Lochy scores at Country Basketball Cup

This week-long competition which has been running since 1985; was this year held in Albury all last week with upwards of 60 teams and 700 players, coaches, and officials taking part.

This included state teams from all over Australia and New Zealand competing in the U14, U16, and U18 age groups. After being selected for the NSW team at a State Performance Program in 2022, Lochy and the Kookaburra’s first faced NSW Weka, winning 59–51.

Unfortunately Lochy injured his ankle in this first game, but then took to the court on day two of the competition, firstly defeating the Albury Wodonga Bandits 55–50 before losing to the Vic Bushrangers 61–46.

Despite this loss, Lochy made his first points of the competition in the Bushrangers game before continuing to make baskets on day three of the competition. He didn’t score enough, however, for his side to beat the Tas Kangaroos in a close 56–51 loss.

However in the last of the pool matches, Lochy ably assisted the team to defeat the SA Magpies 73– 70. With Lochy’s family watching from the courtside, finals matches began on the Friday, January 20, with NSW Kookaburras facing the second NSW State team, the NSW Waratahs in the Quarter Finals.

In a close match, the Waratahs took the win, leaving the Kookaburras to play for their final placing on the ladder. In the number four playoff, Lochy’s NSW Kookaburra’s defeated the Tas Tigers 89–72, with Lochy scoring eight points, his highest score of the competition.

His final game was the number seven playoff with the team again facing Albury Wodonga and repeating their high-performance result to win against the Bandits, leaving his Kookaburra’s NSW team finishing the competition in seventh position overall.

Back in Gilgandra, Lochy and the rest of the Gilgandra Windmill U16s team, have resumed training for their first round of the Waratah Western Junior League, preparing themselves to head to Griffith in February.