A women’s representative team from GB Masters Basketball made their mark on Italian soil over the weekend playing in the Alassio Cup Masters International Maxibasketball Tournament, coming home with a bronze medal in the women’s 50s category.
The players were Jocelyn Mostert (w40’s), Paula Bailey, Jackie Rees, Tatyana Lazareva, Lisa Coffey (all w50’s), Ruth Baron (w55’s), Maria Endacott (w60’s) and guest player from the Netherlands, Angelique Donders, coached by Dick van der Hammen (Cady ‘73 Kings and Vets, Netherlands).
The chemistry, skill, high basketball IQ and determination from this team were evident from the get-go as they played their first game against the top seeded Hungarian Angels, only losing by 6 points. A very hard fought battle with incredible performances from the team which ignited their spark and hunger for victory in the rest of the tournament.
The second game was against a stacked German team which the Fusion (GB Masters) controlled from the start and cruised to 20 point victory. Third up was against a youthful team from Finland which went to overtime with an exciting 1 point lead to Fusion (GB Masters) with 6 seconds to go until an error from the table gave possession to Finland who scored to win by 1.
The Fusion (GB Masters) team played their final game for 3rd/ 4th position out of 10 teams in this age category against a team from Turkey with both teams hungry for the bronze. The Turkish team ‘Hoopalaas’ were no match for our Fusion (GB Masters) team who won convincingly with a huge 31 points. ‘You should have been in the final’ were the parting words from one of the Turkish players as they shook hands after the game.
Captain and GB Masters Basketball Committee Member, Maria Endacott, commented ‘ I am extremely proud of this representative GB Masters Basketball Team who showed an outstanding level of talent, determination, composure and commitment in all their games at this tournament. It’s wonderful that women of all ages can come together on court and enjoy success in such a competitive environment. The chemistry and spirit of this team , on and off court, epitomised everything that is at the heart of Masters Basketball
GB Masters Basketball is currently recruiting experienced players who would like to have the opportunity to compete in international tournaments and represent GB. Please contact admin@gbmasters.org for further information. https://fimba-gb.com/
