LAUNCH OF LIMESTONE COAST BASKETBALL COMPETITIONS.

The Limestone Coast Men’s and Women’s Basketball Competitions were launched at the Keith Recreation Centre on Saturday December 5^th. The Men’s competition comprises teams from Millicent, Mount Gambier, Keith and Bordertown while Naracoorte, Millicent, Mount Gambier and a composite team from Keith and Bordertown Associations make up Women’s competition.

These newly formed Senior basketball competitions, under the direction of Peter Seebohm, have created considerable interest and excitement within the basketball communities of the Limestone Coast region for different reasons. Millicent and Mount Gambier have missed the Country Victoria Basketball League competitions while Keith and Bordertown seniors have not had the opportunity to compete in Inter-Association Basketball.  

The season will run over three weekends. During the first two weekends full rounds of three games per team have been/will be played. The second round will be played in Mount Gambier over the weekend of January 16^th and 17^th 2021, followed by the Finals Series in Millicent over the weekend of February 20^th and 21^st 2021.

The Keith Basketball Association turned on “blue ribbon” hospitality for the opening weekend of the competitions under the guidance of Organising Committee member Jordan Robertson and Association President Alecia Hines. It was the first time a basketball event involving representative teams had been staged in the modern Recreation Centre and it was well supported by the local community.

The Millicent Magic was the standout Association of the Round 1 competitions winning all three of their respective Women’s and Men’s games The standard of basketball was entertaining and games were well umpired.

The Magic Women scored three comfortable wins led by the talented trio of Emily Winter, Jasmin Howe and Under 18 player Lucy Denton. The Mount Gambier Lakers Women’s slow start to the weekend proved costly against the well drilled Magic line-up. In their second game Keith answered every challenge Coach Bryan Green and his players threw at them in the first half. A serious ankle injury mid-way through this game ended Keryl Ousey’s weekend. As a result, the Lakers lifted the intensity of their efforts and managed to get over the line by 13 points, 58-45. Sarah Ritter stepped up to take control in the paint for the Lakers and scored 12 points. D. van Kalken with 13 points and M. Makin with 10 led the determined Keith line-up.

Keith and Naracoorte played off in the closest Women’s game of the weekend. It was a close and tough contest with just several points separating the scores throughout the 40 minutes. M. Makin led a strong team effort by Keith while State Under 20 player Sophie Miles top scored for Naracoorte. Naracoorte Women improved throughout the weekend suggesting that a win is on the cards over the second weekend in Mount Gambier in January.

The Magic Men however had to work hard for their wins over an under-manned Mount Gambier Lakers and Keith. Keith bounced back on Sunday morning to defeat the Lakers by 10. Keith was in control for much of the game until a surge by the Lakers in the final minutes to close the gap to 3 points brought the game to life and had the local supporters on the edge of their seats. Keith managed to regroup and hold on and record a win. Bordertown faced a challenging weekend after the sudden death of a valued and well- respected volunteer in their Association. The players showed considerable courage under the tragic circumstances to suit up and play out the three games.

In summary, Round 1 of these new competitions was successful on the court, providing players, coaches and referees opportunities to play and officiate at levels above that of domestic competitions. The social benefits of the event in terms of team bonding and interaction between players and officials from the Associations also deserves a special mention.

Round 2 will be played at the Bern Bruning Stadium, Mount Gambier on Saturday January 16^th and Sunday January 17^th.