Goldminers under 14s boys are champions following physical grand final

Goldminers came away 44-36 winners in their Western Junior League decider to end a long running drought for the Bathurst association in the age group.

Making the win all the more satisfying was that the Goldminers got the job done on Griffith's own court, stunning the team who had finished on top of the regular season ladder.

Max Stiff led the way for the Goldminers in the grand final with 19 points.

Goldminers had edged out the Demons 56-54 in the major semi-final and showed that was no fluke by backing up with an equally impressive showing in the final game of the season.

Winning coach Mel Sullivan said it was the combination of physical and mental fortitude that took her team to grand final glory.

"It was a very intense game. It was really physical, and the mental resilience my boys had to undertake was huge. As a coach, I'm so proud of them for that," she said.

"There were trumpets and tambourines going each way, plenty of free throws were being had, and it was just remarkable how stayed composed as a team and focused on the job that had to be done.

"They really played beyond their years."

Goldminers finished second on the regular season ladder with a 9-3 record.

There was easily enough in those games for Sullivan to see she had a championship-calibre squad.

"We got beaten by Griffith once before and we beat them twice. Orange were actually the ones we could never quite get by," she said.

"We had a year of mixed results but in most of our games we came away with wins, so we went into the semi-finals knowing that we could do it if things went our way.

"They learned a lot of mental resilience through either refereeing or experiences throughout games this year. That grand final taught a lot of them that basketball's not just a physical game. It's a mental one too."

Goldminers were unlucky not to see more of their teams come out on top following the weekend's finals.

The association's under 12 boys, 14s girls, 16s boys division two and 18s boys teams all reached grand finals but came up just short of the title.

The 14s girls almost completed the Bathurst clean sweep of the age group but narrowly went down 44-42 to the Leeton Eagles.

Goldminers' 12 boys lost their final 64-42 to the Orange Eagles, the 16s division two boys went down 70-51 to the Young Pacers and the 18s boys were bested 79-57 by the Lithgow Lazers.

Sullivan said it's a treat to see the Goldminers association fielding such strong numbers in big games.

"We had 12 teams in total this year and of the few who missed out on the finals they only missed out by a couple of points," she said.

"It's a huge result for the association. For our boys it's been 10 years since a Bathurst under 14s team has made a grand final - and that team didn't end up winning - so it's a real history making moment for this team."