Prior to last weekend's second round of the Spalding Waratah Junior League Southern Division, the Goulburn Bears were hoping to build on a promising start to the tournament.
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With teams in the Under 12 Girls, Under 14 Girls, Under 18 Boys and Under 18 Girls competitions, the Bears made positive inroads early in their campaigns but needed their results to improve if they wanted to qualify for finals.
Over the weekend of March 27 and 28, Goulburn's most successful side was its Under 18s Boys outfit, which won three of its four matches.
The boys' first fixture took place on Saturday against the Albury Cougars, in a match they won 86-53. This was followed by a 74-57 win over Wagga Wagga Heat, a narrow 63-58 loss to the Illawarra Hawks, and another win, 79-65 over the Moss Vale Magic on Sunday.
These wins have propelled the Bears boys to third on the ladder, with only the Canberra Gunners and Hawks ahead of them.
The third and final round of the competition will take place on May 8 at the Shoalhaven Indoor Sports Centre, where the Bears will take on Albury, Canberra, and Illawarra.
Meanwhile, Goulburn's Under 18s Girls had a similarly pleasing weekend, with two wins from their three matches.
Like the boys, the girls got off to a strong start with a 31-point win over Moss Vale on Saturday. They then ran into the Canberra Nationals who, like their male counterparts, are leading the competition.
The match against Canberra ended in a 55-46 defeat for Goulburn, but the Bears rebounded on Sunday to another strong win over Albury.
The Bears women now sit at second on the ladder with four wins and two losses, only behind Canberra who are as yet undefeated.
On May 8, Goulburn will play Moss Vale, Albury, and Canberra again to round out their campaign.
While Goulburn's two oldest teams had strong tournaments, its two younger sides struggled.
The Bears Under 12s Girls lost two of three matches, with the one bright spot a two-point victory over the Queanbeyan Roadrunners on Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the Under 14s Girls lost all three matches over the course of the weekend and slipped to second-last on the ladder, with a very narrow chance of making the finals.
In all, Goulburn's results from the weekend were extremely positive. Its two Under 18s sides will most likely play finals and be in with a chance of a title to get the 2021 season underway.
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