For the first time this season, it was great to see the Coffs Harbour Hoey Moey State League Men’s team display the form that got them to the semi-finals last year. They had a convincing win against Port Macquarie, in what was a very hostile and physical game, which saw 2 Port Macquarie players ejected in the third quarter. The home crowd became just as involved, with one Port local ready to back his team all the way. The stand out performance of the night was red-hot Robbie Linton finishing with a season-high 28 points. But, it was the stifling full-court defense that proved frustrating for the Port Macquarie team, keeping them to just 20 points at half time. For the first time this year, the team showed great discipline and followed the game plan perfectly, with each player executing their role. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come and the turning point for the remainder of the season.

This weekend at Sportz Central there will be another big weekend of basketball on display. We will be blessed again with another triple-header, with Hoey Moey State League Women playing their arch-enemies, the Bellinger Valley Braves on Saturday at 4pm.

Our Hoey Moey Youth League Men’s team had a disappointing loss on Saturday night to Port Stephens, and will looking to redeem themselves against Cessnock. The Youth League Men’s team tip off is also at 4pm on Saturday.

The Hoey Moey State League Men will be facing Grafton, which always delivers a hard fought battle between the two neighbouring towns. Tip off will be at 6pm on Saturday at Sportz Central.

Over the last fortnight, both our Division 1 and Division 2 Junior teams have travelled to compete in the local Northern Junior League competition with encouraging results. At this stage, most of our Coffs Harbour Representative Teams are positioned within the top two for their age group. This includes our currently undefeated Under 18’s Division 1 Girls team, who have displayed outstanding performances so far and have the potential to be the State Champions for 2011. Our Under 16’s Division 2 Boys had a highly successful weekend, winning 3 out of 3 games in Armidale. Under Head Coach Paula Fursman, this team showcased their strong training skills, fitness and team work in all 3 games and proved to be too strong for their opponents. Our Under 14’s Division 2 Boys had a tough weekend, winning only 1 game from their 3 starts, but they were very competitive in all games and showed resilience and perseverance. An outstanding job from our Under 14’s Division 2 Girls, who have made themselves eligible to be promoted to compete in the Northern Junior League Division 1 competition. We will now have two Under 14’s Division 1 Girls teams competing for the remainder of the season. Congratulations to Ash Markham and her team.

Our Division 1 teams are now training very hard in preparation for the N.S.W. Country Tournament, coming up next month.