Sarah Slater will represent Victoria in the U18 Australian Junior Championships in April. 76846 Picture: Jarrod Potter
By Jarrod Potter
BERWICK basketball star Sarah Slater is on her way to Perth in a couple of months for the U18 Australian Junior Championships.
Slater, 16, was selected after a stand out performance in the East Coast Challenge, held last month in Sydney.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking,” Slater said.
“We went and played a tournament in Sydney and then we got a call to see if we were in or not and I was selected.
Slater was selected in one of the two teams from Victoria to participate in the challenge and faced teams from New South Wales, South Australia and the ACT in the tournament
In a closely run final, Slater’s side lost by three points to the other Victorian team.
“It was a Victoria versus Victoria final and my team lost it by, I think, three points, so it was pretty close,” Slater said.
Having played most of her basketball at centre, Slater will shift her focus to the forward positions because of the height of her team mates, which she believes will stand Victoria in good position for the championships.
“I’m actually usually one of the tallest people on my team but in this team I’m about fifth or sixth tallest, so I’ll probably play a bit of a three-four,” she said.
“I think we have a really good team so we’ll definitely be doing everything we can to bring home gold.”
Slater also represents the Dandenong Rangers in the under-18 firsts and the D League team in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).
On top of a busy basketball schedule, the academic side of life will also ramp up for Slater as she finishes her Year 12 studies at Beaconhills College in Pakenham and she wants to pursue a degree in sport science or physiotherapy next year.
