Marlins playing for gold at U16 Boys titles
ONE of the biggest defensive efforts you’ll ever see on a basketball court has led to Cairns Marlins playing for a gold medal at the under-16 Boys State Championships.
“To come out in that second half like that is just astounding,” coach Geoff Benson said after full-time in yesterday’s semi-final.
“JP (Jaylen Pitman) dropped a sneaky 30 points, Tyson (Crees) scored 20, my babies got in there and got the rebounds, and they got it done together.”
The Marlins trailed Gold Coast Waves at halftime, but the boys from Far North Queensland weren’t about to be bullied out of the contest.
They locked up their southern rivals and fellow contenders, restricting the taller Gold Coast outfit to just five points as they built a handy third-quarter lead.
Benson’s boys will now look to a clash with Northside Wizards in the gold medal game, which will be shown live on the Cairns Post website at 2pm.
Benson is confident the Marlins have the experience, and the will, to overcome their North Brisbane rivals.
“We’re undersized against every team we play, but the thing with my boys is they keep playing and performing for each other,” he said. “Most of them have previously played in gold medal games, so they know what to expect.
“I definitely thought I had a top three team here. Fingers crossed the boys (had) a good sleep (last night).”
The Division 2 Cairns Stingers will play Northside Wizards 2 in their last game today.
At the U16 girls championships, the Division 2 Cairns Corals are yet to win a game, but face Northside Wizards 2 and Southern Districts in games today.