Blazers gun for State title

The new-look Busselton Blazers hit the courts again this weekend competing in the State championships at Bendat Basketball Centre in Perth.

Fresh from a 15-point thrashing of Bunbury in the regional championships, the under-18 boys will challenge for the WA division two title.

The determined team were four points down with four seconds to go against Bunbury in a qualifying match but rallied to win in the dying stages and went on to win the regional title with authority.

Busselton Amateur Basketball Association president Troy Bennet said the impressive under-18 boys were capable of winning it all.

“They’ve got a good team under coach Gary Stokes and some talented players,” he said.

“Good luck to both players and coaches for the State championships — it’d be nice to bring a State title home.”

The under-18 girls will be looking forward to a hard-fought contest against Bunbury during the three-week tournament after falling to their neighbours last week.

Last weekend the under-16 girls brought home Busselton Blazers their first championship victory against Australind in a spectacular grand final.

The undefeated team dominated play in each of their five games to win convincingly but displayed gracious sportsmanship by stepping up to play a depleted Margaret River side in a “friendly” game.

Geographe Leisure Centre hosted the under-15 carnival with the Busselton teams digging deep to battle it out with tough competition from Bunbury, Harvey and Pinjarra.

The under-15 girls’ teams played tough team-focused games making both division grand finals. However, they could not manage victory in the championship or development divisions.

Under-14 girls won their grand final against the Eaton Eagles 29-19 and the under-12 girls development squad also defeated the Eaton Eagles 12-6.

The previously undefeated under-13s boys lost the grand final to Bunbury on Saturday.