BASKETBALL

By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT

 

NOT only did Traralgon boy Will Hamilton get to represent his country, not only was he a part of a gold medal squad, but he was also named as the best player of the entire tournament.

Hamilton was awarded Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the FIBA Under 15 Oceania Cup during Australia’s winning run, securing their third successive gold medal at the event.

Undefeated in four games, Australia defeated New Zealand in the final 96 to 68.

For the first time on the international stage, the 15-year-old told the Express he was honoured to be in Canberra representing his hometown and the country.

“It was a great week, we got up there early, got a few trainings in with the boys,” Hamilton said.

“The first game just listening to the national anthem, it was a pretty cool moment I think for the whole team and then listening to New Zealand’s haka as well was cool.

“We hit the floor and it was just great to put on the green and gold.”

Placed in a difficult pool alongside Samoa and New Zealand, Australia ran the table in all games they played for an average winning margin of 26 points across all games.

New Zealand were the ones to test Australia the most, offering the closest game of the bunch to lose by ‘only’ 11 points.

Coming up against them again in the final, Hamilton and the national squad knew they had to ramp up the pressure even further despite coming off a 38-point win in the semi-final against Samoa.

“The first New Zealand game I think we didn’t play how we wanted to play but we still got the win, but going into the next game, I think we were just more confident because we had been doing a lot of work,” Hamilton said.

“It was all about defence and I think the boys really believed that we could put them away like we did by 30 points (which) was great.”

Hamilton finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block during the deciding gold medal match.

Standing at 6’4″ (193 cm) still halfway through high school, it’s understandable why Hamilton gravitated to basketball, but even he admitted he didn’t see all this happening at this age.

“I probably didn’t think of it, I just really didn’t know there was much Australian stuff when you’re 15, but as I’ve gotten close and I’ve thought about it, it’s pretty cool now that I’ve played for Australia,” he said.

To go along with his MVP trophy and gold medal, Hamilton was marked with All-Star Five honours averaging 18.3 points (fifth best in the tournament) at 53.4 per cent shooting from the field, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.5 blocks.

Hamilton reflected on his performances modestly.

“I feel like I played good, my threes weren’t really on all tournament but I feel like I got to the ring easy enough and found my teammates – it’s just a great team effort to get the win,” he said.

Definitely deserving a break after a wild ride these last few months, Hamilton was best-on-ground in Traralgon’s under 16s premiership last September, is currently on a seven-week trip around Europe with hopefully more travel for basketball on the horizon with Victoria Country and presumably another stint with Australia in the future.

He has already been selected for the 2025 National Performance Camp at the Centre of Excellence with Basketball Australia.