Jenny Ogle
Junior Beez U/14 and U/16 boys and U/14 girls all had great tournaments at the Waratah League State Cup held in Newcastle in late August.
The U/14 boys wrapped up a great representative season with a strong showing at the Cup finishing equal third.
They left it all on the court with two strong victories against Griffith and Central Coast with their only loss coming in an absolute nailbiter against Blacktown. Unfortunately, that loss kept them out of the grandfinal.
Their list of achievements for 2017 is impressive. They won both the Seaside Classic in Port Macquarie and the Bronwyn Vigour’s Challenge in Coffs Harbour convincingly. Third in the Premier Division at Country Championships in Terrigal, and they ended up Minor Premiers in the Northern Junior Waratah League.
They not only grew individually as athletes but as a strong, cohesive team. 2018 will definitely be one to watch.
U/16 boys
With wins against Bathurst and Gosford and an admirable performance against Sydney Comets the U/16 boys consolidated their position as one of the elite country teams in NSW.
Playing their unique blend of entertaining, fierce and unselfish ball, it has been a joy to watch the players develop as athletes and young men and represent themselves and BBBA so admirably.
U/14 girls
The 2017 U/14 girls NJL Championship-winning Beez Basketball team faced Metro Junior League D2 runners-up North Sydney Bears in their first game of the State Cup.
This was an amazing game and with Byron out to an early lead 21–14; the Bears stormed back and tied the game at halftime.
The final quarter saw two Beez players foul out with four minutes remaining and down by eight points. With only four on the court to close the game, the Beez swarmed and got within one basket with only seconds to go, finally going down 70–66, to a very relieved and shocked North Sydney Bears.
The Beez also played Cootamundra, who finished runners-up for the weekend to Albury Cougars, in a very tough game.
They were simply unable to compete for four quarters, which led to an easy win for Cootamundra.
The final game against Sydney City Comets was a great way to finish the weekend, as the Beez and Comets went basket for basket until the last quarter, when the Beez exploded for 27 points to shut out the game 60–37 in a fantastic team effort.
Thank you to all the parents and sponsors for their support this season.
