Francis Donders chases championship in inaugural University Basketball League finals

A star player and coach want to boost their Coast team to a championship season ahead of the inaugural University Basketball League finals.

USC basketballer Francis Donders wants to lead her team to victory in the inaugural UBL women’s competition. Picture Eddie Franklin

The only Queensland women’s team in the inaugural University Basketball League hope to bring glory home to the Sunshine Coast.

The USC Spartans finished the season in fourth place after some early wins over the league’s top teams, La Trobe University and University of Sydney.

Captain and team MVP, Francis Donders, has been leading the way by averaging 21 points, six rebounds and six assists through the season.

Donders said the team was looking forward to next month’s finals campaign after the playoffs were postponed due to Covid-19.

“We were really excited to make the finals and even though we’ve had to wait a bit that’s OK because now we are ready to go and have a real shot at making the grand final,” she said.

Donders, who is also completing a masters degree in teaching, said she was proud of not only her individual performances but also of the team’s results.

“I’m happy to play any role to help put the team in a position to win and if that meant I had to play a big role in offence or in defence that’s OK,” she said.

USC Spartans coach Vern Robateau delivers a message to his team at half time. Picture: Kai P Photography

Head coach Vern Robateau is looking forward to seeing how his team competes against the league leaders.

“Our ultimate goal was to get where we are now and we know we can perform well against the other top teams,” he said.

“We fell off towards the end of the regular season with some key players out but with our full squad we’re capable of beating any other team in this competition.”

Donders said the competition had been a great success given the elite people involved.

Robateau said the combinations across the different competitions were a massive positive.

“I think it’s great and it’s an amazing competition because we already have the NBL1 and the QSL but at the university level we have players from every club including USC Rip City and the Sunshine Coast Phoenix so that makes it a lot stronger,” he said.