Keilor Thunder’s under-14 basketball team is headed to the Australian Junior Championships, with the boys gearing up for a chance at the title.
The team is set to play off at the championships in September in a unique opportunity to play against some of the best players in the country.
Belinda Hill’s son Nicholas is part of the Thunder team. Ms Hill said the under-14 age group is the only year that involves whole teams qualifying for the event.
“We are all so excited, this is a pretty huge deal because it only gets to happen once,” she said.
“It is pretty rare to have a team of players with enough depth to make it through to the championships. You need to have the right combination of kids and we have just that.”
Ms Hill said the experience offers the young stars a chance to follow in the pathway of hometown heroes, like former Thunder players Ben Simmons and Dante Exum, who went on to be drafted in the NBA.
“This experience will help to set players up for the state and national pathway because they are some of the strongest players in the country,” she said.
“If any team can do it, it’s our boys. There is a little bit of pressure on them but we know they can do it.
“We are all ridiculously excited, we’ve seen the team come together.”
As the team prepares for the championships, the club is looking for sponsors to help cover some of the travel, accommodation and uniform costs.
Details: asf.org.au/projects/keilor-basketball-association
Hannah Hammoud
