By Lotte Reiter

A ‘mad’ passion for basketball and a bit of patience was the perfect combination for young basketball enthusiast and latest MIXX FM competition winner Zane Munyard.

The Horsham Amateur Basketball Association player won the radio station’s Trick Shot Shoot Out competition after submitting a video of his best basketball ‘trick shot’. 

The win earned him, his younger brother Levi, mother Amanda and father Grant tickets to the weekend’s South East Melbourne Phoenix v Sydney Kings NBL game at Melbourne Arena, where Phoenix’s Mitch Creek and Kings’ Shaun Bruce – both Horsham basketball exports – went head to head.

Mrs Munyard said the match – a close contest, with the Kings ultimately going down to the Phoenix by three points – had an ‘amazing and intense atmosphere’.

She said her sons enjoyed the game, which she described as a ‘really good reward’ for the time they both spent trying to perfect trick shots for the competition. 

“Zane had spent a lot of time trying to get the shot, and we were outside holding up the iPad filming it, but he wasn’t getting it in, so we said, ‘try it tomorrow’.

“The next day, we were all out of the house and he set up the iPad on a milk crate, set the timer and filmed it all by himself. It went in first go.

“When he found out he had won he had about the same reaction as in the video he entered, he’s a very animated kid.

“It was just a really good reward and fantastic that he had the chance to share it with his brother. They had such a great time.”

Creek and Bruce have also received good news after winning nominations for the 2020 National Basketball League’s Andrew Gaze MVP Awards.

Creek is one of 15 nominees for the National Basketball League’s Most Valuable Player Award, and Bruce is up for the titles of Best Sixth Man and Most Improved Player.

The winners will be announced on Sunday at an awards event in Melbourne from 8.30pm.

• See Zane’s winning shot here: 

The entire February 12, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!