BOMADERRY’S Gavin Costain has just completed another successful season on the hardwood in the Illawarra Hawks colours.
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In his penultimate junior season, the St John the Evangelist Catholic High School student and his Illawarra under 18s team won all three major competitions – Country Premier League, John Martin Country Tournament Premier League and State Championships, on offer in 2017.
It all started with the CPL, where Costain’s Hawks won their first 10 matches of the season.
“We came out firing in the first half of the season as a team,” Costain said.
“I got off to a bit of a slow start individually but picked it up half way through.
“We were 10-0 going into the fourth round but with Lachlan Dent and Riley O'Shannessy missing due to HSC trials, we unfortunately dropped two games to Gosford and Newcastle.
“But we rebounded as a team and the finals weekend was great - firstly defeating Gosford and Coffs Harbour in the grand final.”
Following the success at the CPL and the John Martin Country Tournament Premier League, where they edged out Penrith, the team finished their season off at the recent state finals.
“We got off to strong start, winning against Penrith on the Friday night, followed by another two against Newcastle and Blacktown,” Costain said.
“We then ground out a tough win against Gosford in the semi-final, which set up a grand final date with North Sydney.
“Against Norths we got off to an awesome start with our point guard Lachlan Dent having 20 points in the first quarter.
“But down the stretch everyone did their job to help secure a massive win for us.”
The 16-year-old ranks this season as easily the best he’s had in the red and white jersey.
“As a team this year, we really set a high standard of play and I think we all played awesome basketball,” he said.
“We stuck with what we did all year and came out with three championships.
“Because of that fact, I would say this has been the best season for me with the Hawks.
“Playing with people like Lachlan Dent, Brandon Freire, Riley O'Brien and Riley O'Shanessey took my game to the next level this year.”
Costain will next turn his attentions to Country Tour trials in Maitland, before the State Performance Program and D-League restart for the season.