Basketball: Timbumburi Primary School basketball teams to compete in state finals

For the first time, it will send two teams - a boys' side and a girls' side - to the NSW Primary School Sports Association Basketball Knockout finals.

"They've done very well to get where they are," boys' coach Michael Rixon said.

"To have a school with only 150 kids to get two teams through is an amazing achievement.

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"They've done extremely well, just to even win the region is an amazing achievement for a school of our size. We've come up against schools that have got over 1,000 kids at times, and we've managed to beat some of them."

This Friday, both Timbumburi teams will play the Sydney North regional champions (Normanhurst Public School in the boys' draw and Thornleigh West Public School in the girls'), which Rixon expects to be "very competitive".

But, he believes, they will be amply prepared.

"They're very excited, a lot of them play rep basketball as well and play every week," Rixon said.

"They're well-coached by their local coaches as well, so that makes it a lot easier."

Another advantage for both teams is their experience. The majority of the players are in Years Five and Six, and have shared the court together before.

"Both teams have played a lot together of a Thursday night in the local competition over the last three or four years, so that has helped," Rixon said.

Given his trust in the players' local coaches, Rixon sees his job this week as comparatively simple: to ensure the boys play as a team on Friday.

"Playing as a team has always been a goal for the boys ... that's probably the main thing," he said.

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