Six teams across the three age divisions were in action to determine who would be crowned champions at the end of the Lithgow Basketball Association season, with a large crowd in attendance to cheer them on.

Under 12s

This was the game of the day with Minor Premiers Kings (Ryan Van Der Velden, Murray Staines, Jack Luka, Denzel Arvesi, Mitchell Wallace, Bailey Hutchison, Magnus Kelly) going toe-to-toe with challengers Bulls.

The score stood at 9-all midway through the first half before Bulls (Blake Livingstone, Tom Giokaris, Colby Van Der Velden, Dane Griffiths, Taj Jenkins, Curtis Brown, Thomas Best, Caiden Traish) took a precious two point lead into the break at 19-17.

The Kings came out firing in the second half and an 8-0 run saw them go up 25-19 before Bulls again tied it up at 25-all.

Kings looked like they had it all parceled up when they led 34-28 with two minutes left.

Two quick baskets from Bulls tightened things up at 34-32 but Kings hung on in the frantic final moments to take the title, 36-34.

Heidi Inwood and Suzi Morris were the referees.

Kings 36 (M Wallace 19, M Kelly 7, M Staines 6, J Luka 4) defeated Bulls 34 (T Jenkins 24, T Best 6, T Giokaris 2, C Van Der Velden 2)

Under 14s

Kings (Harrison Livingstone, Toby Campbell, Billy Rushworth, Hutch Evans, Jed Simcoe, Kade Inwood, Tye Honey) were also minor premiers in this division and they showed why when they jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead over Wildcats.

Wildcats (Ashton Hunter, Eli Morris, Connor Moss, Ashton Kenniff, Emmett Freeman, Nathan Ralph, Harrison Wells) fought back to within one at 13-12 down but that would be as close as they got for the rest of the game.

Kings blew Wildcats away with a 19-3 burst for an imposing 32-15 halftime lead and cruised to the victory in the second period, 58-33.

Craig Flynn and David Swift took the refereeing duties.

Kings 58 (K Inwood 29, H Evans 12, B Rushworth 10, T Honey 4, J Simcoe 3) defeated Wildcats 33 (E Morris 24, H Wells 4, C Moss 3, E Freeman 2)

Under 16-18s

Wildcats (Blake Sheil, Fletcher Swift, Luke Jensen, Austyn Lincoln, Ryan Bird) had whipped minor premiers Comets by nearly forty points in the major semi-final but Comets came into the decider with a different defensive setup which made for a much closer contest.

The lead changed hands several times in the first stanza before Wildcats took a two point edge, 27-25, to the half.

More baskets dropped for Wildcats than Comets (Hayden Cox, Jarron Petra, Liam Pyne, Lachie Wilson, Luke Thompson) after the break as they moved away to 42-35 and held Comets at arm’s length to secure the title, 58-50.

Both teams were a player short with Callum Flynn (Wildcats) and Connor Marshall (Comets) unavailable due to other commitments.

Referees were Adam Marjoram and Scott Simcoe.

Wildcats 58 (F Swift 34, A Lincoln 17, R Bird 7) defeated Comets 50 (H Cox 31, L Thompson 9, L Wilson 7, L Pyne 2, J Petra 1)

Lithgow Basketball Association wishes all those players who will move out of the junior ranks a fond farewell and hope that they continue playing basketball in the senior competition for many years.

A special mention goes to long term players Tallis Flynn, Mitch Gurney and Hayden Cox, who have given many years of service to the junior Lazers teams.

The association also wishes to thank all the referees and bench officials who gave their time to officiate games throughout the season.

The first competition of 2018 is set down to commence in early February.

Those wanting further information on any of the Lithgow Basketball programs can do so by going to the Lithgow Basketball Development Facebook page or contacting Richard Marjoram on 6352 1635.