Nine senior teams return solid showing for Albany at BWA Country Championships as four reach semifinals

Albany Basketball Association sent nine senior teams to compete in the Belt Up BWA Country Championships at Bendat Basketball Centre over the March long weekend, with multiple teams making it through to finals in Perth. The women’s championship division side finished second on the ladder, with only two losses to their name after their six qualifying games. The Raiders entered the grand final after a dominant 20-point win over Australind in the semifinals however in the grand final clash against Bunbury, the Raiders fell behind in the first half and never recovered, history repeating itself after the Raiders’ loss to the Bears in round five. Despite an impressive 14 points from Rebecca Benson and eight from Brodie Dixon and Danielle Carne, the Raiders lost 55-34. The men’s top team in division 1-2 had four wins and three losses to be fourth after the qualifiers in an eight-team competition, after starting strong with a double win but were knocked out of grand final contention by Bunbury Red in the semifinals. Mason Tion was a shining light in the Raiders’ campaign, top scoring for the team in both their round seven game against Busselton White with 18 points and then again in the semifinal with eight points. Both Raiders women’s division 2-3 teams made the semifinals, however it was the Green side that would go on to play for grand final glory, only to have their hopes dashed the same way as their championship division counterparts. After escaping with a slim three-point victory in the semifinal, the Raiders Green team started on the offensive and got ahead to lead by seven points going into the second half, however Australind came from behind and proved too strong for the Raiders to turn the game back. Raiders Gold went down to the eventual champions in the semifinals, 28-18. The Raiders’ masters side were undefeated in their pool games but had a semifinal slip-up, losing to Bridgetown by six points to be knocked out of title contention. In men’s division three Raiders finished fifth of nine teams, with three wins and five losses and in men’s division four Albany failed to make the semifinals after finishing third in pool A. Albany also didn’t make the semifinals in women’s division four after a winless campaign.