Toowoomba Mountaineers enjoy spoils of BQJBC season amid cruel blow

On what has proven to be one of the toughest weeks for the young Mountaineers men, a siliver lining has emerged.

The Toowoomba Mountaineers celebrate their BQJBC U14s Challenge Cup win. Photo: Contributed

BASKETBALL: To say the last fortnight has been a rollercoaster for the Mountaineers U14s boys is an understatement.

Just this week they had their dream of representing their city at a home state championships ripped away due to another lockdown.

But it comes after experiencing the unbridled joy of a successful BQJBC campaign, which saw them take the gold medal in the Challenge Cup grand final.

Coach Greg Hinze said it was a tough pill to swallow that they wouldn’t be able to defend their crown on their home court.

“They were over the moon, but it’s a big disappointment with the state championships being called off,” Hinze said.

“They were on a high and ready to go, and I thought they had a good chance at winning their division, but there’s not much we can do.”

Despite the heartbreak of the situation, Hinze said there is a lot the team should be proud of about their campaign, which started back in September.

“We started training back in the September and October school holidays,” he said.

“They trained twice a week before the season started and I put on a camp where they trained as well.

“They had to overcome a bit of adversity. We started off with four straight losses, before coming back and winning nine straight games.”

Their winning run came to an end against Sunshine Coast Phoenix, who they subsequently met in the grand final.

The Phoenix led by 12 at halftime, before the Mountaineers dug deep to claim a 58-46 win and a gold medal in the process.

“We had to trust the process in what we were doing and what I was trying to teach them,” he said.

“We lost a couple of close games that we probably should’ve won, but there was a lot of improvement from the start to the end of the season.

“They kept their heads up and kept fighting. Even when we were down in the grand final, they stuck with it and wanted it more.”

Hinze said he hopes the group can remain entrenched in the Mountaineer system.

“Out of the 12 boys, 10 go up an age group and all have indicated they’re coming back to play,” he said.

“Two in the bottom half of the age group are already talking about next season and they can’t wait for selection trials.”

It capped off a good campaign for the Mountaineers in the BQJBC, with the U12 boys claiming a silver medal in the Southern Cup, after going down narrowly 66-63 to the Sunshine Coast in the grand final.