Playing on the wing in the Victorian Goldminers team, Burger participated in the week-long tournament in Albury, NSW concluding with the gold medal final on Saturday.

The Goldminers went into the grand final after only losing one game, to would-be opponents, NSW Waratahs earlier in the tournament.

Burger said it was a tough week, never had he played so many games of basketball in such a short period of time.

"Recovery was definitely the hardest part of the whole week," he said.

"All the games were pretty physical. There was a fair bit of smoke around the region at the time as well so it made it a bit harder to breathe when you were outside.

"There was a little bit inside - but it wasn't too bad. It was being monitored by the officials."

A strength and conditioning coach took the players through correct warm-up and cool-down techniques over the week to help with the recovery process.

Burger, 14, said he was surprised with the amount of game time he received during the tournament.

"I was expecting to build up to lengthy game time over the tournament," he said.

"I got a fair bit of game time from the first game which I was really happy about."

Burger said it was the team bonding outside of the tournament he enjoyed the most.

"Naturally, I really liked playing basketball but I found the team atmosphere really tipped off the week," he said.

"All the coaches were really welcoming and friendly.

"We all stayed at the one spot together and would play cards and spend time just sitting around chatting.

"It really showed on the court. It lead to our success - trusting each other and being friends."

The Goldminers won the grand final by a mere four points. Burger said he felt he performed "pretty well" in the final.

"As a team, we played really good defence and locked up their main player," he said. "NSW had another player which was pretty handy which got them back into the game.

"I was on the court at the end of the game and it was pretty nerve-wracking in those final few moments.

READ MORE: Ararat's Fletcher Burger will be a Victorian Country squad member for the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup and the State Development Program

"The standard of basketball and the high profile people present watching the games across the tournament played on my mind a bit during the week but I just wanted to play my best which I think I did.

"I don't have any regret, which was the main feeling I wanted to come away with, so I'm pretty happy."

Burger will now concentrate on his position with the Ballarat Miners under-16 squad and will play in the first tournament of the season in Bendigo at the weekend.

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