Bears win trifecta of titles

Three teams from the Bunbury Basketball Association tasted success at the weekend when they won grand finals at the Basketball WA Country Championships.

In what was a great weekend of action, the Bears starred, with six players and three coaches chosen as All-Stars.

In the under-13 championship boys, Bunbury defeated Eaton 37-19 in the grand final thanks to the efforts of Chayse Martinson (13 points) and Jessie Hollins (11 points).

Eaton’s grand final loss was their first for the week, having gone through the previous fixtures undefeated.

Bunbury lost just the one game for the weekend, while Harvey finished third.

The Bears claimed a monster 55-32 win in the under-14 championship despite a fantastic game from Eaton’s Dyllan Catalano who scored a game-high 22 points.

Malachai Bell was Bunbury’s best with 21 points.

In the under-14 division two league, Australind lost a close grand final to Dongara.

Dongara held on to win 33-32 despite the best efforts of Australind’s Clay Hall who scored 23 points.

The Bears played Albany in the under-15 championship grand final, with Bunbury winning 37-24.

Kayde Waldock was the star of the show, scoring 12 points as Bunbury cruised to a 13-point win.

Australind won the under-15 division two title after they defeated Manjimup 60-39.

Jack Walker hit 28 points for Australind who claimed the big victory and the title.

Bunbury was also victorious in the under-12 boys division two competition, after winning the grand final over Kalgoorlie by six points.

Flynn Martinson and Dylan Scott both scored six points to help the Bears win the final 26-20.

Bunbury lost the under-12 boys championship to Mandurah, who won the grand final 32-28.

Bunbury Basketball Association development director Wayne Hayres said the association’s efforts at the country championships for the past three weeks was fantastic.

Hayres credited the strong local competition, fantastic coaches and the development of players through the Slammers as the reasons behind the Bears’ overall success.

From the three weeks of competition 11 players and five coaches were chosen as All-Stars.