Albany Basketball Association reaches three grand finals at Basketball WA Country Championships

Albany Basketball Association continued its strong showing at the Basketball WA Country Championships, with three grand final appearances across three categories in the past fortnight.

The ABA’s under-14 boys championship division team, the under-14 girls championship side and the under-16 girls division 1/2 featured in grand finals at the Bendat Basketball Centre in Perth earlier this month.

All teams played under the banner of the Albany Raiders.

Despite each side falling short in their deciding fixture, the under-14 boys championship side finished atop the standings after the conclusion of five matches.

The impressive outfit rattled off wins against Busselton Blazers, Harvey Heat, Geraldton Buccaneers and the Bunbury Bears before going down 37-28 against Busselton in the grand final.

Raiders’ Xavier Donald put together an outstanding campaign, hitting double digits in three separate matches, including a 20-point haul in the qualifying match against Busselton.

Donald (10 points) top-scored in the 37-28 defeat to Busselton in the grand final but they were left to rue a slow second half as they fell narrowly short of title glory.

The youngster finished as the second highest scorer at the competition on 69 points, behind Busselton’s Hudson Morris (105).

In the under-14 girls championship division, the Raiders finished with four wins and a loss in qualifying matches before going down by three points in the grand final.

Rising talent Dakota Dimer showed her brilliance, comfortably finishing as the division’s overall top scorer with 77 points, 33 ahead of Karratha’s Keira Fawcett.

The 12-year-old recorded a fighting 18-point total in the 30-27 grand final result, including a three-pointer from long range.

In the under-16 girls division 1/2 competition, Albany had four wins and one loss across five qualifying games but fell short by 17 points in the decider.

Mia Dominak (10) reached double figures in the match but they ultimately fell short in the 35-18 defeat.

Meanwhile, Denmark recorded five defeats in as many games in the under-15 division 3 boys competition despite a strong showing from Sam O’Toole-Gardner.

O’Toole Gardner finished ninth-highest overall scorer in the division on 50 points and three triples.

In the under-13 girls division 3 campaign, Denmark finished second in their pool with four wins and a loss before falling to a 27-9 semifinal defeat to Collie Cougars.

Donald and Dimer were both named as All Stars for their terrific performances.