Sport
4 April, 2026
Boys’ top effort at champs
THE Cairns under-14 rep squads officially kicked off their season with their first North Queensland Junior Basketball Championship (NQJBC) tournament in Townsville.
The six teams made the road trip down to Townsville after a gruelling eight-week preseason training, taking on teams from Townsville, Mackay, Burdekin and Rockhampton where they all competed hoping to be crowned the top of the north.
Cairns once again entered three boys’ squads and three girls’ squads to compete.
The competition tipped off on Friday 27 March with all teams playing their first game of the season, giving both players and coaches a chance to see match-ups and if all the weeks of training leading up had paid off. The teams then followed it up on Saturday playing two games, before rounding out the tournament on Sunday playing their final game.
Overall, the six Cairns teams all came out with a variety of different results but headlined by the Sharks (boys division 3) and Stingers (boys division 2) coming away with a 3-1 record.
Sharks coach Mark Hepowrth said he was “incredibly proud of the boys’ effort”.
“We showed some great signs and I look incredibly forward to how the rest of this season shapes up,” he said.
Both division 1 teams came away with a record of 2-2, with the Dolphins (girls) beating Rockhampton twice, while the Marlins (boys) beating Rockhampton and Burdekin, giving the players and coaches plenty of optimism going into the next tournament.
The pearls (girls division 3) came out of the carnival with a 3-1 record, beating Mackay in a hard-fought battle, while the Corals (girls division 2) weren’t able to get a win this tournament, but showed some great signs and gave coaches something to work with.
The teams now get a small break over the Easter break before they’re back at training preparing for their next tournament in Mackay on 8-10 May for round two.
