Basketball The task of defending the Blackwood Cup commenced in Term 4 2014. Mr Brett Silver 1st V Basketball Coach The team experienced solid performances against Hale School, Wesley College and Christ Church Grammar School. The team was feeling confident that another Blackwood Cup was certainly not out of the question. With former Blackwood Cup winning coach, Mr Andrew Osnain, stepping down from the 1st squad to a Middle School team, the 1st and 2nd V squad had a slightly different focus and was a somewhat of an ‘X factor’ entering the 2015 season. The 1st V commenced their season with two extremely difficult games against Hale School and Aquinas College, who would ultimately play each other for the title of 2015 Blackwood Cup champions. A loss to Hale School put the possibility of back-to-back cup wins in
256
doubt and the players were given a reality check that this wasn’t going to be an easy season. In our second round, Trinity hosted Aquinas College in what would be a ‘do or die’ match if we wanted to stay in contention for the title. Aquinas College was the talk of the competition, fielding a number of State representatives and an impressive undefeated record throughout Term 4 2014. Although the boys didn’t finish the game in front, they challenged the best team in the competition deep into the last quarter and made the opposition feel uncomfortable throughout the game. This was the highlight of the season for many of the boys and a solid building block for the 2016 season. The remaining four games produced wins against Wesley College, Christ Church Grammar School and Scotch College and a loss to Guildford Grammar School. The most encouraging aspect of the 2015 season was the fact that the boys never gave up. Even though the possibility of winning the Blackwood Cup was a distant memory after the first two games, they continued to work hard, play competitive basketball and strive for improvement.