Coach Brendon Gordon and his Under 14.2 Girls reached the promised land at the Eltham-Dandenong Tournament, with a gutsy win in the Grand Final. Here's a take on the weekend through the eyes of those who experienced it first hand:

The U14-2 Girls entered the Australia Day Tournament with high hopes and the expectations of the nation on their backs to get the job done.

Entered into the BC grade and after a tough first stage of grading the girls were primed for their first game on Friday night against Eltham 5.

There was an air of nervousness as to whether we could start strongly or whether we had enjoyed the Christmas break too much.

Well it was good to see that our focus was there and we got the job done 20-13 at the home of basketball, Waverley.

On Saturday and after a “no night club” ban for the weekend the girls came out firing against Camberwell 3 on the show court 1 at Waverley to win 23-14.

The team had a heavy schedule of 3 games on Saturday so conserving energy and staying hydrated was top priority.

We then travelled to Marcellin College for the massive clash against cross town rivals Diamond Valley 4. In hot conditions and a tight first half our transition game came into play and we over ran the Eagles 17-11.

Game 3 was up against our old nemeses Nunawading 4 on their home turf at Nunawading. The girls were tired after 2 big games and had to dig deep to try and get the win as it would secure our spot in the finals. After a super tight first half where the Spectres through everything they had at us it was great to see all the team dig deep and overrun the Spectres on their home court to lock in a final for the team.

Our last home and away game was against Nunawading 5 on our home court 2 at Waverley. This was scheduled at 8am which may have contributed to the effort and result of the team and coaches. The Spectres were looking to exact revenge for “their fallen sisters” the night before and exacted revenge to the tune of 16-12.

Based on the Falcons 4-1 win ratio the Falcons finished second to Bulleen 4.

We went into the semi-final against Diamond Valley 4 who we had beaten on the Saturday with a high level of confidence that we could get the job done. The first half was played in a see-sawing low scoring affair with both teams desperate for the win. After half time the girls kick into over drive and ran over the top of the Eagles to score a 22-14 win and sent the Eagles on a long drive home.

After Bulleen 4 had put Camberwell 3 to the sword the “big dance” was set up to be a cracking affair with the top two teams to contest the grand final and the winner to take home the “holy grail” of the tournament.

The excitement in the Falcons camp was electric with the chance to add to the trophy cabinet at home (“win or lose we still get a trophy” was discussed and agreed amongst the girls).

Bulleen 4 came into the match undefeated and full of confidence that they could go all the way and knock off the Falcons. The first half was a war of wills as Bulleen 4 pressed hard trying to break the spirit of the girls. At half time in a very low scoring affair the falcon led 6-3. The coaches pleaded with the girls to leave it all out on the court and give one final push towards glory. Well the girls responded strongly and ran the floor hard and broke the press to score heavily in transition to come out winner 31-17.

Congratulations to a great team effort from all the girls and well done to  Jas on winning the MVP in the Grand Final. Thanks to Lisa on a great job as team Manager and Stewart as assistant coach and lastly to all the parents for their time and support for the girls.

A great team effort and the team members Sophie, Ollie, Maddie, Jas, Annie, Ella, Mia, Lily and Emily.

Everyone improved over the weekend and should be proud they all contributed to a successful weekend and let’s hope the next stage of grading is as successful.