QLD - Winners of the U/20 National Men's Championship

Jorden Page - MVP of the u/20's championship

The championship game saw Queensland take on New South Wales. The Maroons ran out easy winners in the end, 111-72.

On this occasion talent over powered everything at the end of the night.

NSW went into the Gold medal game with out centre Shane Harris-Tunks (Colorado), so it was going to take a miracle for the Blues to over come this hurdle. Maybe they played their final the night before by defeating Victoria to get into the championship game.

The first half was very even with Qld going into the half time break with a six point lead, 46-40.

It was Sean Mullan (18pts) that kept the Southerners in touch with a stellar 16 point first half.

PG Jason Cadee (20pts/6ass) controlled the game well for his team during the first 20 minutes, creating a lot of easy opportunities for his teammates. Qld did a lot of double teaming of Cadee in the back court but he made good decisions that created open space for his teammates.

Once the second half began it seemed as though Qld just turned up the pressure at the defensive end. This led to a lot of easy fastbreak points. Whether it was a layup or an open transition three, Qld was firing on all cylinders.

Tourney MVP Jorden Page (25pts/10ass) was the catalyst behind this fast pace game. This kid excels in the open court. St Mary's fans get ready for the Pat Mills comparisons.

With Page's speed causing NSW's defense problems, this allowed Brock Motum (27pts/12rebs) and Mitch Young (14pts/12rebs -8off) to control the paint.

In the end it was a case of big brother just beating down little bro'.

Cadee was always going to have to have a monster game, especially with Harris-Tunks sidelined with a dodgy wheel (sprained ankle), but Qld did a good job of making him work for everything he got.

Mullan could not keep his offense going in the second half so that left NSW's offense anemic.

On the otherhand, when Qld subbed, they lost nothing as the depth of their team proved too much for the Blues to handle.

I felt it was a good championship's as a number of these kids will on day grace the NBL hardwood.

First there are many that will test their luck in the USA college system, so over the next week or so, I will break down these players individually so the public of Australia and other places can see that basketball is well and truly alive in this country.

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