Cobram Tigers triumph at Wangaratta junior basketball tournament

The under-14 boys’ grand final was played at the Wangaratta stadium at 1pm on Sunday and the under-16s grand final was at the Benalla Basketball Stadium at 5pm.

The Cobram Tigers’ under-14 boys defeated the Wodonga Wolves 56 to 32 and the Cobram Tigers’ under-16 boys defeated the Benalla Breakers 64 to 38.

The under-14s were coached by Randall Jakeman, the under-16s by president Steven Tomlinson and the under-18s by Neville Ashley-Cooper.

Alec Corso won most valuable player (MVP) for the under-14s and Archie Peters won MVP for the under-16s.

Cobram basketball association president Steven Tomlinson said he was proud of the boys and their training over the past five weeks.

“The 14s and the 16s just came together as a unit, and they played really well,” Mr Tomlinson said.

“We're rebuilding the local competition, trying to get it stronger.

“The other clubs in the larger towns like Wodonga, Echuca, Wangaratta and Shepparton have three or four teams in each age group, and we have only one team in each age group.”

The representative basketball season runs from August through until March, ending with the junior country championship.

Mr Tomlinson said they were considering entering the teams into the championship but before that, they had another tournament in Wodonga in early February.

“We're going to have a couple of weeks off and then the idea is to keep training — the kids are all keen.

“We’ll keep training over the summer period and play two or three more tournaments next year.”