Merimbula’s under 16s and under 18s basketballers travelled to Newcastle and Maitland to compete in the NSW John Martin Country Basketball tournament.
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Both teams played in division three where the under 18s played games in Maitland and faced some fierce opposition and tough battles. Despite a few losses, the team was happy to chalk up a win over the Dubbo Rams.
Big thanks to Cameron Scerri for coaching the boys.
The under 16s played in Newcastle and ran undefeated throughout the tournament against 12 other teams.
The young guns had strong wins against the Illawarra, Bathurst, Shoalhaven, Central Coast, and Gosford, putting them in first place to meet Milton-Ulladulla in the semi-final.
They downed their opponents 49-33 and advanced to meet Dubbo in the grand final, going on to win 31-22.
A spokeswoman for the club said “the boys showed fantastic sportsmanship throughout the entire tournament and should be all very proud of their efforts”.
The team was declared the NSW Country Champions and coach Rhys Willis couldn’t be happier with the result.
Heath Balodis was named MVP in the grand final for the 16s and the boys are now looking forward to the trip to compete in the tournament again next year.
The teams thanked Lumen Chrisiti for allowing them to train on the indoor courts.
Meanwhile Hunter Badewitz competed in the under 14s as part of the Batemans Bay team that was undefeated. He has also been named in the South Coast PSSA team and will play state championships in July.