Basketball
1 November, 2025
Hornets to celebrate CBL championship ahead of vital home clash on Sunday
The Horsham Hornets Country Basketball League men's team will mark their first home game of the season with an unveiling of their 2024 championship banner.
On Sunday, November 2, at Horsham Basketball Stadium, the defending champions will take on Hamilton at 2pm, while the women will kick off the double header with a contest against Warrnambool from 12pm.
Both sides will start round five with a road trip, playing Colac on Saturday afternoon.
Scott Benbow, coach of the men’s side, is excited for his team to finally play at home.
“We're pretty used to being on the road now, so we'll go for another drive up the road to Colac,” Benbow said.
“They've got the four Hall brothers playing, and they've been doing some damage, both on the scoreboard and defensively.
“They've certainly improved on last year's team.
“Hopefully, we can get the win, and then we'll come back to play our first home game on Sunday, which we are really, really looking forward to.
“I think we have the best crowd in the league, and the boys feed off the vibe of it, and it's worth a lot of points to us.
“We haven't been home since we won the championship, so to recognise that, where we unveil the banner, it’s always nice to do.
“The reason we do it, apart from the team success, is for the Horsham crowd as well, they're a big part of why we're so successful.”
Benbow said the team’s identity and belief are building, believing their fast-paced offence can secure two more wins this weekend after their round three victory over Hamilton.
“Moving the ball up the floor, sharing the ball, giving up a good shot for a great shot, that’s the stuff that you want to see from a team,” Benbow said.
“Having that young side that went to Hamilton, I think it was a bit of a moment where they realised what they can actually do, even without having Mitch and Cody in there.
“We know that Micah (Livingstone) will be fantastic on the weekend, and we'll use his size and athleticism, as well as Levi's (Munyard) IQ.
“I think we are really starting to find our identity.”
After close defeats to Mount Gambier and Portland in their round three matchups, women’s coach Jordyn Burke thinks the young team’s continuing growth and experience have them well positioned to challenge Colac and Warrnambool.
“You get a bit more battle-hardened with those games from round three,” Burke said.
“They were both well-fought games that we had our chances to win.
“Obviously, we would have liked to have got one or two off the ground that weekend, but what we took out of it is that if we can compete for 40 minutes, we’ll keep getting that confidence in the girls.
“We started to play some really good basketball; we’ve just got to do it for longer periods.”
The Lady Hornets first played Warrnambool in round one, where they suffered a 96-49 defeat, but Burke is excited at the chance to meet them again.
“Playing every team once and then getting them on the rebound, I'm looking forward to, because you really get to know them a little bit deeper,” Burke said.
“Warrnambool’s got a lot of youthful exuberance.
“They play some strong physical basketball, they shoot really well and have a really even spread.
“We've got to find ways to penetrate the paint a bit more against them this time, and hopefully, with a few added soldiers that missed that first game, we can work the paint over a bit more.”
The women’s game at Colac on Saturday starts at 3pm, while the men’s team will play at 5pm.