IT’S finals time in basketball circles at Saxby’s Stadium with semi-finals of the two current Tuesday afternoon junior competitions and the women’s and men’s competitions to be played on Tuesday afternoon/night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Teams have been enjoying the fun and games provided by basketball since early July and now the top four teams in each division will play sudden death semi-finals. This will see first on the competition ladder up against fourth and second to play third with the winners advancing to the big dance and the defeated teams being eliminated.
The situation in relation to Saturday school basketball is a little more complicated with several Taree Tornadoes junior teams away in Coffs Harbour this weekend on representative duties. But as finals are only played in the older divisions the semi-final schedule may need a couple of games to be moved away from their normal Saturday timeslots and all the latest details will be available on the website.
Taree Tornadoes junior basketball teams in the under 11 girls and boys, under 13 boys and under 15 boys head to Coffs Harbour this weekend for Bronwyn Vigors Pacific Challenge Odd Age Carnival being conducted by Bellinger Valley Braves Basketball. Excitement levels are high with teams from Gilgandra to Ipswich in the mix.
The Tornadoes 11 boys will play Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie in the round games while the 11 girls play three different Coffs Harbour teams plus one from Ipswich in their round robin event. The 13 and 15 boys teams are in pools with the Tornadoes to meet Bellinger Valley, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie in the younger division and Byron Bay, Bellinger Valley, Port Macquarie and Ipswich in the older age division.
As well as the teams battling on the court, the Taree Tornadoes will also provide a group of referees which includes Troy Knutson, Bethany Macdonald, Leon Thomas, Kaylah Thompson and Ben Wainwright.
Basketballers from Catholic primary schools across the Manning Valley and Great Lakes recently attended trials in Newcastle. The good news is several have been selected to attend the Polding trials to be held at Newcastle next February, where they will be up against girls and boys from Catholic schools north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the Queensland border.
Amarley Bron, Mariah Radburn, Kirra Simon from St Joseph’s Taree and Lachlan Kelly from Holy Name, Forster have all gained places. Lacey Grainger from Port Macquarie, a regular at Saturday basketball in Taree, also gained selection at similar trials held in Coffs Harbour.
Saturday players should consider returning on from 4pm to 5.30pm for the Magic Monday skills session conducted at Saxby’s Stadium.