YOUNG KNIGHTS ARISE FROM VICTORY
The youngest teams from Stirling Knights are celebrating after a successful weekend at the Basketball Scotland Under 10 National Challenge Tournament.
Saturday saw the boys looking to defend the title they won last year. Drawn in a group with West Lothian, Grampian and Glasgow, they quickly dispatched of West Lothian 43-5, then Grampian 36-7.
The Stirling youngsters then saw off Glasgow 24-8 to finish as group winners and went on to face fellow group winners Falkirk, Inverness and East Lothian.
They finished the day undefeated to take the gold medal with wins over Inverness (26-9), East Lothian (28-12) and in a great final against Falkirk (24-11) to retain their title as Scottish Under 10 Boys champions.
On Sunday, the young and relatively inexperienced girls’team put on some great performances and developed in confidence during their first ever tournament to finish in fifth place. Wins over Blaze and West Lothian were the icing on the cake for the girls.
A special mention goes to Knights Young Leaders Connor Sharp, Alex Smith-Taylor and Charis Maclean who coached and mentored the teams all weekend.
Head of Knights Pete Duncan said: “Weekends like this are why we set up the club. It is such a pleasure to see the youngest Knights do so well and it is testament to the volunteer coaches and parents who contribute so much to the continuing success of the Knights.” The teams were picked from players in the cluster teams across Stirling and Clackmannanshire.
Representing the boys were Aaron Duffin, Ben Jackson, Henry Daniels, Peter Daniels, Harry Adams, Lucas Duncan, Dev Darley, Douglas Fleming, Alexander Curley, Patrick McGowan, Archie Flett and Josh Duncan.
The girls’squad featured Jessica Foster, Beccie Speed, Ella Dempsey, Anya Easton, Eilidh Jack, Keira Malcolmson, Edie McBain, Ella Ritch, Rachel Sinclair and Leah Trevitt-Stark.