Eltham Wildcats NBL1 Game Booklet - Saturday 6th April

Saturday 6th April 2024

O’CONNOR CUKIER CUP

ELTHAM DIAMOND VALLEY

WELCOME Welcome to the debut of the Wildcats NBL1 season.

There's no warm up this year as we kick things off against our traditional rivals Diamond Valley and compete for the O'Connor Cukier Cup! The O'Connor/Cukier family is entrenched within both the Eltham and Diamond Valley Basketball Clubs and have been instrumental of the development of basketball in the region. Whether it's playing, coaching, scoring, administration or any other role you can think of - this family has carried the load for both clubs and we are proud to host this game in their honor. The club who has the best point differential from both games combined - will take home the trophy!

All 4 sides last year sat in the top half of the competition with DV's women side being the only squad to miss out on finals after missing out by one win. This year both sides have re-loaded with a few exciting additions across the board to complement a really strong core.

On the women's side expect to see Eltham veterans Bec Pizzey and Hailey Leidel to lead the charge, but watch out for new additions including starting power forward Shannon Dufficy and guard Ally Bates to light up the scoreboard too. Diamond Valley will run a lot of their offense through veteran point guard Karah Wilson and returning import Allison Day - while WNBL player Gemma potter will provide additional firepower.

On the Men's side Eltham is full of familiar faces with returning NBL stars Angus Glover and Owen Foxwell leading the way. Next to them providing the production and the highlights are imports Josh Sykes and the newly arrived Ralph Bissainthe who will no doubt put on a show.

Diamond Valley will continue to rely heavily on their 7 foot big man Jock Perry as well as their two new imports Zach Tavitian and Micah Filer.

Both games should be a terrific show of basketball and the perfect way to start the season.

Proudly supported by

WILD-FIND

SAM SHORT Find the ‘bolded’ words

One word to describe me: competitive Fav streaming service: kayo Fav court: minerdome Fav role model: family Bonus words: Hometown: ballarat airfusion Fav Food: paella midland Fav colour:______ lavrin Nickname: shorty wildcats

WILD-FIND

HAILEY LEIDEL Find the ‘bolded’ words

One word to describe me: resilient Fav basketball drill: scrimmage Fav role model: mom Hometown: brownstown Bonus words: Fav Food: salmon midland Fav colour: lavender lavrin Nickname: hails holman Played other sport: ___________ wildcats

PARTNERS

Eltham Wildcats NBL1 Women Proudly supported by

No.

Age

Position

Name

3 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 21 24

25 25 20 27 25 22 23 17 19 21 26

Guard Guard Guard Forward Forward/C Guard/F Guard Forward Guard Centre Guard/F

Ally Bates Taylah Wynne Georgia Koopmans Shannon Dufficy Rebecca Pizzey Erin Riley Lily Scanlon Eleanor Trout Lilly Amor Kayla Salmons Hailey Leidel

Team Staff

Name

Head Coach Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Team Manager Chiro

Matt Bongetti Hunter Santamaria Carly Stones Debbie Coulson Jodi Vine Brett Cole

Diamond Valley NBL1 Women

No.

Age

Position

Name

1 2 3 4 6 7 10 11 13 31 32 44

21 18 24 22 21 20 22 20 28 33 24 27

Forward Centre Guard Forward Guard Guard Forward Guard Forward Centre Forward Guard

Indiana Bodley Sarah Carr Kara Wilson Ivana Vasiljevic Courtney Willemse Eliza Bannan Gemma Potter Aleisha Cadee Carly Turner Jennie Rintala Nikki Metcalfe Sophie Brynes

Team Staff

Name

Head Coach Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Team Manager

Dee Butler Warren Taylor Mike Fortune/Madie Lee Barbara Evans

Eltham Wildcats NBL1 Men Proudly supported by

No.

Age

Position

Name

0 1 2 4 5 7 10 11 12 15 20 25

26 24 27 19 26 25 20 22 20 21 20 26

Guard Forward Forward Guard Guard Guard Guard Centre Guard Forward Forward Forward

Sam Whelan Ralph Bissainthe Joshua Sykes Zahn Agosta Sam Short Angus Glover Zac Anderson Zak Cunningham Owen Foxwell Lachlan Wood Mitch Blackburn Ovie Magbegor

Team Staff

Name

Head Coach Assistant Coach Assistant Coach Team Manager Chiro

Craig Stratford Chris Cameron Steve Smith Jodi Vine Brett Cole

Diamond Valley NBL1 Men No.

Age

Position

Name

1 4 5 6 7 8 14 16 20 21 26 30 32 40

23 27 37 32 22 25 24 18 27 26 21 21 25 22

Guard Forward Centre Guard Guard Forward Guard Forward Centre Forward Guard Forward Guard Forward

Joel Capetola James Smith Ben Allen Matt Reynolds Erik Kafritsas Zach Tavitian Ryan Bowkett Jesse McIntosh Jock Perry BJ Symons Alek Bandilovski Noah Todd Micah Filer Jay Mackenzie

Team Staff

Name

Head Coach Asst Coach Asst Coach Team Manager

Trevor Lee Dom Linossier Shelly Reynolds

NBL1 FIXTURE HOME GAMES

Sat 6th April | 6:00pm & 8:00pm Sat 13th April | 6:00pm & 8:00pm Sat 20th April | 6:00pm & 8:00pm Sat 4th May | 6:00pm & 8:00pm Sun 12th May | 12:30pm & 2:30pm Sat 18th May | 6:00pm & 8:00pm Sun 26th May | 12:30pm & 2:30pm Sun 2nd June | 12:30pm & 2:30pm Sat 22nd June | 6:00pm & 8:00pm Thurs 4th July | 6:00pm & 8:00pm Sat 13th July | 6:00pm & 8:00pm

WWW.ELTHAMWILDCATS.COM.AU Montmorency Secondary College (27 Simms Rd, Montmorency)

Your health is our priority!

Suite 5 39 Grand Boulevard, Montmorency Phone: 9431 1400 Email: colefamchiro@gmail.com

Services provided at Cole Family Chiropractic Chiropractic Adjustments Remedial Massage Dry Needling Soft Tissue Treament trigger point therapy or massage with oils

Discounted services for all Eltham Wildcat players & members

BIG V FIXTURE 2024 YOUTH LEAGUE HOME FIXTURE

DATE

OPPONENT

TIME

YOUTH MEN Sun 24th March Sun 7th April Sun 21st April Sun 28th April Sat 11th May Sat 25th May Sat 1st June Sun 23rd June Sun 30th June Sun 7th July Sun 14th July

Knox Raiders Keysborough Cougars Nunawading Spectres Casey Cavaliers Dandenong Rangers Keilor Thunder Ballarat Miners Sandringham Sabres Diamond Valley Eagles Waverley Falcons Melbourne Tigers

12:30pm 2:30pm 2:30pm 2:30pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 8:00pm 2:30pm 1:30pm 1:30pm 1:30pm

YOUTH WOMEN Sat 16th March Sun 24th March Sun 7th April Sun 21st April Sun 28th April Sat 11th May Sat 25th May Sat 15th June Sun 23rd June Sat 13th July Sun 21st July

Keilor Thunder Frankston Blues Waverley Falcons Kilsyth Cobras Knox Raiders Bendigo Braves Melbourne Tigers Diamond Valley Eagles Sandringham Sabres Nunawading Spectres Altona Gators

7:00pm 2:30pm 12:30pm 12:30pm 12:30pm 6:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 12:30pm 4:00pm* 1:30pm

Eltham High School (Withers Way, Eltham) Game played at Montmorency Secondary College

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ABOUT US The Eltham Wildcats Basketball Club had humble beginnings from basketball activities within Eltham High School. After a series of informal games against various schools, the first two teams were entered into an organised competition, the Presbyterian Men’s Basketball Association in the winter season of 1965.

From these beginnings, the Club, has developed and grown to now cater for 6,000+ participants, both male and female of all ages. It has a turnover of $4 million and a team of paid employees working out of offices at Eltham High School & Montmorency Secondary College. This team is underpinned by a large group of casual employees and dedicated volunteers. We provide pathways for players, coaches, technical officials and administrators starting with our extensive range of beginner programs, our junior domestic Wildcat teams (playing in the EDJBA), our junior championship teams (playing in the VJBL) and our local adult competitions held Monday - Thursday nights.

At an elite level, the club has men’s and women’s teams playing in the Youth (u23) competitions run by Basketball Victoria’s ‘Big V’. In 2018. the Eltham Wildcats were accepted as a foundation member of the inaugural NBL1 competition, the premier winter competition in Australia and supported by the National Basketball League.

The Club exists to serve the surrounding community through the provision of opportunities for recreation, enjoyment and the pursuit of excellence, for all those who wish to participate, irrespective of age, gender or ability. For these reasons, the Club runs a diverse programme to cater for the variety of interests of the members of the community.

We’ve hosted our annual January basketball tournament for over 50 years, in conjunction with Dandenong Basketball Association since 1996. It is the largest junior basketball tournament in the world with participants from all over Australia and New Zealand. In recent times, we’ve seen teams compete from USA, China, FIJI, Lithuania and Singapore.

The 2024 event had 15,238 players playing for 1,673 teams.