RISING STARS: Alex Marklew and Jackson Clarke were brilliant for their respective sides. PHOTOS: Marc Bongers
Clarke’s Bushrangers down Marklew’s Goldminers in country cup final
Written by SCOTT ANDERSON.
YOUNG Wangaratta Warriors representatives Alex Marklew and Jackson Clarke travelled to Albury last week for the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup, eventually going head to head in the tournament grand final.
The pair played on opposing sides in the under 16 boys division, with Marklew a member of Victoria Goldminers and Clarke lining up for Victoria Bushrangers.
The two sides were in different pools, and both were extremely successful going through the preliminary rounds and finals undefeated before meeting in the championship match.
It was fitting that the decider went down to the wire, but there could only be one winner, with Clarke’s Bushrangers saluting by one point, 62-61.
It was a bitter pill for Marklew, whose Goldminers side won its five pool matches by an average of 49 points, with its closest match a 30-point win over NSW Waratahs.
The Goldminers then went on to thrash New Zealand Koru 98-63 in the qualifying finals, before a tight two-point win over NSW Kookaburras in the semis.
"We played eight games and won the first six quite easily," Marklew said.
"Then we got through to the semi final (against NSW Kookaburras) and won by two points in a really tough game.
"Then against the other Vic side, Bushrangers, we lost the grand final by one point.
"But we were down by nine points with about 10 minutes to go, and we came back, so that was alright.
"We didn’t win, so it wasn’t great, but we played pretty well."
Still, 14 year old Marklew said the tournament had been an enjoyable one for him – the third time he has played at state level.
"I knew all the other guys – I’d met them all before," he said.
"That made it a bit easier to gel as a side.
"I played a bit as a forward, a bit as a guard, and I thought I went alright.
"But going from rep level up to state level is pretty tough."
Meanwhile Clarke, also 14, said the tournament was an eye opener.
"We had a good bunch of players, so they made my job a lot easier," Clarke said.
"This was my first year playing at that level, so it was a bit of an adjustment.
"You were playing against a lot of bigger bodies than you usually play against.
"I was playing centre and power forward, and some of the New Zealanders were 6’6" (198cm) and pretty well built.
"But you find what their weaknesses are and use it to your advantage.
Clarke was full of praise for the coaching staff on the Bushrangers side, and said he took plenty of knowledge away from the tournament.
"I learnt how to play the game a lot harder, and just be more of a team oriented player," he said.
"The coaches were really good, and our manager gave me a lot of great advice.
"The coach I had was great – he just told me things that I needed to improve on and the things I did well."
But in the end, the best aspect of the experience for Clarke was winning the championship, and he said it was something he wouldn’t forget.
"The grand final was a hard game," he said.
"Everyone knew it was going to be really competitive, but we just played as hard as we could and ended up winning the game.
"We’d had a few close games against Tasmania, NSW and South Australia, so we knew we could win tight matches – that probably helped.
"And in the end we all got medallions, so that was pretty special."
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