SWAN Hill Basketball Association’s winter basketball competition has come to a conclusion, with spectators cheering on five grand finals in a night.
Close to 200 players took to the courts over the past 11 weeks, but it was one local town that dominated the competitions end on Monday.
Speewa claimed three of the four grand finals they were in.
The Under 12 Girls started the night off right for Speewa, as they defeated Rebels 31-21. Mia Hirst top scored with 16, ahead of teammate Willow Cadd on 13 and Rebel Ivy Patterson with 15.
The Under 12 Boys Trotters team had a big win over the Rebels, 35-17. Trotters top-scorers were Lucas Pay with 13 points and Hamish Pay with eight, while Thomas Pye and Max Fielder scored six and five points respectively for Rebels.
The wins kept coming for Speewa in the Under 14 Boys, claiming a 28-20 victory over the Fireflies. They were led by Mityen McInnes with 10 points and Taj Kelly with six, while 10 points from Henry O’Brien and another six from Dayne Purcell wasn’t enough for the Fireflies to claim victory.
Speewa’s only loss for the night was handed to them by the Trotters in the Under 14 Girls competition, as the Trotters ran away with the night’s biggest victory 33-24.
Laela Grayling was the Trotters’ top scorer with 10 points, three ahead of teammate Sadie Spitty who had seven. Arna Carroll, nine points and Lola Patterson, six points were the best scorers for Speewa.
In the Under 16 Boys grand final, Speewa’s Murndarr McInnes was a dominant force on the court, finishing the game with a staggering 27 points to lead his side to a 47-40 victory against the Rebels.
Nash Turvey was another key contributor for the Speewa side with 10 points, while Julian Muir topped the Rebels’ scoring with 19 points, followed by Thomas Doran with 10.
SHBA’s Sharon Denham said the winter basketball competition had grown in popularity.
“Winter basketball has been growing in numbers over the past few years and has become very popular for new players as well as those who love the game playing all year round,” she said.
“This season SHBA had 40 new players register who hadn’t played before and we wanted to place a focus on everyone getting an opportunity to play and learn in the domestic competition.
“All grand final games were very competitive with many spectators cheering on their teams which was great to see.
“Players keeping a basketball in their hands over the winter months certainly helps build confidence, develop one-v-one skills and introduces team concepts which transfers into our summer competition.”
Registrations for the SHBA summer competition are set to open in the next two weeks, with the competition to begin in the week of October 10.
