Rosie’s on the ball

By Justin Robertson
WITH finals around the corner, Dandenong Rangers small forward Rosie Fadljevic has had to readjust her game.
The 16-year-old just spent 17 days at the Youth Olympics in Singapore competing in the three-on-three basketball format, an exciting version of the game that is strongly supported by FIBA.
If the Rangers can win the championship, it will cap off an amazing year for Fadljevic who won a silver medal at the Youth Olympics and she won a gold medal with the U18 VicMetro women’s team at the Australian Junior Championships in April.
“It’s been a great ride this year and the youth games was such an amazing experience,” she said. “I can’t even begin to describe just how good it was.”
It was Fadljevic’s first time overseas representing her country and she said the pacey three-on-three format was initially tough to master. “It was a challenge for us girls, but we adapted to it quickly through lots of training. At first the three-on-three was overwhelming but we got used to it and started playing a bit better with each hit out,” she said. “It’s a really fast-paced game and very exciting to play.”
The shortened version of the game consists of a 10-second shot clock, three players and a half court instead of a full court and the first team to reach 33 points or have the highest score after the two five-minute halves wins the match.
The Lyndale Secondary College student said the pinnacle of her trip came when the Australian team defeated the USA in the semi-final by two points which catapulted them into the grand final.
“We lost to China in the final by five points, but we were just so happy to win silver,” she said. “The crowd was going insane and everyone who was there was very proud of what we achieved.”
Fadljevic will now resume playing for the Dandenong Rangers where she started as a development player at the age of eight and has been playing now for eight years.
“I’ve had to readjust back to the five-on-five game coming back here and play normally,” she said. “We have finals to focus on right now so hopefully we get through those and finish the season off well.”
With the finals series on the immediate horizon, Fadljevic has a burning desire to pull on the green and gold singlet, in the longer form of the game.
“My aim is to hopefully represent Australia and play basketball at the Summer Olympics one day,” she said. “That would be a dream.”