A record number of players are bound for Echuca, Rochester and Kyabram this weekend for the region’s Annual Basketball Tournament, one of Echuca Moama Basketball Association’s (EMBA) biggest events of the season.
Attracting some of the brightest young talents from across Victoria and parts of NSW, 123 teams have registered for the three-day basketball bonanza, one week after the EMBA hosted the Junior Country Jamboree.
The action will occur from Friday, September 29, through Sunday, October 1, with silverware on the line for the determined juniors.
“We will have the most teams ever,” EMBA president Lisa Baker said.
“We had 105 last year. We use the Echuca Stadium, Twin Rivers, St Joseph’s, Kyabram and Rochester.”
The event brings around 1000 people to the area each year, and Baker said with such a high volume of people visiting, it takes a lot of work to put together.
“It’s a lot of hours, and the committee has been amazing, especially just volunteers that ask what they can do,” she said.
“We always have teams wanting to come back. We had to cut registrations off 15 days before they were due.
“It’s a ripper weekend, it’s going to be very hot so it will be good. It will be a packed stadium.”
The tournament is also poised to be a record-breaking one for the EMBA, with 20 Echuca teams competing.
Three Pirates under-18 sides will also take to the courts, something they may have not done before.
“We have three under-18 teams, which is something we’ve never heard of,” Baker said.
“They’re all training well, and coaches are doing well.”
The annual tournament begins on Friday, September 29.
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