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Bold
performance
Masters
bound into bronze medal play-off
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Wing
Commander Terry Fisk drives towards the basket in the ADFBA
men’s clash with Russia during the 2002 Masters Games
in Melbourne. Photo by FSGT Tassie Horvat.
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TWO
Australian Defence Force Basketball Association (ADFBA) “Olds
and Bolds” teams progressed through to the bronze medal play-offs
of the recent 2002 World Masters Games in Melbourne.
An ADFBA men’s over-35s side and a women’s over-30s team
performed consistently in the tournament, in which they took on
teams boasting a mix of international, national and local A-grade
players.
The 2002 World Masters Games was one of the biggest multi-sports
events held and consisted of 24,805 competitors, 443 officials and
4000 volunteers.
Both ADFBA teams played in extremely competitive divisions, recording
some excellent and not so excellent results during the preliminary
rounds.
One of the highlights was the men’s team’s tight tussle
with the Estonian team, which unfortunately resulted in a seven-point
loss.
Another highlight was the clash with the extremely tall Russian
side. The Russian team’s smallest competitor was slightly taller
than the Australian Defence Force’s tallest player.
Needless to say, the Russians dished out a tall lesson on the importance
of height in basketball.
The women’s team played very well, competing against teams
consisting of ex-Women’s National Basketball League players.
Coming together for the first time at the event and never having
trained together, the women played against well-coached sides and
had some very close contests.
The men’s bronze medal play-off against New Zealand was a far
different contest to the preliminary round against Kiwis.
The men improved remarkably, considering the New Zealanders beat
them by more than 40 points during the preliminary games, to go
down by only 10 points in the play-off.
Similarly, the women experienced a similar turnaround in form; they
held their own until late into the second half, eventually losing
by 20 points.
The basketball competition gave Defence members a chance to meet
and play against some of their idols and test their skills against
the diverse range of international, national and local competitors.
The ADFBA Olds and Bolds now have their sights set on the 2003 Australian
Masters Games in Canberra, followed by the Honda Masters scheduled
for Alice Springs in 2004 and the next World Masters Games in Edmonton,
Canada, in 2005.
All members of the ADF are eligible to join the Olds and Bolds.
If you are interested, e-mail mark.thomas2@defence.gov.au.
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