By ROY WARD
DANDENONG Rangers junior basketballer Michael Wearne has described playing in Vic Metro’s gold medal win at the national under-18 championships as “the best experience of my life”.
The 16-year-old Croydon resident was a back-up point guard on the Metro team which beat New South Wales Metro 63-60 in the men’s gold medal game in Brisbane late last month.
Wearne played 12 minutes off the bench in the final but they were some important minutes in a pressure-filled game in which the Vics came back from 13 points down to win the match.
Wearne said the atmosphere in the stadium for the gold medal game was electric and he was very proud to have earned a gold medal.
“It was great, the best experience of my life,” he said. “All the boys worked so hard for eight months of preparation work so it was good to come away from the win after long, hard tournament.”
He added that the pressure of each match and the closeness of matches made for a stressful tournament.
“It was really tough,” Wearne said. “We had two or three really close games which we won by two points, the rest of the games we won quite easily but it was a very hard tournament against the best players in Australia.
“In the warm ups for the grand final, I was so pumped up, the stadium was just crazy.”
With selections taking several months, Wearne said he truly valued wearing a Vic Metro singlet.
“The selections dragged on for ages because they couldn’t decide who would be in the team. When I was told, I was in the car driving home from training. It felt amazing, knowing I was with the best players in the state.”
Vic Metro coach Nick Abdicevic praised his team, including Wearne, for their efforts in winning the gold medal.
“I am unbelievably proud of what we achieved in Brisbane,” he said. “I was confident that the players would give a good account of themselves throughout the championships and was especially pleased with the way that the team structures were adhered to.
“The players had a special bond and this was certainly a big factor during the time spent in Brisbane.
“To come back from 13 points down in the gold medal game was a fantastic effort and proved that the players were playing solid team orientated basketball and would not give in.”
Wearne plays with the Rangers under-18 side in the Victorian championship competition on Friday nights and is also a member of Box Hill Secondary College basketball program.
“If I can, my first priority would be to get over to the United States and play college basketball,” he said.
“I think I’m too young to be recruited at the moment but with the people I know from Dandenong Rangers and Box Hill, I hope I will get the chance to head over there.”
Wearne now plans to help his Rangers under-18 side win the state championship and he will also begin training with the Rangers’ D-League team.
■ Dandenong Rangers women continued their good form in the South East Australian Basketball League with a resounding win over Brisbane Spartans at Dandenong Stadium yesterday.
The Rangers won 79-52 with point guard Amelia Todhunter again the danger player scoring 29 points. The Rangers men’s match finished after the Journal went to print.
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