Zitina Aokuso, Inspiring the Young
Thanks to an arrangement between Basketball Queensland and the National Basketball League (NBL), the 2017 QBL season has seen some extraordinary referee talent, with three NBL referees coming up to give some of our up and coming QBL referees some NBL veteran referee experience.
Having also refereed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Scott Beker, from Newcastle refereed the Round 5 Brisbane Spartans VS the Brisbane Capitals game on May 27 with Brisbane referees Alex McEwan and Brendan Kantor. NBL referee Matt Beattie, who is from Sydney refereed the Logan VS Gold Coast game also on May 27 with Brisbane refs Darrell Millard and Jordan Napper. He also refereed the South West Metro VS Mackay game on May 28 with Brisbane referees Aaron Gilroy and Mel Glover. Matt Townsend, also from Sydney, refereed the Logan VS Mackay game on June 17 with Brisbane referees Marc Mill and Brendan Kantor and the Brisbane Capitals VS Logan on June 18 with Alex McEwan and Darrel Millard.
Both Matt Beattie and Matt Townsend will be refereeing at the Under 19 Boys World Championships in Egypt – on this week, and were able to use these games as practice for the upcoming championships!
QBL Referee Manager Vaughan Mayberry said “There are not many opportunities for these guys to work quality games at this time of year so this would’ve helped them prepare for what is one of the most prestigious international tournaments hosted by FIBA.”
“It was great to have referees of that calibre come up and work games with some of Queensland’s most talented up and coming referees. Our referees gained invaluable experience and coaching from referees that have worked plenty of games at the highest level. This experience will benefit their development going forward. Hopefully we can continue this arrangement as getting some of Australia’s best referees up here will only improve the standard of our officiating in the QBL.”
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