Posted on 15 June, 2012
Several Phil Munday’s Kilsyth Cobras Junior Representative teams spent the Queen’s Birthday weekend in the gym playing in competitive tournaments around the Victoria area. Read about their fantastic outcomes below in reports compiled by team coaches and managers. Congratulations to all of our teams for such great successes!
16.3 Boys – Ballarat Tournament U16-B2 Champions
After a long weekend I could sense the boys were getting tired going into the Grand Final against Werribee and I felt the team who could maintain the intensity would win the game. As a result, I asked the boys for one last effort and they all responded magnificently. The game was an even tussle all the way through right up until the last couple of minutes where we gained control and ran out 6 point winners, 42-32. I was so proud of all the team, however there was a couple of individual performances which should rate a mention; Josh Gray (Grand Final MVP) was lion-hearted and unstoppable on the boards and Mitch controlled the game and set up numerous scoring opportunities, whilst Mat had his best game of the tournament and got some valuable baskets and defensive rebounds.
If you had said to me on Friday that we were going to win the grand-final and be undefeated then I would have said you were mad. However, the boys did it and they should all be congratulated for their efforts and “never say die” attitude. As a coach and parent I was so proud of them all and could not have asked for a greater effort from the whole team. Well done and congratulations on your win. You deserved it.
-Coach Gary Maddern
12.5 Boys – Nunawading Tournament U12-C2 Semi-finals
One word for this team—AWESOME!! These boys had 6 games in two days, 4 alone on Sunday plus a semi-final and just kept going no matter how tired they were. They did what their coach asked of them to the best of their ability, ending up with a 4-2 record, exceeding what I had hoped for considering their draw and being the youngest team in their competition. After a truly exhausting day of 4 games on Sunday, finishing 4th out of 10 teams, they were given only 2 basic instructions for the semi-final: get back and stop their opponent from scoring as best they could and move the ball as quickly as possible on offence. They worked hard and finished losing by only 8 points to the top team, who had beaten them in the previous game by 30 points. We had great encouragement from the bench and parents and the boys played with great sportsmanship all weekend. I could not have asked for anything more.
Thank you to the players for your efforts—keep up the hard work for the rest of the season—and to all the parents, especially our Team Manager, Anne, who keeps us going like a well-oiled machine and Assistant Coach Glenn for his support and back-up.
-Coach Ann McCann
18.2 Boys – Nunawading Tournament – A Reserve Champions
Kilsyth 18-2 side entered the Nunawading Tournament in the A Reserve section. We entered this tournament without our usual coach or any of our 3 guards as they all had prior commitments or were getting over injuries. This proved to be a great learning curve for each player who had to step up to cover new positions. Our section had 10 teams, 3 from Victoria and 7 from South Australia. Kilsyth went through preliminary rounds only losing the first game to Forestville. After this they had some comfortable wins until last round which was to decide the top spot. Kilsyth came out on top by 10 points.
Monday morning saw us win our Semi over another Forestville team and then after watching the 18-1 boys win their Grand Final it was time for our boys to take on a very strong Waverley side. Turned out a very tight game with Kilsyth coming from behind to snatch a 2 point win. Tim Winstanley was judged tournament MVP but the whole team was fantastic with all players achieving personal bests. Special thanks to Michael ‘Sleepless’ Kleehammer for a great coaching display and to our tactical coach Jed Wilson.
-Team Manager Louise Baldwin
16.5 Boys – Nunawading Tournament U16-C1A Second Place
Team Garfield, 16-5 boys, had a good weekend at the Nunawading Tournament. We began with a loss to a team from NSW who were strong and tall and the boys took a bit to get their game together. We continued into the weekend with a win against Dandenong and Nunawading to finish off the first day. Feeling good, the boys then had a chance to play in the Grand Final by winning the last two games on Sunday against Ringwood and another interstate team. They were starting to find their feet again, and although a close finish with a draw in the last game, we managed to end up second on the ladder and qualified for the Grand Final. Monday was a big day. The boys had something to prove and were up for the challenge, meeting the NSW team again in the final. They gave it everything and really worked hard to play for each other and finish on a high note. It wasn’t quite to be, as they went down by 3 points. I must say however, it was one of the best games I have seen the boys play and it was fantastic. I know Garfield was very pleased with everyone’s efforts and he is now looking forward to the remainder of the 2012 season. I would like to send a super thank you to all my families for their support and encouragement of the whole team, Garfield and myself. We are lucky to have them.
-Team Manager Joelle Allsopp
12.2 Boys – Ballarat Tournament U12A Third Place
U12-2 boys entered Ballarat tournament which started off shaky as the news of Coach Matt not being able to attend however the team decided to go ahead anyway. The boys had a not so good 1st game however were able to pull themselves together for the next 4 with help from Coach Dave. With 4 wins and 1 loss under our belt we needed to win 1 more for a chance in the final.
Unfortunately Werribee proved to be the better team on the day however the boys should be extremely proud of themselves! They were given the opportunity to make their own decisions on what plays to run and what defence strategies they needed to use to hold Werribee down and put them in place on the court. Their team work and confidence within one another was truly inspiring and they made Coach Matt, Coach Dave & Team Manager Rose extremely proud! What a great group of boys!!
-Team Manager Rose Poli
12.1 Boys – National Junior Classic Third Place
The 12-1 Boys went into the tournament ranked 5th, along with 15 other teams from Vic Metro & Country, South Australia and NSW. Our 3 – 0 record in the rounds placed us on top of our pool and placed us in a great position going into the first round of finals against Melbourne Tigers, who were placed second in their pool. We had not faced Melbourne this year, but expected a well coached team and a tough game. Once again we continued our defensive intensity. We rotated well on defense, closing the gaps and forcing Melbourne to shoot from outside. The final siren had us in front 54 – 34 and into the final 4, playing for a place in the Gold Medal game against Hawthorn, who was undefeated this season. Hawthorn’s smothering defense caused us to turn the ball over and stopped our transition points. This result put us in the Bronze Medal game against another opponent that we had so far failed to defeat in 2012, Bulleen. We knew Bulleen would be a tough opponent but we were also confident we could get the win after a great effort against Hawthorn. A great team effort kept us in the game and had us trailing by only one point at ¾ time but with the confidence to hit the final quarter running and give it our best shot. A steal in the last 10 seconds and a fast break lay up sealed the result for us to run out 46 – 41 winners of the Bronze Medal. A great weekend was had by all at National Junior Classic. We learnt a lot about ourselves and what we are capable of as a team. Our performances over the weekend have shown us that what we once thought was beyond our reach is now very much achievable. A big team effort. We congratulate the boys on their Bronze Medal win.
-Coach Michael Dwyer
16.1 Girls – Nunawading Tournament Second Place
It was one out of the box for the Kilsyth Cobras under 16 girl’s team and their coach Will Van Poppel. Tough competition over the weekend provided the girls with an opportunity to work on all the things they had been practicing on since the last tournament. Close outs, no middle, offensive rebounds, playing tough and strong defence were the coach’s objectives for the weekend. The girls played their physically toughest games on Saturday against diamond valley eagles and the west Adelaide Bearcats 1. Saturday morning, the girls found themselves in trouble by half time. They fought back by raising their game intensity but unfortunately still went down. The next 6 games resulted in wins because the team came together as a cohesive group and played some of their best basketball yet! There was great team basketball, with each player making valuable contributions when needed. Defensive intensity was excellent, and has been something the team has been working hard on so it was good to see it come out over the weekend.
The team made it through to the Grand Final which was played was against a very strong side in DV1. The girls all played hard and gave 100% effort, but on this occasion we were unable to reserve the result of the first game and we were runners up. The team had a successful tournament and girls stepped up to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with. Everyone contributed to the weekend’s effort. So great job and thanks to, Hannah, Alisha, Jacinta, Paige, Hayley, Taylah, Brooke, Mikayla, Jess, Narrelle(TM) Dee, (Ass Coach) & Karen (Dev Coach).
-Assistant Coach Karen Dover
