Neers take home pair of silvers
BQJBC ruling gives Mountaineers a boost in tough times
BASKETBALL: With the BQJBC season coming to a premature halt, the Toowoomba Mountaineers have received some good news.
In accordance with league rules, the U18s boys and U21s men have been awarded silver medals in their respective Southern Cup campaigns after both finished the regular season in second on the ladder.
For U18s coach Cameron Weber, it was a disappointing way for the season to end, however said his side can take pride in the medal they have earnt.
“It isn’t the way we wanted to finish off the season,” Weber said.
“We had gone on a bit of a losing streak, and then in the last game of the season we were missing three of our starters and came away with the win.
“It would’ve been good to see how the season would end.
EVEN THOUGH WE WON THE MOST GAMES, THEY WERE THE BETTER TEAM AND WE WOULDN’T DESERVE THE GOLD IF IT WAS HANDED TO US. BUT WE REALLY WANTED A CHOP AT THEM IN THE FINAL, NOW WE WON’T GET THAT CHANCE.
CAMERON WEBER
We wanted another crack at Northside.
“Finishing second is still a good accomplishment, but it wasn’t what we wanted at the start of the year.
“I’m not sure last of the last U18 boys team to push for division one, but it was good to have a high level of play to be at that level.”
The gold medal went to Northside, who dropped down from division one, and while Weber admits they showed they deserved it, he wanted one last shot to make them earn it.
“Northside showed they are a better team than us and they deserved to win. They beat us handsomely in the round robin,” he said.
“Even though we won the most games, they were the better team and we wouldn’t deserve the gold if it was handed to us.
“But we really wanted a chop at them in the final, now we won’t get the chance to do so.”
With a strong contingent of TGS players in the side, Weber hopes they are able to get the chance to further their development if the GPS season is to go ahead, and all players in the side are able to take something from the year they’ve had.
“The side was predominantly built with Toowoomba Grammar players. Who knows what the end of the season brings for them,” he said.
“They were heading towards winning the regional Friday night competition, and the (school) season doesn’t really start until term three.
“We had three other boys come along for the ride, and I hope they learnt a great deal from playing with the calibre of the TGS boys.
“It can be hard to fit in straight away, but they definitely did and all contributed throughout the season.
“I hope they came away with a lot of learning abilities from that higher level of play.”
For the U21s, it was a matter of four points that stood between them winning gold or silver.
The Neers finished level with North Gold Coast on wins throughout the season, however the Seahawks owned the series split after a pair of tight tussles.
The Mountaineers claimed the first win by two points, before North Gold Coast came to Toowoomba and had a sixpoint victory and ultimately claimed gold.
sean.teuma@thechronicle.com.au