CITY CELEBRATES OUR CHAMPIONS
CELEBRATIONS of the Townsville Fire’s WNBL championship win continued yesterday with a civic reception held to commemorate their third title.
Fans flocked to The Strand to celebrate the team and meet their favourite players.
Captain Suzy Batkovic said she and the other players were still on cloud nine after Sunday’s big win over the Melbourne Boomers.
“To win a championship is a pretty amazing achievement but to do it three times in the last four years, is just unbelievable,” she said.
“I’m just ultra proud of the players and the club – it’s been an awesome journey.”
Batkovic said the team was proud to set an example for young women in sport.
“Even after our games, day in and day out, there’s always people talking about that,” she said. “We love that, we want to make sure we’re good role models and we want kids to be playing basketball but also any sport, just to be healthy and getting out there.”
Batkovic said the support the team had received from the city was amazing.
“You can’t ask for any better supporters or fans than we have in Townsville. They are No. 1 in Australia by far,” she said.
Mayor Jenny Hill said the grand final series had demonstrated a level of athleticism and professionalism by the team on and off the court.
“What these girls have shown is if you have a dream and you set a goal, what you can achieve,” she said.
“This club, from my way of thinking, has the potential to set some significant records in WNBL and it’s a club that other players aspire to come to.
“For us in Townsville we’ve got the Fire and obviously we’ve got the Cowboys. They run different seasons but I think the girls are showing the boys how it’s done.”
Fans of all ages turned out at the reception to have photographs with the players and have memorabilia signed.
Heatley’s Jill Wanchap was among the fans in the crowd at Townsville Stadium for the grand final decider and could not wait to greet the team yesterday.
“It was exhilarating, such a good game,” she said. “We’ve been season ticketholders pretty much from the start.” Don’t miss our Townsville Fire souvenir double poster in today’s Bulletin.