Harvey teens in top basketball contest
Two talented South West basketballers experienced a high level of competition at the 2015 Under-18 Australian Junior Championships in Ballarat, Victoria.
Shaun King, 16, of Australind and Matthew Germs, 15, of Harvey represented WA in the national competition last month after months of trials to select the side.
It was King's third time at making the nationals - this time as the captain - and the second time for Germs, who played in WA's under-16 team last year.
Matthew followed the footsteps of older brother Mitchell in taking up basketball just three years ago and, at 13 years of age, advanced to the Slammers team, where he quickly improved his skills.
Former State coach for a decade, Russell Upton, said Matthew was both talented and dedicated.
He had a good disposition for the sport and trained hard with the support of his family, Upton said.
Matthew said he was very happy to get into the WA team.
"Playing against the teams from other States is very challenging and shows you the level of play you have to aspire to if you want to go any further," he said.
"We won two games - against SA country and against NT - and learned a lot from watching the top teams play."
Matthew said he hoped to make the cut again for the WA team in 2016 and to take his sporting career further by playing for an American college after finishing school.
