Basketball
15 November, 2025
Wildcats roar to victory in Horsham
The Warracknabeal Wildcats under 16 boys basketball team continued their great start to the season, winning the Intersport Horsham Junior Classic Basketball Tournament.
Also impressing for the Wildcats over the tournament were the under 14 girls, who were grand finalists in their division one competition, and the under 18 boys team who finished third in division two.
Warracknabeal also fielded teams in the under 12 boys, under 14 boys and under 16 girls.
The under 16 boys side dominated the division competition from start to finish.
In the rounds, they defeated Portland 44-35, Horsham 37-28, Colac 70-31. In the semifinal, they beat Colac again, this time 48-28, before securing the tournament championship with a 34-24 defeat of Portland.
Forward Tyler Templeton was a force all tournament, leading the division with 86 points across five games, as well as taking out the grand final Most Valuable Player award.
Teammate Tobias Arnel was second in scoring, totalling 66 points.
Under 16 boys coach Brad Krahe was proud of how the side overcame teams from bigger towns, acknowledging them as the best side he has coached.
“To get that result from the boys in a division one final against a lot bigger towns or cities, it’s a great,” Krahe said.
“We had that expectation of ourselves to win, but to actually do it is awesome.”
“I've been coaching for 20 years and I can say that these are the best boys I've ever had in 20 years.”
The tournament victory comes after the team took out the Millicent Junior Basketball tournament three weeks ago.
“To the boys' credit, they went over to Millicent three weeks ago and won the division one final over there, which is the first time Warracknabeal has won a division one tournament.
“To then back it up and do it again over the weekend, you know you’ve got yourself a special set of boys.”
Asked what distinguishes the team from previous years or sides, Krahe said a mix of physical and developmental growth, hard work and a unique style has the team firing in the 2025-26 season.
“Most of the team has been together since under 12s about three years ago and used to get beaten quite comfortably,” Krahe said.
“But there were a few boys that I knew we could work around, and all of a sudden that mixture of coming and staying together, and now a lot of the boys are a lot bigger.
“The team executes everything you want; they train hard, they’re obsessed with basketball, they listen to everything you say.”
“We also bring a bit of a different game than most opposition, as we’re a running, powerful team.
“The last two tournaments, they’ve found themselves as being bigger, stronger and faster.”
Krahe credits Arnel and Templeton as setting the platform for the team, with the wider team’s improvement starting to show in the recent tournaments.
“Tobias as the point guard and Tyler as the big man, they’re best mates and they have always combined really well on the court,” Krahe said.
“They are the link in the team, but it’s the growth around those guys over the last couple of years that has made the team stronger.
“The whole team works so well together, they know their roles and have matured really quickly these last 12 months.”
The side will play tournaments in Portland, Maryborough and Colac in the new year ahead of the Victorian Junior Country Championships.
With much of the team having experienced the state Junior Country Championships in 2024, Krahe believes the team is primed for a push at the state title.
“The boys got to play against big clubs like the Ballarat Miners and Bendigo Braves, and it was a really good experience,” Krahe said.
“We’re going to play division three and try and really push those bigger towns, and aim for the state title.”
Krahe, along with wife Stacey, also coached the under 14 girls side, who succumbed to Horsham 34-25 in the grand final.
Krahe said it was bittersweet for the young side after they defeated all other teams in the rounds.
“They went undefeated on the Saturday and defeated everybody, but missed out on the major prize despite beating Horsham earlier on,” Krahe said.
“But to say you beat all the teams is a great effort in itself and shows we can really compete against bigger clubs and towns.”
Greta Smith and Harlow Krahe were the top two scorers in the girls’ competition, scoring 53 points and 49 points, respectively, across the tournament.
The Wildcats coach said the team’s performance was indicative of their improvement in a matter of months.
“They've only been together for eight weeks in training and they're coming up against teams that have been together for four years,” Krahe said.
“Those seven girls were the only players we had to choose from, which is pretty special too.
“To have someone like Greta, who was quite timid as a player initially, to now be playing with confidence and become the grand final Most Valuable Player of the tournament, is impressive.”
Other impressive individual performances from Wildcats players over the tournament included Charlie Martin scoring 46 points across four games for the under 18 boys, and Ayla Gunn scoring 31 points for the under 16 girls side.
