Exciting young Victorian centre, Sarah Portlock, has accepted a scholarship offer from the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence and will commence her time in Canberra once she completes commitments with the Australian U17W Sapphires. A product of the Broadmeadows Basketball Association and the Basketball Victoria State Performance Program, Portlock is a centre with outstanding international potential who is set to develop further in the daily training environment of the Centre of Excellence. The young 202cm star is currently in Jordan preparing for the FIBA Asia U16 Championships and upon qualification, will travel on to Hungary for the FIBA U17 World Cup next month.
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In accepting the scholarship offer, Portlock paid tribute to those who have supported her in her basketball journey so far. “I am excited to take my basketball to the next level with this amazing opportunity. Being a part of the program at the CoE allows me to expand my knowledge as a player, to help me achieve my ultimate goal to represent Australia and play at the highest level,” she said. “I will miss playing for Broadmeadows with teammates and coaches who, since I was seven, supported and guided me both as a player and a person. “Basketball Victoria has played a key role in my development. The coaching and mentoring allowed me to focus on techniques to make better use of my height, and really fuelled my passion to step up to this new and thrilling experience. It will be challenging but I can’t wait to get started.” Centre of Excellence Head Coach Kristen Veal said Portlock was an exciting prospect, and the staff were excited get to work with the young post player. “Sarah has a unique blend of height and skill, and we certainly look forward to getting her into a daily training environment and helping her develop all aspects of her game,” Veal said. “The ability to train with and against the best of her peers and develop her game holistically will be an exciting journey for Sarah and the coaches here.” Basketball Australia and the Centre of Excellence acknowledge and thank the junior coaches and volunteers for their work with and support of Sarah. They also thank the Broadmeadows Basketball Association and Basketball Victoria.
