Double the trouble with two sets of Albany twins

Seeing double can be hard at the best of times, but for four aspiring young Albany basketballers it’s something their coaches, and come Saturday, their opponents, will have to get used to pretty quickly.

Two sets of identical Albany twins are ready to tackle the best basketballers in Australia and New Zealand when they represent WA Country at the 2017 Helloworld Australian Under-16 Junior Championships.

Twin sisters Nardia and Narelle Humphries will play for the WA Country women’s side, while twin brothers Henry and Henrick Alforque will run out for the WA Country men’s team.

It will be the second time the Humphries sisters have played for WA after they went to the Southern Cross Challenge in Victoria in 2015.

But after beating WA Metro in a recent practice game, the pair said their confidence was sky-high.

“We are mostly excited,” Nardia said.

“It has been intense (training program) and a lot of commit-ment but it’s pretty cool to be two sets of twins and both being from Albany.”

Narelle is hopeful her team can have a big impact at the tournament.

“Beating metro in the practice game has given us a boost of confidence,” she said.

“I think we will definitely try our best and hopefully do a bit better than before.” The 15-year-old Albany High School students will play as forwards and said their teammates had given them nicknames to tell them apart.

The Alforque brothers will also pull on the WA colours for the second time, after going to last year’s Southern Cross tournament.

“We are very excited, the hard work has paid off,” Henrick said.

“We have been working hard during the training sessions and could have a chance to perform well.”

Also 15 and students at North Albany Senior High School, Henry will play as a shooting guard and Henrick will have point guard duties in the championships.

“Playing in Perth is great, it gives family and supporters the chance to come and watch,” Henry said.

“We feel comfortable playing on those courts where we have been training as well.

“The coaches have got us a bit confused but they are getting better.”