Posted on 15 September, 2011

The night was officially opened by David Hodgett who recapped on a successful year thus far in 2011 before the awards ceremony got under way.

The Under 18 and Under 20 Phil Mundays Junior Kilsyth Cobras were first up to receive their awards, special mention must go to the 18.1 Boys and the Under 20 Boys who made it thru to the VJBL semi-finals and the Under 20 girls who are in action this weekend endeavouring to make the VJBL Under 20 Girls Grand Final.

The Workforcexs Lady Cobras fell just short of a finals berth and Head Coach Ed Dunstan said he was extremely proud of his girl’s efforts after starting the 2011 season on fire the team managing to defeat the eventual premiers Dandenong twice but fell twice to the wooden-spooner’s and that in the end was their downfall in not being able to reach to finals.

The Workforcexs Cobras had one of the youngest teams in the SEABL D-League in 2011 and must be extremely proud of their efforts falling just short of a grand-final berth going down by 12 points to Nunawading in their semi-final. There are exciting times ahead for this group whose commitment to their basketball cannot be underestimated as they have already began their training programs for Season 2012.

The Swinburne Lady Cobras wounds were still raw after falling short of a Grand Final appearance going down to the Knox Raiders on Saturday night. Head Coach Cheryl Chambers commended the efforts of the team throughout the season and knows that the pain of disappointment form Saturday night will only spur them on in Season 2012.

The Swinburne Lady Cobras awarded two MVP’s for season 2011 after neither could be separated; Eva Afeaki was a welcome addition to the group averaging 12.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Fellow MVP Chantella Perera may have started the year slowly but her second half of the season was outstanding as her work of court began to pay dividends, Perera finished the year averaging 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. The Coach’s award was given to Hayley Moffatt after another year doing her job week in week out.

The Swinburne Cobras again felt the pain of having a great year but falling in the preliminary final, after a tough start to the year going one and five, the Swinburne Cobras then put together a 16 and four run to show the rest of the competition that they were serious about making amends for their 2010 season. Unfortunately the Swinburne Cobras fell six points short of an east-conference grand final going down to Bendigo.

Matt O’Hea was awarded the Burns Wheeler Award after a season where he averaged 13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game; David Moore was awarded the Coach’s award.

Kilsyth and Mountain District Basketball Association president Malcolm Allison congratulated Erica McMenamin on her career with the Kilsyth Cobras and presented her with a beautiful bunch of flowers after she decided to take a year off from basketball in 2012. Erica has played over 700 games in Kilsyth colours and was a member of the 2008 championship side. Kilsyth Basketball would like to wish Erica all the best in 2012 and again thank her for her time with Kilsyth.

2011 Senior Awards.

18-2 Girls

Coach:                                      Sandy Nelson

MVP:                                        Zoe Cant

Coaches Award:                        Breanna Kos

18-2 Boys

Coach:                                      Quincy Henderson

MVP:                                        Mitchell Hayward

Coaches Award:                        Tim Smith

18-1 Girls

Coach:                                      Dave Newton

MVP:                                        Claire van Poppel

Coaches Award:                        Alex Sherman

18-1 Boys

Coach:                                      Gavin Meager

MVP:                                        Adrian Tomada/ Daniel Jensen

Coaches Award:                        Jamie Cubitt/ Zach Wuersching

20 Girls

Coach:                                      Matthew Silvaggio

MVP:                                        Jenna Verhoef-Jenkins

Coaches Award:                        Ebany Vanderheym

20 Boys

Coach:                                      Zach Malvik

MVP:                                        Jackson Brazier      

Coaches Award:                        Regan Grimwood

Development League Women

Coach:                                      Ed Dunstan

MVP:                                        Samantha Drescher

Coaches Award:                        Kate Caulfield

Development League Men

Coach:                                      Rod Popp

MVP:                                        Adam Knott

Coaches Award:                        Aaron Reinbott

SEABL Women

Coach:                                      Cheryl Chambers   

MVP:                                        Eva Afeaki/Chantella Perera

Coaches Award:                        Hayley Moffatt

SEABL Men

Coach:                                      Grant Wallace   

MVP – Burns Wheeler Award:     Matt O’Hea                             

Coaches Award:                         David Moore              

Again huge congratulations to all the players, award winners and their families on what has been a successful 2011 campaign.