Surfers lining Repeat of the NBL back on up for world past just fine our screens

ONE of Gold Coast’s most compelling sports stories will start today, with the Surfers Paradise Baseball Club’s under-12 line-up to begin their world championship assault.

The team made history this year in Lismore as the first Gold Coast side to conquer the Australian Little League Championship, earning a trip to the US to take on the world’s best.

The world championship games of the tiny Surfers Paradise club will be shown live on ESPN, starting with their opener at 7am today. THE Sunshine Coast can qualify for the Suncorp Super Netball decider if they bring the same razor-sharp finals’ intensity from their victory over the Firebirds last Sunday.

That is the educated insight of three-time championship winner and freshly appointed Australian Diamonds defensive coach Clare Ferguson (nee McMeniman) ahead of Sunday’s preliminary final between the Lightning and Giants in Sydney.

Ferguson won three grand finals with the Firebirds. BASKETBALL is bouncing back on to free-to-air TV with the NBL signing a three-year deal with Channel 9.

Two matches will be shown live each weekend with games to be screened on the 9GO channel every Saturday and Sunday at 3pm.

The remaining matches of each round are likely to be broadcast on Fox Sports. The deal is another feather in the cap for NBL owner Larry Kestelman who has breathed life into the competition that was on its knees just a few years ago.