BASKETBALL
By TOM HAYES
THE last 12 months have been filled with new opportunities for Traralgon junior basketballer Hugo Macpherson.
Now 12-years-old, the prodigy just earnt his first Victoria representation, lining up for his state in the School Sport Australia National Carnival – the highest level of basketball for his age.
Taking place on the Gold Coast over five days of competition, Hugo had a successful first outing for Victoria.
Lining up in the 12 and Under Boys Division, it was no easy task to get into that position.
Hugo set himself up for contention nicely, as he won the Victorian Country Championships earlier in the year in Mildura while playing for Maffra.
Not long after, he began the intensive selection process for the School Sport Victoria State Team.
The selection process had multiple stages, beginning at a regional level. Eventually, Hugo found himself as one of 30 Victorians that were invited to the two-day camp in Melbourne, which would finalise the squad.
Thirty players soon became 10, and Hugo remained part of that squad. Hugo was the only genuine Victoria Country player from the 10 selected players, with one other from Geelong and the rest from Victoria Metro.
Leading up to the beginning of the School Sport Australia National Carnival last month, Hugo underwent eight weeks of training camps and practice games.
Also a handy footballer for South Side Under 13s in the Traralgon and District Junior Football League, Hugo had to miss out on football for periods of time while committing to basketball and this opportunity.
The time arrived for Hugo and his family to get up on the Gold Coast and add the final touches ahead of the carnival. Joining him for the ride was his dad (Bill), mum (Natalie), and his two sisters (Sibella and Hattie).
Victoria got their carnival underway against Western Australia, setting a decent benchmark from the offing.
The young Victorian lads defeated Western Australia with conviction, doubling their score in a 78 to 39 routing.
In Round 2, Victoria proved that the previous game was no fluke, dismantling New South Wales to the tune of 33 points, winning 77-44.
It just continued to get better for the Victorians, as a spot in the finals became more promising.
Victoria entered their third game against Australian Capital Territory full of confidence, and you could see why, as they smashed the ACT by 79 points, 109-30.
Hugo had his best individual scoring game against the ACT, putting up 15 points in the massive victory.
The Vics would soon get a taste of who they were up against in Round 4 when they faced Queensland.
Victoria would go through their toughest game so far, but they still ended up with the chocolates, winning 89-62. The 27-point margin was still quite the gap for everyone else to make up.
In the final round before finals, knowing they had qualified for the final two games, Victoria came up against South Australia.
Just like everyone else, the South Australians couldn’t get close, as Victoria commanded to their fifth-straight win, 96-60.
After just playing each other, Victoria and South Australia would once again do battle in the first round of finals, with a spot in the Grand Final on the line.
South Australia would’ve attempted to avoid such a blowout that was their previous encounter, but instead, it got even worse.
Victoria made no mistake the second time around either, going one better to etch their name in the Grand Final game, winning 106-60.
Hugo had another impressive scoring performance, scoring 14 points to help put Victoria into the Grand Final.
On the other side of the bracket, Queensland got past NSW by 14 points, meaning the hosts would face Victoria once again for all of the marbles.
With everything on the line, and still the only undefeated side, Victoria wasn’t going to let their first loss be in the Grand Final.
And they didn’t, overcoming their closest encounter yet to claim an 11-point win.
“The game was in the balance, it got down to about three points with a few minutes to go, and then Victoria scored a few baskets and got the win in the end,” Hugo’s dad, Bill Macpherson said.
Hugo was noted to contribute across the board throughout the carnival, whether that was off the board or providing assists as well as scoring.
Post tournament, Bill reflected on what he had seen his son achieve.
“The program itself was really professional… the two coaches Michelle Letts and Jason Sutherland were fantastic with the boys. Not only did they have the technical knowledge, but they built relationships with the boys during that eight-week period,” he said.
“For Hugo, amazing experience to play at the highest level possible for that age group and he performed really well, really contributed to the team – scoring, assists, energy.”
The next couple of years is when Hugo will begin to establish himself as a true prospect if he wishes to continue down the basketball pathway with Victoria Country.
