Strong weekend at champs

Basketball

COLLIE'S under-13s girls' Cougars team won the division three grand final at the Country Championships at Bendat Stadium at the weekend.

The Country Championships are held over five weekends in Perth, from under-12s to senior men’s and womens’ teams.

Under-13s coach Rochelle Piavanini - who also coached the under-12s girls to success last weekend - said the team displayed excellent basketball skills.

“They were undefeated after their pool games and then went into the crossover semi final against Denmark,” she said.

The girls then advanced into the grand final against Waroona.

“Waroona was undefeated after its pool games and cross over final. The grand final was set to be a great tussle,” Mrs Piavanini said.

“The Cougars kept to the team rules, fighting spirit and relentless defence.

“Their high-scoring ability outplayed their opponents.”

Collie won 57-12.

Gabby Coyle was awarded MVP for the grand final. Mrs Piavanini said the whole team should be commended.

UNDER-14 BOYS

COLLIE’S under-14s boys made the leap into division two after winning division three in the under-13s last year.

Coach Ash Stewart said they were

“given a wake-up call” in their first game when they suffered a heavy loss to Karratha, 52-19.

However, the team regrouped for the remaining three games, beating Busselton 40-14, Bunbury 34-27 and Albany 40-19.

“They qualified for the semi finals where they came up against Manjimup,” Mr Stewart said.

The team had impressive win against Manjimup, 42-34. They then had a rematch with Karratha, but lost 43-31.

“This was a fantastic effort by the team considering the result in game one and their first attempt at division two,” he said.

“The boys can be proud of the way they acquitted themselves both on and off the court.”