Sport
20 April, 2026
‘Proud’ moment for players
ALL three Cairns under-16 rep teams have finished 10th in their divisions in the 2025/26 Basketball Queensland state championships in Logan.
The three boys’ representative teams made the trip down to compete against some of the state’s best as they looked to claim the esteemed Vince Hickey Shield for 2026.
All three sides had been battle-tested throughout the six-month long season dating back to October, with multiple early morning training sessions, hard fought games and countless hours of fundamental training, all to prepare them for the biggest carnival of their season.
The three sides were pooled by Basketball Queensland with the Marlins playing in division 1, the Stingers playing in division 3 and the Sharks playing in division 5.
The teams all played a round Robin-style tournament for the first two days of the carnival where they competed in six or seven games depending on the size of their division.
The Marlins across the tournament finished with a 1-6 record overall but were able to battle hard in their games.
The Stingers finished 2-4 for their campaign, but like the Marlins fought extremely hard in their losses only just going down.
The Sharks had a mixed bag of results, finishing off with a 3-4 record losing some games by a big margin, but on the flipside also having some very strong wins.
The Sharks assistant coach Alex Gerogi said “we were extremely proud of the boys work and dedication”.
“Regardless of results, the season for them has been a huge success,” he said.
With that all wrapped up now there’s lots of different opportunities for the young athletes in their offseason.
The younger half (bottom age) under-16s now have a break until October when the next season starts, while some will be picked to represent Queensland at national championships.
Others will have a well-earned break to work on whatever necessary to secure a spot in the squad next season.
The older half (top age) now have a much smaller stopover before they’re eligible for the fast approaching under-18s rep season that begins in July.
