Knox juniors Erin McKernan and Taylor Dyson have just completed memorable performances that will last a lifetime. Erin helped her Victorian Metro Women’s team to a Gold Medal at the Under 16 National Championships in Logan, Queensland, whilst Taylor enjoyed a taste of international competition as he competed for Australia at the inaugural FIBA Under 17 Men’s World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

For Erin, the Gold Medal topped off a fantastic week in Logan for the talented Knox Ford Raiders junior. Erin, who plays for the Knox City Cougars in the junior domestic competition, was a solid contributor to Vic Metro’s success, averaging 6.1 points, 3 rebounds and 2.1 assists over eight games played.

Erin had her highest scoring game of the week long tournament in the semi-final against Vic Country with 12 points and 3 rebounds, not missing a field goal as she went 4 from 4 from the field including 2 from 2 from beyond the three-point arc. In the Grand Final against Queensland South, Erin notched up 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in Vic Metro’s comprehensive 82-50 victory. The win secured Vic Metro’s 11th consecutive National title at the Under 16 Australian Junior Championships which featured 14 participant teams from around Australia and New Zealand.

Head Coach of the women’s team, Jonathan Goodman said, “It was a fantastic effort by the girls. All through the week they were focused and unified. We as a staff were very proud of the way they performed all week. They’re a great group of girls who were committed to each other and played for one another. Every girl contributed throughout the tournament and they all came together in the final game. Personally, I couldn't be happier for the group. I'd like to thank the Associations, VJBL and Basketball Victoria for the ongoing development of these athletes.”

On the other side of the world, Taylor Dyson, a former Tecoma Raptors junior domestic player that went onto to play for the Mountain Tigers was putting his skills to the test against the best in the world at the Under 17 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

The inaugural FIBA tournament saw the best 12 Under 17 Men’s teams from around the globe compete to be named World Champions. Taylor was part of the Australian team that qualified for the World Championships when they beat New Zealand in a series last year. Following a rigorous selection process for the team that would travel to Germany, Taylor was named in the Australian team in late May.

The Aussies started their campaign with two losses to Poland and Canada before recording their first victory against Korea which was followed up by two tightly contested wins over Germany and Spain. The team made it through to the quarter finals in their sixth game and would face the might of the USA to which the Aussies went down 105-70. Playing in arguably the biggest game of his career, Taylor shined against the USA, scoring a tournament high of 16 points including 3 from 6 from the three-point line in 15 minutes of action.

The current D-League Men’s and Under 18/1 Junior Raiders player averaged 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1 assist over the eight games of the tournament.

Following the quarter final loss to the USA, the Aussies rebounded with a two point win over China to set up a fifth place game against Serbia. The Aussies were gallant but were defeated by Serbia 74-64 and ended the tournament in sixth place, a fantastic effort.