Chargers score piece of Emerald basketball history

Coach: ‘I’m very happy for our association and very humbled by what the boys were able to achieve.’

The Emerald Chargers under-14 basketball team won silver in Division 3 at the recent state championships. Pictured are (back row, from left) assistant coach Anthony Smith, Levi Vine, Jye Robbins, Dominic Malone, James Stark, Prince Bustillo, manager Wade Vine and head coach Adam Jurd; and (front row) Lincoln Bock, Hayden Janetzki, Isaiah Smith, Julius Jurd and Harrison Bustillo.

BASKETBALL: The Emerald Chargers are still on a high after becoming the first team in the history of their association to medal at a state championship.

They scored silver in Division 3 at the Queensland under-14 boys titles in Cairns, winning six of the eight games they played.

The team was led by head coach Adam Jurd, assistant coach Anthony Smith and manager Wade Vine.

A jubilant Jurd said it was an incredible performance from everyone involved.

“I’m stoked. I’m very happy for our association and very humbled by what the boys were able to achieve,” he said.

“We believe it is the first medal we’ve ever won in the long history of the association.

“We’ve been going back through our logs and talking to people previously involved with Emerald basketball and nobody can remember it happening before.”

Jurd said that despite his team having limited preparation due to COVID-19, they gelled incredibly well on the courts in Cairns.

They lost just one of their six pool games, beaten by one point by SWM Pirates Red, the same team they would meet in the grand final.

They powered into the decider with a 72-45 win over Gold Coast Tides in their semi-final.

The Chargers were pumped for the big game but went down 73-56 to the Pirates.

Jurd said his boys were beaten by the better team on the day but they were valiant in defeat.

Several Chargers players compiled some impressive stats at the championships.

Jurd’s son Julius, the team’s captain and point guard, was third for average points in the division with 19.25, second for total points scored with 154 and he topped the total three-pointers made with 18.

Small forward Prince Bustillo was fourth for average points with 17.75 and fourth for total match points with 142.

Centre Dominic Malone came in seventh for total match points with 123.

Jurd said it was great to see Emerald mixing it with the state’s best on the big stage.

“Being so small, we don’t necessarily have the depth and skill of the bigger associations so we really have to focus on the team mentality.

“Our boys did that, they really bought into what we were doing.

“Full credit to them, they were fantastic.”

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