Following a period of pre-season training and trials the basketball lcub are thrilled to announce their 10 teams which will compete in the Canterbury Basketball competition this season.

Interest was extremely high and the club would have liked to field additional teams however the rapid growth of the sport has meant that the local association has capped entries due to insufficient court space available.

Play will get underway for all grades on Saturday 29th April, except for the U17 Red team which start on 22nd April.

Games in the Thomson Trophy, the pinnacle Canterbury Secondary School competition will commence on 9th May with this year featuring not only the Senior A team but a junior side in a newly formed junior version of the competition.

Good luck to all players, coaches and managers for the 2023 season.

*Teams listed below*

The Senior team got their season started with a couple of warm up games last Saturday, heading to Timaru to take on hosts Timaru Boys High along with Waitaki Boys.

This was a great way for the squad to get some time on court, putting into play the hours of pre-season prep and whilst there was the normal early season cobwebs, there were some very promising signs as the side continue their season preparation with other games in coming weeks including a match against the visiting Otago Boys High during the holidays.

St Bede’s Basketball is well represented in the Nationals Regional Qualifying tournament being held at Rangiora this weekend with players and coaches across U15, U17 & U19 grades vying for qualification spots in their respective national tournaments later in the year.

U15

Canterbury Red: Marco Sula

Canterbury White: Assistant Coach – Tom Hughes

North Canterbury: Matthew Isherwood

U17

Canterbury White: Cooper Siave, Antonio Verhoeven

North Canterbury: Troy Cutbush, Finn Pearson, Harry Cournane

Head Coach: Blair Terrell

U19

Canterbury White: Assistant Coach – Kelvin Fisher

Canterbury Red: Lochie McLean

Several Old Boys will also play in the U19 tournament with Hunter Cutbush turning out for North Canterbury, James Leen & Felix Falconer in the Canterbury Red and Harrison Earl part of the Canterbury White team.