Posted on 6 February, 2011
The tournament had over 800 teams competing from under 10’s to under 20’s – with 31 teams from Kilsyth. With the weather predicted to be 30+ over the tournament, all teams had a tough weekend ahead and as the first tournament for the year gave a good snapshot of where everyone is at.
A big thank-you to everyone involved and to those who sent in Match Reports and Photos.
U/12-1 Boys (3/1)
The boys started the weekend on Thursday night with a very close game against Oakleigh. After several weeks away from the game the boys put up a tremendous effort, going point for point, to finally win 34 to 33 in the last seconds of the game.
On Friday night the boys had a convincing win over Blackburn 32 to 17, although the margin could have been significantly greater had they made just half of their missed opportunities.
Saturday morning the boys were up against South Adelaide, after a slow start the boys soon gained momentum and run out easy winners 64 to 6. The margin reflected our need to increase our percentage as it was looking like this would decide a finals berth between us and Hawthorn.
Saturday night was the deciding game to determine if we would make finals even though we hadn’t yet lost a game. The boys were up against Bulleen, who were convincingly undefeated in their previous 3 games. We started off well, being in front midway during the first half; however the relentless pressure from Bulleen saw the result go their way at half time 15 to 10. This could have been tied if we had made more of our free throw opportunities. In the second half we were totally outclassed with the superior outside shooting from Bulleen with the final result been 44 to 22.
Unfortunately, due to Hawthorn having a slightly better percentage, the boys missed out on the finals.
A fabulous effort by all the boys, the coaches and of course, the cheer squad.
It’s an absolute pleasure to be involved with a great team of boys and parents, who all thoroughly enjoyed the weekend.
Team Manager Lydia Bethune & Head Coach Michael Dwyer
U/12-4 Boys
See Photos 1
U/12-5 Boys (6/0 – GF winners)
The boys had a lovely weekend and grew as a team as the tournament went on. They won all six games, including their ‘hot’ Grand Final match. Our team member Tayte Bosen was also awarded a Most Determined Player Award!
Round scores were:
Kilsyth def. Eltham Saturday 2
39: 13
Kilsyth def. St Mary’s
30: 10
Kilsyth def. Eltham Saturday 1
32: 3
Eltham Saturday 4 def. by Kilsyth
9: 34
Eltham Saturday 3 def. by Kilsyth
8: 44
Grand Final score was:
Kilsyth def. St Mary’s
27: 10
See Photo 2
U/14-1 Boys (3/2) Lost in Semi-Final
Having already graded for VC we keen to see where we stood at this time of the year in relation to the other teams. Our pool had 3 teams that were ranked higher than us, including the number 1 ranked team, so we were able to get a good gauge on how we were going. Our 1st game was against Blackburn we did not play well but got away with a win. Hawthorn, who beat us buy 15 earlier in the season, was our next opponent .We won by 9 using great team work.
Game 3 was against Nunawading the boys were really starting to play together well. We won by 11.
Game 4 against Bulleen, we played our best game besides 2-3 minutes, unfortunately that’s all good teams need to beat you and after leading for most of the game we lost by 7.
We did not play well in the elimination final against Keilor and lost by 15.Keilor went on to lose to Bulleen in the final by the same margin.
We now know if we are willing to practice and improve our individual and team basketball skills we can beat any VC team. So thanks to my panel of assistant coaches including Mark and Jason and to Clare Maddern my team Manager. Coach Mal
U/14-2 Boys (2/5) Lost in Semi Final
Our 14-2 Boys team played in 14B1 for the tournament
We managed to get 2 wins out of the 5 games against diamond valley 3 and Camberwell 2, with a near win from a last second shot from half court that almost went in but we went down by 2.
Though we still qualified for the semi-final where we were beaten by Ringwood 1 which was unfortunate as we have beaten them before, and they ended up winning the tournament.
We got great insight from the tournament as to where we have come to so far and what we need to improve on for the season ahead
U/14-3 Boys (2/3)
First up on Thursday night, the Cobras 14-3 boys faced Oakleigh 1, the team that would ultimately run away with the tournament championship for the 14B2 section. The Oakleigh boys certainly had some height and pace on their team, but after a slow start the Cobras boys clawed their way back to end just 3 points shy of a win. After regrouping for Friday evening, the boys travelled to Balwyn to take on Werribee 2 …… and after a hard fought first half, where scores were deadlocked, the Cobras steamed home with a 7 point win. Unfortunately, the next game on Saturday morning against Hawthorn 3 spelt a mini-implosion, as the boys were clearly in weekend mode, or was it the chilled stadium that slowed them down …… regardless, victory to Hawthorn by 21 points meant back to the drawing board for the coaching staff, in preparation for a home game against an old sparring partner, Warrandyte 2 – with our boys having knocked them out of pool grading in the cross-over game before Christmas. The 14-3 boys didn’t disappoint, with everything coming together after a fast start, controlled middle and tough finish, delivering an 11 point victory and reassurance to Warrandyte 2 that our cross-over win was no accident. 2 and 2 left us needing a win on Sunday morning, against Blackburn 2, also sitting 2 and 2 …… with the winner off to finals. Again a slow start hampered our efforts, until the boys got their communication flowing, delivering a string of structured plays that brought us back level with 4 minutes to go – however, Blackburn nailed a few late, crushing baskets, which took the wind out of the Cobras comeback, ultimately going down by 13 points and an early tournament exit. As usual the team had an absolute blast, blowing out the cobwebs from a long (not quite hot) summer break, and getting ready to jump back into their grading campaign – thanks to all the parents for volunteering to do anything and everything that was asked of them, and thanks to Rob and Bruce for making it fun for the kids!
U/16-2 Boys (4/2) Grand Final Winners
The 16-2 boys came into the tournament with expectations of playing a good brand of basketball and having success within the pool they were placed in. However, as the first game against Diamond Valley 3 on Thursday night showed we were some way from where we had wanted to be coming into the tournament, just sneaking a win in the last minutes with the score 25-18. The following two games on Saturday followed a similar trend with poor offensive execution and a lack of intensity on defence resulting in losses to Broadmeadows 2 14-15 and Whittlesea 1 25-29. So coming into the final game of the fixture we found ourselves 1-2 and looking at potentially missing finals. However, to the boys credit they responded to the challenge and their performance turned around in the final game on Saturday night against Ringwood 2 playing with much better movement and decision making offensively and more tenacity on defence winning 25-18. Their improved play continued on Sunday in the semi-final against Diamond Valley 3 winning 28-14. In the final we met up with Whittlesea 1 once again and we really aimed to rectify our previous match up. The boys put in a real quality effort, and although it wasn’t always perfect there were many signs of the sort of basketball we had been trying to attain all tournament long resulting in a 29-21 win. Congratulations to Caleb Raiti as MVP of the finals. Thank you to Eva McMaster (team manager) for your work all tournament long I really appreciate it and also to the parents for all their efforts. Well done boys, but there is still plenty more work to do 😉
Adam Knott (Coach).
See Photo 3
U/20-1 Boys (2/2)
With Coach Malvik flying into Australia earlier in the week, the boys where lucky enough to grab two training sessions with Zach prior to the tournament and put some plans into place. We played Nunawading in game 1 on Thursday evening and while leading for the majority of the game we were unable to get the job done with a few minutes to spare. With a little more discipline, better decision making and game control we could have turned a 2 point loss into a win. In game 2 against Waverley 2 on Friday evening we controlled the game tempo right from the beginning and maintained a 10 point lead for the most part, so with room to improve in the remainder of the tournament we felt we were on the right track and ran out winners by 10 points.
Game three on Saturday (based on existing results) appeared to be the game we needed to win to make the final day. To Zach and the Boys credit we started well and had an encouraging first half with a 6 point lead at the main break against Waverley 1. The second half proved to be a tough encounter and the cobra boys had answers for everything Waverley threw at them, that was until the last 5 minutes when we appeared to lose our way a little and Waverley ran out 9 point winners and I felt not a true reflection of just how close this game was. (For the record Waverley went on to win the tournament)
The final game was held back at Kilsyth on Saturday evening and the Cobra boys started off where they began against Waverley and by half time had a 20 point lead against Melbourne 2, The second half had Zach able to rotate players, try a few things and get a good look at the majority of the group and we eventually accounted for Melbourne 2 by 24 points.
The tournament leaves Zach and the Boys well prepared for the upcoming grading in the U20’s and we should be confident of some really positive results over the next 3 weeks.
U/12-2 Girls (5/2) Lost in GF
The 12-2 girls had a wonderful start to their tournament winning the first 4 games. On their 5th game, they were defeated by 7 points against the also undefeated Waverley. The finals fixture had our team meet again with Waverley in the semi-final. Our girls found extra strength and determination and managed to successfully beat Waverley by 7 points, securing a grand final position. In a 35 degree stadium our 7 players, gave all they had against a strong Hawthorn team and lost by only 4 points, 23-27. A fantastic effort that saw each player shine at different times throughout the 7 games. The team was rewarded with their runners-up trophies and their team mate, Jessica Ploegsma received the MVP for the grand final. Many thanks to our coach Scott for his time and effort and to the Pappin family for hosting the after party at their lovely home complete with a pool to cool off. A fantastic group of players, parents, coaches and spectators made this a week-end to remember!
See Photo 4
U/12-3 Girls (3/1/1)
Our 12-3 Girls had a fantastic tournament and played the way their coach (Tania Sumner) has trained them to play – “Tough, Smart, Together”.
With one of our girls coming back from injury and therefore having limited court time, our girls were down to just 7 players for the majority of the tournament. They proved once again that they are a hard working team that gives their all, right up to the final buzzer. This was evident at Kilsyth Stadium on Saturday as the girls fought back from being 8-nil down within the first few minutes and had the score tied up (17-17) at the end of the game, in a thriller that was great to watch.
The girls also had three convincing wins, with scores of 20-2; 21-8 and 27-6. On Sunday, the girls battled on against the heat, fatigue, a very good ‘Whittlesea 2’ team and a few unlucky calls by the referees, to go down in a low scoring Semi Final by just 2 points (9-11).
On behalf of the parents of the 12-3 team, we are very proud of the girls and thankful for the work Tania has put in with them so far and we look forward to seeing even more improvement and skill development over 2011. The girls have again set themselves a good standard to try and maintain for the season ahead.
GO COBRAS!! (Troy Long (12-3 Girls T/M)
In terms of the weekend, the girls had a great tournament.
As a team they all worked very hard and progressively toughened up in their play, resulting in them playing basketball well beyond their age by the end of the tournament.
With only 7 healthy players, the girls went undefeated during the games but ran out of legs and lost their semifinal by 2 points.
Excellent effort girls – well done.
U/12-4 Girls (4/1D)
The 12.4 Girls team had a good tournament; they had a number of close games which will help build their confidence. We still have not managed a win, but we did have a draw and we came very close in two other games.
Lost 11 to 10 diamond valley – This was really close; we only lost it, in the last 9 seconds of the game as a result of a free throw
Lost 26 to 2 to Collingwood
Lost 31 to 8 to hawthorn
14 all to Eltham – Our best game of the tournament, again it would have been nicer to win, but it was fantastic to at least draw, this game was played at home so there was extra support.
Lost 12 to 10 to Werribee
U/14-1 Girls (1/3)
Tournament Report 14.1 girls coach Rani assistant Jacqui
With the likes of Knox 1, Blackburn 1, Melbourne 1 and Dandenong 2 in our pool, my assistant coach, Jacqui and I knew it was going to be a hard weekend and that it would test the girls physically and mentally. We ended up with a win by 20 points against Blackburn, a loss to Dandenong 2 by 1 point and a loss to Melbourne 1 by 10 points. The standout game being played against Knox. We had previously played this Knox team in the Southern Peninsula tournament where they had killed us by about 30 points. This game the girls came out, applied great defensive pressure and drove aggressively towards the basket. It was a great hard fought game that could’ve gone either way, it ended up being a loss by 4 points but considering Knox had to go to a zone in the last 5 minutes and their last easy win against us, then in my books it counts as a win and it shows how much improvement my girls have made from the last tournament. The parents, Jacqui and I are so very proud of the girls for their efforts throughout the tournament, for their fight and their positive attitudes. Let’s keep it up girls and looking forward to a great season, on and off the court. Lastly thank you to Meg my team manager, the big kid, and to Jacqui who drove me around and made sure we didn’t get bogged.
U/14-4 Girls (2/1/2) Lost in Semi Final
After a slow start on Thursday night going down to Blackburn 2 by 7, the girls played a totally different game on the Friday night to have a heart pumping draw against Warrandyte 2. The girls followed on with Friday nights great work taking down Waverley 2 (26-21) and Nunawading (13-11). We ended finishing 2nd in our pool to play 1st is the pool B, but were unable to get into the game going down to Hawthorn 4 (9-25). Overall the girls played a great tournament with each player improving game to game and giving it their all. Lastly, I would like to thank Kelly (TM), Steph (AC) and all the parents for all their hard work and support!
U/16-2 Girls (3/3) Lost in Semi Final
For our team, the tournament was about getting some match fitness back and focusing on getting our offense better and defensive pressure working.
While we had a sluggish start, with Eltham 2 (the eventual winners), we stepped up to beat Hawthorn 2 easily.
We then face Ringwood in a tough game, just dropping off by 3 points, with our press working well for us.
We worked reasonably well for most of our next two games against Bulleen 2 and Werribee 2, with the highlight of these games coming after a very poor second half against Werribee 2, when Taylah Black nailed a 3 pointer on the buzzer to give us a 1 point win.
This set us up for a rematch against Ringwood in the Semi Final.
They were too big and I think we were too tired, not really putting up a lot of opposition for them.
Overall the girls had a good tournament and all got something from it – well done girls.
U/16-3 Girls (4/1) Lost in elimination Final
16-3 Girls had a fantastic weekend. 4 wins and 1 loss – only by 1 point. All the girls put in 100% with all their games. They did like to keep us all on the edge of our seats with very close scores throughout the weekend. Semi-final Sunday – the heat was terrible 38 degrees on the court. But they all tried so hard only losing by 4 point. Well done to them and of course to Russell.
Clare, brief report of 16-3 girls Eltham/Dandenong tournament as follows:
Game 1 Thursday night defeated Hawthorn 3 by 10 points Game 2 Friday night defeated Eltham 3 by 10 points Game 3 Saturday lost to Ringwood 2 by 1 point Game 4 Saturday defeated Sydney team "Amazon" by 20 points Game 5 Saturday defeated Waverly 2 by 2 points (free throws after final siren) Semi Lost to Whittlesea2 by 4 points.
Great tournament for all 11 players who showed good improvement from the end of last year and all played well.
Russell.
U/18-1 Girls (3-2) Lost in elimination Final
We had 4 round games to play starting on the Thursday night. Game one against Melbourne (18-39L) was the first game for most of the team after their USA tour. We were very flat footed and with heavy feet. After giving an 11 point start the girls finished the half 7-14 at the long break. As the game went on the girls loosened up and competed the rest of the game. Game two on Friday night was against Hawthorn (37-19W); the team came out with a real focus that saw us get a 20-0 lead early and never looking back, we controlled the game from start to finish. Saturday Game 3 was Warrandyte (24-19), this was a scrappy affair both teams struggling to score, and however the Cobras had a lot of opportunity to seal the game early. Defence was a big factor in the game and not allowing the Venom to get on a roll was a key to the victory. Game 4 was Camberwell (30-22W) which we knew nothing about; once again our defensive pressure was a telling factor in the victory and taking second place in our pool. We were able to stop the penetration of the Dragons and limit their scoring. This set us up for an elimination final against Bulleen whom play in the VC Grand Final in 2010. We knew it was going to be a tough game and it didn’t disappoint, the lead changes around 6 times in the first half until the Cobras got a break of around 5 points. The second half saw another hard contested game with Kilsyth holding on to a 5 point buffer, with 4 minutes to go Bulleen started to make a run. They were able to tie up the ball game with 30 seconds remaining, Cobras with the ball and a time out in hand work on a play to have the last shot. The girls ran the play and got 3 attempts at the basket to no avail, Bulleen came up with the ball with 3 second remaining and scores all tied up, they advanced the ball, released a shot at 0.3 of a second left to play. The shot was short hitting the front of the iron, bouncing up and on to the other side on the ring; everyone thought the game was going into overtime, everyone apart from the ball. On the second bounce it went straight up in the air and then dropping into the basket giving the Boomers the win and advancing to the semi-finals.
It was a great start to the season for the U/18-1 going into the next grading vase, the team now has the knowledge to play and train hard to improve the basketball.
Coach Newton
