One team gained a spot in the Country Championships League, where they will meet the top eight basketball teams in the state over three weekends in July and August.

Head of Lithgow Lazers basketball Richard Marjoram thanked referee Camryn Jones who travelled to the championships to help out. 

“She is one of our juniors who loves to ref and the feed back from the top is that she did a brilliant job and should be thanked and congratulated,” he said. 

The under 12 Lazers boys travelled to Wollongong, with the boys keen to build on a great season.

Their first game was against Newcastle who always field a very strong team. The Lazers showed that a six week break had done nothing to diminish their intensity and teamwork. 

Lachie Nunan showed his usual great speed and Archie Morris was rock solid in defence. Lazers maintained their lead throughout the game to start with a win.

Their second game was against Dubbo. The Lazers built an early lead, and had no answer for the speed and skill of Jai MacMillan and Jai Simcoe. Kyan Campbell displayed his usual effort on defence. The boys ran out comfortable winners.

Game three was against Griffith, which was set to be a close game. Both sides were evenly matched for the first half, however a solid third quarter from the Lazers saw them edge ahead with a considerable lead at the last break.

Logan Hill and Lincoln Hutchinson played solid games. A last breath push by the Griffith team saw them close the lead slightly but the Lazers closed the game solidly for their third win.

A win against Queanbeyan in their final pool game meant automatic entry into the finals the following day. The team opened up a healthy lead early in the game and were never troubled. Dane Griffiths played well on both ends of the court, and Lachie Drury was solid on the boards and scored some nice put backs.

The Lazers finished the pool games on top of their pool and progressed into the finals where they faced a sleek Gilgandra outfit. Gilgandra’s intensity in the first quarter saw the team establish a good lead by quarter time. Although the Lazers tried gallantly to claw back the lead, Gilgandra maintained their pressure and protected their lead for the rest of the game.

Although too sick to play in the championships, in an amazing show of team spirit Curtis Brown travelled to Wollongong to support his teammates. His beaming smile and continual encouragement through the games was greatly appreciated by his team mates. 

Lazers Under 12 girls travelled to Minto. The girls came up against teams from Gosford, Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Newcastle over the three days, playing well as a team and fighting hard to secure wins against all their opponents, only losing to Illawarra.

The girls continued to improve during the semi-finals, winning both two games which pushed them through to the grand final. Unfortunately they came up against the Illawarra team again.

The girls played exceptionally well in their final game, and it was an extremely tight game, often with only several points between the scores, and unfortunately despite the Lazer’s commitment and unwavering effort they were beat in the last minute by only three points, making them runners up in the tournament.

We couldn’t be prouder, and the girls represented Lithgow Lazers with loads of pride and enthusiasm.

Lithgow Lazers under 14 boys travelled to Niagara Park for the Country Tournament playing to qualify for the next stage in NSW Country Basketball, the elite Country Championship League. 

The boys had a great weekend playing against some of the strongest teams in the state at their age. Their teamwork and commitment continually improved throughout the weekend, with a nail biting final game on Monday, being the qualifying decider, winning 57-52. 

They will now compete in the Country Championship Leagues over three weekends in July and August against the top eight teams in NSW Country Basketball.

Read more: Lithgow Lazers go down to Shoalhaven Tigers at home