Big result for teams from the Far North

teams featuring some of the best Far North Queensland basketballers enjoyed deep, historic runs at major competitions this year.

It should be of no surprise a side with members of both teams had a successful start to their Queensland North Junior Basketball Championships campaign in Townsville.

The under-18 boys Cairns Marlins went 3-1 after their first round of fixtures, a sixpoint loss to the Townsville Heat in their second game the only blemish on an otherwise outstanding weekend.

Cairns repaid the favour 24 hours later to cap what coach Bernard Dent said was a great start for the talented outfit.

The tight tussles with Townsville – they traded sixpoint wins across the two days – was reflective of the region’s successful junior programs.

“These tournaments are about learning on and off the court,” Dent said.

“Both programs are well developed; it’s why they finish in the top four of the state.

“The best result would be to finish first overall as it gives you a better seed at the state titles. But I was happy with their development on the weekend.”

Australian junior rep Ky Stattmann averaged 32 points in his first four outings. He was similarly dominant for Cairns State High at the Champion Basketball Schools of Queensland competition in Brisbane last month, in which Marlins teammates Jordan Dudgeon and Sam Ellis also played.

Much of the rest of the squad were part of the first Peninsula team to win the Queensland School Sport 13-15yrs Boys Championships at Cairns Basketball Stadium in August this year.

The Stingers, who played in the boys’ Division 2 competition, went 2-2 in their four games, while the Dolphins went 3-2 in the U18 Girls Division 1 competition. Australian rep Shaneice Swain suffered a knee injury and did not play in the team’s last two games.