October 2026

FOOTLOCKER U14 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

sixth in Australia: Binar Maali's Under 14s Make History

A week on from the Australian Under 14 Club Championships and it's still hard to quite comprehend what this group of young men has achieved.

6th in Australia. The highest-placed Western Australian boys' team. In our very first year of WABL.

It's a pretty remarkable thing to write.

Twelve months ago, this was all still something we were working towards. Binar had never competed in WABL, let alone had a team qualify to compete against the best junior clubs in the country.

For a long time, there had been people within our club working to create opportunities like this. People who believed our youth deserved the same chance as anyone else to test themselves at the highest level. 

In 2026, Binar Maali became the first Aboriginal-led organisation to enter WABL.

And in that very first season, 11 young men took us somewhere we'd never been before.

But this journey didn't happen overnight.

Over the past twelve months, this group has continued to raise the bar, building on each achievement along the way. From reaching a State Championships Grand Final, to earning their place in Division One and then making a WABL Grand Final in their very first season. 

Each milestone brought new challenges, new expectations and another opportunity to grow. There were moments of excitement, moments of disappointment and plenty of lessons along the way.

And through it all, they kept finding ways to get better.

Then came the opportunity to represent Binar on the national stage.

Last week, these 11 young men walked off the floor at Willetton Basketball Stadium having finished sixth in the country, the highest of any Western Australian boys' team. 

It's difficult to explain just how much that means to everyone who has been part of Binar's journey.

But the thing about a week like that is, when you look back, it's not necessarily the scores or the final standings that stay with you.

It's looking across the bench and seeing the boys willing each other on. The families in the stands who have spent the better part of a year driving to trainings, rearranging their lives and doing whatever they could to give their kids this opportunity. The conversations after a tough game. The laughter between games. The little moments that probably don't mean much to anyone watching from the outside, but mean everything to the people who were there.

It's watching a group of 11 boys, all with their own personalities and backgrounds, slowly become a group that genuinely cares about one another.

Seven of these young men are Aboriginal, as are both their Head Coach and Assistant Coach.

For an Aboriginal-led club, there's something incredibly meaningful about that. Not just seeing Aboriginal young people competing on a national stage, but seeing them do it as part of a team where they feel comfortable being themselves, where they're supported, challenged and surrounded by people who want the best for them.

That's always been at the heart of what we're trying to build at Binar.

Basketball is what brings us together, but it's never been the whole picture.

We want our young people to grow up knowing what it means to work hard for something. To look after the person next to them. To be accountable when things get difficult. To understand that where they come from is something to carry with pride, not something that should ever limit where they can go.

And over the past year, we've watched this group learn those things together.

There have been difficult days. Games that didn't go our way. Moments where they've been challenged, individually and collectively. Plenty of lessons that don't show up on a scoresheet.

But they've kept showing up for each other.

And last week, they got to experience what all that work had been building towards.

Of course, a journey like this doesn't happen through the efforts of 11 boys and their coaches alone.

Behind the scenes are families, volunteers, community members and local businesses who have quietly played their part in making sure our young people could enjoy this opportunity.

We were incredibly fortunate to have the support of Koomal Group, Key Produce and Brajkovich Demolition, whose generous contributions helped make our Nationals campaign possible. Their support eased some of the pressures that come with competing at this level and helped ensure the focus could remain on the boys and their experience.

We also want to acknowledge Barminco Ltd, Major Sponsor of the Binar Maali High Performance Program. Their ongoing commitment to our pathway is helping create opportunities that extend well beyond one tournament or one group of players.

And throughout the week itself, there were businesses making sure our boys were well looked after away from the basketball court.

A big thank you to Pasta in the Valley, 7th Ave Bar & Restaurant, Joeys Swan Valley Diner and Last Slice, who generously provided meals for the team during competition week.

Every contribution, whether financial support, a meal, a lift to training or simply someone giving up their time, has played a part in this story.

And we don't take any of it for granted.

There's something else about this achievement that we hope isn't lost in the excitement of finishing sixth.

Somewhere in our Binar community, there are younger boys and girls watching this group. Some are only just starting to find their feet in basketball. Others might already be dreaming about pulling on a WABL singlet, playing in a Grand Final or one day representing their club at a national championship.

For many of them, those opportunities might have once felt a long way away.

But now, they can look at 11 young people from their own club, who train on the same courts, wear the same colours and are part of the same community, and know that it's possible.

They don't have to imagine what it might look like anymore. They've seen it.

And that might be the most important thing this group has given us.

Because the real value of creating a pathway isn't just what it does for the young people who get to walk it first. It's what becomes possible for everyone who comes after them.

For every young boy and girl who comes through Binar, we hope this journey is a reminder that they deserve these opportunities too. That they belong in these environments, that their dreams are worth pursuing and that there are people in their corner who will work incredibly hard to help them get there.

To the families, coaches, volunteers and everyone who has helped get Binar to this point, this is your achievement too. There are years of work, sacrifice and belief behind what happened at Willetton last week, and none of it should be taken for granted.

And to our 11 boys, we hope you're proud of yourselves.

Not just because you finished sixth in Australia, or because you reached two Grand Finals along the way, but because of the way you've grown, the friendships you've built and the way you've carried yourselves throughout this journey.

You might not fully appreciate what you've been part of just yet. You're 12 and 13 years old, and right now it's probably the games, the laughs and the time spent together that you'll remember most.

And that's exactly how it should be.

But one day, when you're a little older, we hope you'll look back and realise that you were part of something pretty significant.

You were the first Binar Maali team to take that step onto the national stage. And in doing so, you've helped show the next generation of boys and girls coming through our club that they belong there too.

What a year. What a group of young men.

And what a privilege it's been to share this journey with them.