camberwell Dragons 16.1 Girls this season, is one of five Victorians on the 20-player squad announced by Basketball Australia that will vie for a place on the Oceania Cup team.

"This camp heralds the start of the qualification journey for the 2026 Under 17 World Cup," General Manager of the Centre of Excellence and Performance Pathways Peter Lonergan said. "And for these young athletes, will be their first taste of a green and gold camp environment.

"We are excited about the talent in the two selected squads after talent identification at the recent Australian Under 16 Championships in Bendigo and look forward to the camp."

Sophie played a pivotal role for the state team at those Championships, where the Vics signed off with a silver medal after falling to Queensland South in the grand final.

Sophie has impressed all at our club with her work ethic and dedication to improving her game since she joined the Dragons in 2021, and we're right behind her as she enters the next phase of her basketball journey.

It has been a remarkable year for Sophie and for the Dragons program, which is nearing the end of one of the biggest and best seasons in club history.

Our program is one of the top ranked in the state, with a record 10 Dragons teams, including our 16.1 Girls, qualifying for Victorian Championship (VC) competition. Three of those teams, our 12.1 Girls, 14.1 Boys and 16.1 Boys, received invitations to compete at the prestigious National Junior Classic in Melbourne over the King's Birthday Weekend, with the 12.1 Girls and 16.1 Boys going on to claim the club's first-ever NJC bronze medals.

The 14.1 Boys will become the first Dragons teams to compete at a national championship when they step out at the Footlocker Under 14 National Club Championship in Casey this month (September 21-27). They're still alive in the VC Champs finals, too, and will play Bulleen in the semi-finals next week.

• The top two finishers at the FIBA Under 15 Oceania Cup (Australian Institute of Sport, November 11-16) will qualify for the 2025 FIBA Women's Under 16 Asis Cup. To view the complete boys and girls national selection camp squads, click HERE.

Photos: Craig Dingle, Melbourne Sports Photography, and supplied.