Grant Cole will this week mentor his Australian Country Cup under 14s boys outfit as it embarks on the most physical basketball the young outfit has experienced.
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Based in Orange, Cole was announced as the Australian side’s coach in January and said being named to guide some of the best young basketball players in the country at the Mel Young Easter Classic was an honour.
But he knows it’s going to be far from easy.
“New Zealand basketball is tough,” he said at the time.
“You can’t play over there as a junior without a mouth guard. They’re kids in men’s bodies over there. They’re fairly solid.”
Sides from North Sydney will join the country teams in New Zealand, where outfits from New Plymouth, Waikato, Waitakere, Rotorua, Taranaki Country, Te Tai Tokerau and the Hibiscus Coast will fancy themselves with home court advantage over their Australian opposition.
Bathurst’s Sara Matthews is in the under 16 girls Australian Country Cup, with games at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand starting on April 14.
