Tamworth Basketball hosts NEJL under 12 and under 14s first round

Held in Tamworth, the event drew hundreds of basketballers in the under 12s and under 14s age divisions to the sports dome across Saturday and Sunday.

While the Tamworth teams generally struggled for wins, Lee said results were secondary in what was a maiden foray into representative basketball for many of the players.

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"It was brilliant, I'm really, really happy," Lee said.

"The kids enjoyed themselves, especially the under 12s who had never played ... [this weekend] was really important, because it will show them how rep basketball goes and they're going to be so hungry for more wins."

Tamworth teams played in each age group, and the standout among them was the under 14s boys division one team, who went through undefeated from four games.

"The kids in the 14s had had the last two years to get up there," Lee said.

"They've had a couple of years experience with rep, and they performed so well."

Wins and losses will certainly come to matter later on in their rep careers, but for the moment, the kids' enthusiasm was what pleased Lee the most.

"The under 12s div two team got one win from four games," he said.

"But the kids came off the court so excited to be playing for the Thunderbolts. Even though they didn't win all their games, they were still so excited."

The next round of the NEJL is scheduled for Newcastle on April 1.

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