Bunbury Bears dominate Basketball WA Country Championships with men’s, women’s and masters wins

Bunbury basketballers dominated the Basketball WA Country Championships in Perth over the long weekend, bringing home wins in the top men’s, women’s and masters divisions.

Two Bunbury sides competed for the senior men’s championship, with the Bears Red side securing the title while the Blue team exited at the semifinal stage.

The winners went through the carnival undefeated, opening their weekend with a seven-point win over the Blue side before beating Mandurah, the WA Country under-18 team and Busselton, and tieing with Albany.

An 11-point semifinal win over Albany set up a grand final rematch with Busselton, who came out of the blocks hot, jumping out to an early 9-4 lead.

The Bears took a 27-25 lead into the main break after a see-sawing first half but the Blazers again hit the front in the second half, before the winners closed out the contest with a 13-5 run.

Travis Durnin, who iced the game with two late free throws as part of his 22 points, was recognised as the grand final’s most valuable player, while Jayden Crudeli, who came into the contest with only three points for the carnival, came through with a critical 16-point effort.

The division four men’s side brought home another title with a 16-point grand final win over Karratha.

The women’s side had an outstanding carnival, dropping only one game to Australind and getting the job done in all their other fixtures by double-digit margins.

A dominant finals display saw them win their semifinal against Esperance by 17 points before securing their medals in the big dance.

The Cyclones led the game in the closing stages of the first half, but a brilliant 32-18 second half from the Bears secured the win.

Tiahna Sears, who poured in 18 points in the grand final to go with 19 in the semifinal, was named grand final MVP.

The masters side was irresistible in the finals after going 4-1 through the pool stage, beating Broome by 13 points in the semifinal before taking down Esperance by 18 points in the grand final.

Grand final MVP honours went to Todd Bennett, who scored 15 points in the decider and averaged 12.3 points per game over the weekend.