THE Hamilton Basketball Association staged a very successful tournament on the weekend with 88 teams visiting Hamilton to contest the opening competition of the squad basketball season.
Four different venues were required to host the event with HILAC, Baimbridge College, Monivae College, and the Hamilton and Alexandra College all seeing their facilities used throughout the weekend, as the Hurricanes recorded victory in one age group and were runner-up in nine others to get the season off to a bright start.
Under-14A Boys
IT was a successful start to the squad basketball season for the Hurricanes Under-14A Boys, as they recorded victory in the opening tournament of the year against Warrnambool Seahawks.
The weekend started against Colac Kookas with a 47-23 victory, as Cooper Kearney warmed up his shooting hand with 18 points.
Round two and Border Sports Academy from Wodonga was the opponent, but the winning streak continued after Kearney and Connor Crawford both put up 12 points each in the 47-22 win.
Kearney (22) was assisted by Austin Cunneen (11) and Aiden Mhasho (10), leading the Hurricanes to a 55-35 defeat of the Seahawks in the third and last game on Saturday.
Sunday saw the side have the bye in round four, but the streak continued in round five with a 54-22 victory over Portland, as Kearney put up 24 points.
The Hurricanes finished atop the ladder undefeated and entered the grand final as warm favourites after the earlier result against the Seahawks.
This time round the opposition proved to be more difficult to gain an advantage over, as the Seahawks guarded Kearney well and the Hurricanes’ top-scorer was kept to 11 points, but Harry Manley stepped up to offer a second avenue to the hoop with 10 points as the final buzzer sounded with the Hurricanes in front, 40-36.
Under-16A Girls
HORSHAM Hornets proved to be the Hurricanes’ Under-16A Girls’ nemesis, as they were the only team to defeat the Hurricanes who finished runner-up on the weekend.
Victories against Warrnambool Mermaids 23-22 (Maddox Ryan nine points); Colac Kookas 37-33 (Emily Iredell 19 points); and Portland Coasters 28-20 (Iredell 10 points) were offset by the losses to the Hornets in the preliminary game 21-31 and then the grand final, 18-27 (Iredell 14 points).
Under-16B Girls
THE Under-16 Girls B team also had a bogey team that they couldn’t get over the top of for the tournament, as they too finished runner up with BDU Lightning Black taking the title.
A dominant victory 36-8 victory against Colac Kookas 36-8 saw Willow Colliton, Willow Boughton, and Maya Carroll all post six points, while other wins included Warrnambool Mermaids 22-18 (Carroll eight points); and Port Fairy Pacers 33-6 (Evie Milne 11 points and Tyler Tuckey 10 points), but the Hurricanes fell short against the Lightning, 22-29, in the preliminary rounds and then 28-16 in the grand final.
Under-12A Boys
HAMILTON’S youngest Hurricanes had their first taste of squad basketball, and the team finished runner-up with only a single loss in the preliminary rounds.
Saturday’s first game was a comfortable victory against Colac Kookas with Ned Robertson (10) and Finn Robertson (12) leading the scoring in the 42-18 win.
A round two 15-40 loss to Warrnambool Seahawks was the only blemish, but the team was back on track against Horsham Hornets with a 52-26 victory, as Ned Robertson had the hot hand with 15 points.
The final group game was against Colac again and the result went the same way, as the Hurricanes recorded a 26-18 win with Liam Pickford top-scoring with 10 points.
A semi-final win against Colac made it three from three against the Kookas, as Ned Robertson found space again with 14 points, but the Seahawks were too good in the grand final, as the visitors won 41-28.
Under-14A Girls
THE Under-14A Girls team also finished second after a strong tournament with two wins and a loss in the preliminary rounds.
Leni Robertson led the scoring in the first round against Colac Kookas, posting 19 points in the 58-13 win, but the Hurricanes were brought back to Earth with a loss to Warrnambool Mermaids in round two, 17-28.
Portland was no match for the Hurricanes in the final preliminary round, as the home side recorded a 59-11 victory, as Robertson (22) was assisted by Pippa Richards (14) and Kaydence Oswald (13).
Th semi-final saw the Hurricanes pitted against the Kookas again and the result was a win for the home side, with 17 points critical from Robertson.
The grand final against the Mermaids didn’t go as planned for the Hurricanes, losing 23-32, as Tayla Sherlock top-scored.
Under-14B Girls
FOUR wins and a loss from the preliminary round games was a great start for the Under-14B Girls, as they played off in the decider, falling short at the final hurdle.
Round one saw the Hurricanes thrash Portland Coasters, 64-14, with Mekides Churchill and Luella Causer posting 14 points each.
Hurricanes then defeated BDU Lightning, 31-20, as Causer continued to score well with another 14-point haul, and Colac Kookas were next to feel the dominance of the Hurricanes, as Causer put up her third 14-point game in the 52-10 victory.
The winning streak continued in round four, as Port Fairy Pacers gave the Hurricanes a closer contest, but the result still favoured the home side, 31-17.
The undefeated run ended in round five as Warrnambool Mermaids proved to be too strong, winning 37-16, as the Hurricanes were kept quiet, and despite having time to regroup before the grand final, the Mermaids were too good again, winning 52-31.
Under-16A Boys
HAMILTON’S Under-16A Boys had an undefeated run through the preliminary rounds, earning their place in the grand final, but that final hurdle proved to be too high, as the side finished runner-up.
Victories against Warrnambool Seahawks, 40-32 (Jedd Oxley 11 points) in round one; Colac Kookas 36-22 (Zanda Ewing 21 points) in round two; Portland Coasters in round three, 32-28 (Ewing 14 points); a bye in round four and finally a round five thrashing of Koroit Saints, 55-20 (Ewing 14 and Oxley 12), boosted momentum for the home side.
Despite having the measure of Portland Coasters in the preliminary game, the Hurricanes were defeated 39-33, as Ewing put up another 14 points in the grand final.
Under-12B Boys
IT was a fifth-place finish for the Under-12B Boys, as the players also entered their first tournament as the team went down, 22-37, to Portland Coasters in round one, despite the best efforts of Sean Nedziwe.
Round two saw Thomas Robertson (10) lead the Hurricanes to a 23-23 draw against BDL Lightning from Ballarat.
The team tasted success in round three against Colac Kookas, 37-21, with William Iredell posting 21 points to lead the scoring for the home side.
Port Fairy Pacers were no match for the Hurricanes in the next game, as the home side started Sunday with a 26-16 win, with Iredell (10) again leading the way on the scoresheet.
The final group game saw Warrnambool Seahawks bring the Hurricanes back to Earth with a 30-19 victory.
Under-12A Girls
The Hurricanes Under-12A Girls finished runner-up in the opening tournament of the season after winning two of its three preliminary games.
The opening game was against Colac Kookas, 25-18, with Ruby Rankin top-scoring with eight points.
The second round was against Warrnambool Mermaids and the Hurricanes went down, 22-35, despite Navvi Thomas putting up 14 points.
The final preliminary game against Portland Coasters saw Rankin again to the fore with 19 points in the 43-29 victory, before a semi-final rematch against the Kookas, with Hamilton winning, 24-19, as Thomas had the hot hand with 10 points.
The Mermaids again proved to be the nemesis of the side in the grand final, winning 32-13.
Under-12B Girls
THE Under-12B Girls also completed the opening tournament of the season with a runner-up finish after winning three of its four preliminary matches.
The weekend started with a 20-18 win against Colac Kookas, as Zoe Kuilboer top scored with eight points.
A round two bye then lead into a clash against the Koroit Saints and won, 22-6, with Kuilboer again scoring well with 11 points.
Portland Coasters was next up and the home side again registered victory, 20-14, but Warrnambool Mermaids were next up in round five and they were too good, as the Hurricanes went down 17-27.
The grand final was against the Mermaids and despite the best efforts of the Hurricanes, they couldn’t reverse that earlier result, going down 16-22.
Under-14B Boys
A fourth-place pool finish for the Under-14 Boys B team was the final reward for a hard weekend of matches, as the Hurricanes won one game, drew another and lost their other games.
The Hurricanes opened the tournament with victory against Border Sports Academy Warrnambool, 36-15, with Archie McCulloch and Thomas Hobbs each posting eight points.
The next game was a draw with Colac Kookas, 39-39, as McCulloch (19) had great support from Noah O’Connor (12) before losses to Port Fairy and BDU Lightning wrapped up the weekend.
Under-16B Boys
LOSSES to BDU Lightning 42-51 (Will Kamp 18 Points); Maryborough Blazers 30-46 (Lucas Dumesny 11); and Border Sports Academy Warrnambool 23-32 (Jack McCulloch 15 points) were offset by victory against Colac Kookas 58-28 (McCulloch 14 points, Darcy Eats and Charles Prentice 10 points each), leading to a fourth-placed finish for the locals.
Under-18A Boys
IN the final season of squad basketball for some of the team, the Under-18A Boys managed a fourth-place finish at its home tournament.
The team started the weekend with a close 26-24 victory against Portland Coasters, as Abdul Muhktar put up 10 points to start his tournament.
Riley Iredell had the hot hand with 10 points in the 21-35 loss to Koroit Saints, before a round three bye.
Round four saw Colac Kookas too good, as the Hurricanes went down 35-41, despite 10 points from Muhktar.
Round five saw the Hurricanes regain their winning form, as they accounted for Horsham Hornets, 49-30, as George Clark and Charlie Baker top scored with 10 points each.
