BATHURST reaffirmed itself as the major power in Central West basketball with an amazingly consistent effort at Western Junior League finals weekend held in Orange, winning five of the eight division one titles on offer.

The Goldminers juniors starred across all age groups, qualifying for each of the eight top-tier grand finals which is believed to be a first for the club. Their five wins left them one short of their biggest ever title haul.

“It was a pretty good weekend,” understated Goldminers co-ordinator Paul Masters said.

“We lost a couple of the deciders, the under 16s girls and under 12s boys both got through their major semi-final and then lost to the same team in the grand final, so in a way that was a bit disappointing, but you can’t fault the overall effort.

“The under 12s girls also did very well to make their final, they came from fourth to reach it.”

The Goldminers were at their most dominant in the senior age groups with the under 18s boys and girls both easily accounting for their opposition 75-41. The boys defeated Orange comfortably and the girls did a similar number on Temora with a 75-45 win.

In the under 16s, the boys went into their final with Dubbo as underdogs, but came back from a 14-point deficit at one stage to register a gutsy win over their classy opposition.

The girls’ result was a reverse, with Bathurst heading in as the fancied side but Dubbo doing enough to get the win.

Both of the Bathurst under 14s sides produced good displays in their respective finals to easily take care of Narrandera. 

Still, the Narrandera girls put up a strong fight in the opening half before the extra depth of the Goldminers began to have an effect.

Bathurst’s under 12 boys met a tough Lithgow team in their grand final and for a lot of the game they stuck it to them, getting their lead to double-figures at one point before Lithgow’s shots began to drop and they came back to register a good win.

The Goldminers girls in the same age group suffered a similar fate.

“Aside from her, Bathurst actually matched up very well with them and probably had a bit of an advantage, but inside close to the basket they just couldn’t get past her. She looks like being another Lauren Jackson with that sort of height.

“Overall it was great to see how well we did, it really shows what a great foundation our junior program has, and it is because of these kids being able to play each week in a local competition, rather than just every three or four weeks for representative basketball.

“I think six titles in one year is our record and I thought at one stage we might actually beat that, but it wasn’t to be and it was still a very successful tournament.”