The Gosford City Rebels boys U18 Division One team won the 2014 State Basketball Championship on Saturday, August 2, and became the first country team to win a state championship for the sport in 2014.
Entering the grand final, the Rebels opponents, the Norths Bears, were undefeated, but the final result saw the Rebels come out on top with a final score of 62-59.
The Gosford team had the best defensive record coming into the final and it was this element of their game that helped set up the win against a persistent Norths team.
Gosford Rebels head coach Mr Ian Robilliard said: “The match was always going to be outstanding when two number one ranked teams clashed.”
The Rebels took a two point lead early in the first quarter and were able to extend this to a 13 point lead (40-27) by the end of the second quarter.
The second half saw the Bears demonstrate the skill that led them to the fi nals undefeated, but they were unable to close the point gap the Rebels created in the first half.
“The Rebels came into the final severely undersized but that did not deter their ability to play fantastic team basketball, punctuated with intense defence,” Mr Robilliard said.
“The Rebels were well served by six long serving players, boys who have played all their junior basketball at the club: Ollie Robilliard, Tom Akamarmoi, Hunter Murray, Jacob Cracknell, Charlie Granger, Richmond Whitmore, and four bottom age players Matt Kenyan, Aaron Redhead, Harry Groves and Tyson Rowe who finished the season with an outstanding 21-3 record,” Mr Robilliard said.
Media release, 5 Aug 2014
Ian Robilliard, Central
Academy of Sport