PREVIEW: Gladstone U18 basketball teams at State Champs

One of Gladstone’s most experienced basketball coaches believes his young guns have a good chance of claiming gold at the State Championships.

Due to start on Wednesday, the five-day Queensland U18 State Basketball Championships will be held at the Gold Coast at the Sport and Leisure Centre.

U18 Boys Gladstone Power Division One coach Raymond Cooper, who has been coaching basketball in the Port City since 2002, likes his team’s chances.

“My style of play suits this team perfectly, I like a high tempo game with defensive disruption key and offensive play free-flowing,” Cooper said.
“I make sure everyone on that court is a threat to score, which again means my game is free-flowing in offence but defensively it has to be structured.”

Cooper said his team’s preparation could not have been better for the tournament, with a five day training regimen under their belts which included gameplay against older players.

“With most of the players already on the Coast and me heading down right now, we have a training session this afternoon (Tuesday),” he said.
“We try and emulate our training sessions around what time we are going to play the game, which I think helps the players adapt.”

Cooper said it was disappointing that his side missed out on Division One placement through the Central Queensland Junior Basketball competition.

“We will be playing against the top 12 teams in division two,” he said.

“For us we want to be in a position where we can win a medal.”

Don’t miss a moment of the action at the Queensland U18 State Basketball Championships at the Gold Coast - stay tuned to The Observer’s website for the live-streamed action.

The full draw for the tournament is as follows (excluding finals matches):

Day one

8am: U18 Boys Div 1 – Sunshine Coast Phoenix v Gold Coast Waves

9.30am: U18 Girls Div 1 – Logan Thunder Gold v Gold Coast Waves

11am: U18 Boys Div 2 – Northside Wizards 2 v Ipswich Force

12.30pm: Sunshine Coast Rip v Gold Coast Breakers

2pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – Gold Coast Waves v Mackay Meteors

3.30pm: U18 Girls Div 1 – Gold Coast Waves v Gladstone Power

5pm: U18 Girls Div 2 – Gold Coast Rollers v Southern Districts Titans

Day two

8am: U18 Girls Div 1 – Sunshine Coast Phoenix v Gold Coast Waves

9.30am: U18 Girls Div 1 – South West Metro Pirates Purple v Gold Coast Breakers

11am: U18 Boys Div 1 – Northside Wizards v Gold Coast Waves

12.30pm: U18 Girls Div 1 – Gold Coast Waves v Logan Thunder

2pm: U18 Girls Div 1 – Gold Coast Breakers v Mackay Meteorettes

3.30pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – Brisbane Capitals v Southern Districts Spartans

5pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – Gold Coast Waves v Logan Thunder

Day three

8am: U18 Boys Div 2 – Gold Coast Breakers v Gladstone Power

9.30am: U18 Girls Div 2 – Gold Coast Rollers v Rockhampton Cyclones

11am: U18 Girls Div 1 – South West Metro Pirates Purple v Brisbane Capitals

12.30pm: U18 Girls Div 1 – Gold Coast Waves v Cairns Dolphins

2pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – Gold Coast Waves v Townsville Heat

3.30pm: U18 Boys Div 1 – Brisbane Capitals v Cairns Dolphins