BASKETBALL officials say Colac’s latest finish at under-14 state championships is one of the best results in recent memory.

Colac’s boys’ team stepped up against 32 associations from across Victoria Country to earn a runner-up finish at the Ballarat tournament.

Coach Steve Lawrence said finishing top two in the state was the best result he could remember, since the same team finished third two seasons ago.

“I expected them to go well, I was a bit concerned because the basketball season had finished a few weeks ago and most of the boys have started football,” he said.

“They started off pretty ordinary but they built confidence into the weekend and really came good in the end.”

Colac won its first six games by an average of about 16 points to advance to the Division One finals.

The Kookas accounted for Moe in the quarter final, then recorded one of their more memorable victories – a 34-29 semi-final win against Geelong.

“Geelong kicked off to get about six points out, but our boys started running the ball, getting rebounds and being competitive, holding their main players,” Lawrence said.

“We really controlled the game, even when Geelong started running a defensive press we had our press-breaker ready,” he said.

Bendigo cut short Colac’s celebrations following its 39-19 final victory, but Lawrence still praised his players for their performance.

“We were just so proud of the way they played, they’re a great group of kids and they absolutely loved it,” Lawrence said.