ON THE BALL
THEY have the talent, the form, and the skill to win the state championship, but under-14s Cairns Marlins coach Brett Toombs won’t be putting any pressure on his young team.
The Marlins will be one of three Far North teams in the Basketball Queensland U14 Boys State Championships, which tips off on Thursday, but the only side in Division 1.
Cairns Stingers will take the court in Division 2 and Mulgrave Magic will compete in Division 3.
Cairns Marlins will enter the tournament with confidence after dominating in the Queensland North Junior Basketball Championships campaign.
That QNJBC is the tri-city series between teams from Cairns, Townsville and Mackay, with the Marlins going 4-0 to win the Division 1 title.
Half the squad was also part of the Stingers side which won a silver medal in the second division of last year’s state championship.
But Toombs isn’t talking about the crown, at least not before they make it out of their pool and through some crossover fixtures.
”We try not to get too far ahead of ourselves,” he said.
“We want a top-two finish in our pool. If we can do that, then that will get us through to the semi-finals.
“From there, when we’re in the crossovers, we might think about it.”
If they can top Pool B, the team will take on the second-placed side in Pool A, or vice versa, in the hunt for a championship at their home court.
“But it’s not about grand finals or anything like that yet,” Toombs said.
This is Toombs’ first year with the under-14 boys’ team.
With three daughters heavily involved in basketball — two of which are in the
Cairns Basketball representative program — he has until now been mostly involved with the junior girls’ team.
“I was with the girls last year but I wanted to coach the boys this year and give the girls a bit more freedom,” Toombs said.
“(The Marlins are) such a good, unselfish group of players. They play well together.
“It’s very satisfying to watch, even if they’re probably too unselfish at times.”
This tournament may be more for experience, but the Marlins inevitably cast an eye to the title picture, where they will use every bit of experience earned during their run in last year’s Division 2 state championships.
They fell to Brisbane Capitals by just six points in the 2019 decider, and while the roster may not be identical they have been drawn in the same pool as the Capitals.
“We have a nice strong group,” Toombs said.
“The team this year, half of them were in the side to make it through to the grand final last year.
“Our starting five has been strong, but we go 10 deep.”
It means the Marlins will be armed with a true, team-first mentality when they hit the Early Settler Stadium showcourt for a high intensity campaign-opening match against northern rival Townsville.
“There’s no superstars in this group; they all contribute,” Toombs said.