TWO Port Macquarie basketballers came together as enemies on Saturday for the Pacific Coast Slam final.
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Jacob Foy and John Minihan faced off against each other as Minihan’s NSW Waratahs took on NSW Kookaburras, and beat them 50-64 in the decider.
The Waratahs got off to a great start, and found themselves up by 10 points at the end of the first quarter.
Minihan’s father John said the guards, Kyle Zunic and Connor Arthur, co-ordinated the team well.
Foy’s talent came to the fore in the second quarter. He and Joel Rauch came out determined and the Waratahs’ lead quickly evaporated.
But the Waratahs hit back in the third and fourth, and got the win in a tight finish.
Minihan senior said the match was played in great spirit.
“All the boys in both teams were mates all week, and this showed in the game and afterwards,” he said.
Minihan and Foy came together a couple of times in the match, and Minihan said he struggled to get past his good mate.
“He’s a really good defender,” the guard said.
Minihan said Foy was also a tough competitor.
“I struggled a little bit [against him],” he said.
Foy said he enjoyed playing against Minihan, and he enjoyed the whole
tournament.
“I had lots of fun, it was good,” he said. “We train together, so it was good to play against each other.”
Foy said he was happy with his form throughout the week.
“I’ve been training a fair bit,” he said.
Minihan and Foy are coached by Foy’s father Anthony.
Minihan said he was the reason he’d gotten to where he was in the sport.
“He’s been really good to me,” Minihan said of the senior Foy.
In the other finals, NSW Kookaburras beat NSW Waratahs 59-48 in the under-15 girls, while the Waratahs went down to the Brisbane Capitals 57-50 in the under-17 girls.
The NSW Waratahs beat New Zealand Rimu 77-43 in the under-17 boys decider.