Visitors yet to lose a game in Adventist Basketball Championship

Community key to success of Adventist Basketball Championship

Andrew Parker
Public relations editorial intern
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

Thirty-four games, 13 teams, two days, one goal: to bring teams from across Australia together, not just to play basketball, but to develop community and experience Christian values.

The second Adventist Basketball Championship, held in the Chan Shun Auditorium on Avondale College of Higher Education’s Lake Macquarie campus October 22-23, included teams from Avondale, the Gold Coast, Kempsey, Melbourne and Western Australia.

For the first time, the championship featured a women’s competition, with most valuable player Adelle Bottrell, a Bachelor of Business student, leading Opals to a 43-32 win against Multeasers in the final.

In the men’s final, reigning champions Gold Coast Waves beat a resilient Melbourne—who defeated an injured Avondale in the quarter finals—112-86. Waves gained their winning lead in the third quarter after scores were level at halftime. The teams then treated fans with entertaining displays of athleticism, with players on each side allowing players on the other to show off their best slam dunks.

The fans created a good atmosphere over the weekend, with chants of encouragement for good play or of motivation to get their team back into the game.

Avondale men’s team member Josh Hamilton enjoyed sharing with others passion for the sport and for God. “I learnt not only more about basketball but more about myself and my walk with God through the way others were treated on and off the court,” he says.

Organiser Jared Benard, president of the Avondale Student Association, hopes fans and players take away “a positive experience of coming to Avondale and playing in the Adventist Basketball Championship.”

Character real winner of Adventist basketball tournament

Joshua Hamilton
Public relations editorial intern
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia

It began with a vision: using basketball at Avondale College to share Christian values.

Basketball is the most popular sport at Avondale, with more than 400 students playing each week. However, the genesis of the Adventist Basketball Championship, held in the Chan Shun Auditorium this past weekend, came after Avondale accepted an invitation to enter a team into a similar tournament in New Zealand in June this year. This resulted in former Avondale Basketball Association presidents Colin Chuang and Robert Stanton deciding to organise the first Australia-wide Adventist basketball tournament.

It began with an ending, as Colin, a marketing officer at Avondale, closed Sabbath. “If you can live your faith out on the basketball courts, then yes, God cares about basketball because He cares about you. He sent His son, Jesus, to die for us so we could live for Him. That’s why we’re here. But it’s not just on the courts; we’ve got to honour Him in our relationships, in our respect for authority, in the classroom and when we’re at home alone.”

Ten teams from around the country—members of one travelled from Western Australia to play—entered the tournament. They played intensely but with Christian character. Brett Carlsen, a Bachelor of Science student at Avondale who played for South Australia, noted the good sportsmanship, which he attributed to an acknowledgment “we are all brothers in Christ.” Gold Coast won the tournament by defeating Hunter 100-88 in the grand final.

The success of the tournament pleased Colin and Rob. “Basketball was just a bonus,” says Robert. “The social aspect and the spiritual aspect, that was the real high for us.”

The two plan to grow the tournament next year by, among other things, including women’s teams.