Men’s A-grade competition reduced to seven teams after the loss of Railways and The Sharks

Ambassadors are looking to make amends for last season’s disappointing semifinal exit and win an elusive men’s A-grade title when the new Albany Basketball Association season tips off tonight. Last season Ambassadors grabbed top spot in round nine and held that position until the final round of the regular season, when they slipped to third ahead of the finals series. In a tense elimination final, Ambassadors fell four points short and despite being a title fancy for much of the season, they were bundled out by the Denmark Magpies. They have lost key playmaker Ryan Barber and Matt Goodall from last season’s team but bring in Carryl Macquinto and Farand Thompson. Young guard Calum Dixon believes his side can perform better than 2020-21. “It’s good to be back,” he said. “We had a disappointing end last season so we are looking to improve on that and win it this season. “That’s the main goal for the team. Keen as for the season — it’s always good when the start of the season comes around. “We have had a couple of additions to last season and a couple of losses as well but I think we have a good team. “We have a bit more height and bit more speed so if we use that well we will have as good a chance as anyone this year.” Railways and The Sharks will not take part in the men’s A-grade competition this season, leaving seven sides to do battle. “You are always expecting an even comp, we had a really close competition last season and it will be good to have pretty even match-ups every week,” Dixon said. “Sonics are the reigning champs so I think they will be good this year.” Reigning premiers Sonics have retained six players from last season’s side but they lose star player Kye Griffiths who has jumped ship to Infernos and is the notable player moving teams. Denmark Magpies, who lost last season’s grand final, will be without Sam Finigan and Brody Hickey but add key pair Gus Brampton and Jackson Shaw. ALBANY BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION MEN’S A-GRADE TEAMS 2021-22 AMBASSADORS Coach Caleb Carman — Austin Beeck, Caleb Carman, Stewart Davies, Calum Dixon, Todd Knuiman, Carryl Macquinto, Chris Panton, Farand Thompson. BARKING OWLS Coach Rob Whalley — Justin Benson, Coen Jackman, Tristan Mackenzie, Hamish McMorran, Jordi O’Neill, Lucas Ravenhill, Rob Whalley. DENMARK Coach Jackson Shaw — Angus Brampton, Jack Hickey, Reagan Hutchinson, Cody Kerr, Jackson Shaw, Luke Wilson, Uly Moore. INFERNOS Coach Karl Kirby — Jaylen Beattie, Lewis Bosch, Yero Elliott, Zeppelin Evans-Deere, Kye Griffiths, Saxon Henrickson, Jordan Pansoy, Ethan Richards. SONICS Coach David Arthur — David Arthur Jr, Xavier Brenton-Reed, Ben Brown, Corey Jerrard, Matthew Jerrard, Liam Murdock, Drew Willcocks. TIGERS Coach Tim Button — Danial Abbott, Tim Button, Dean Gliosca, Corey Hill, Bodhi Holmes, Corey Ward, James Watters, Pete Watters. RAIDERS Team not confirmed yet FIXTURES Round one - Tonight Tigers v Infernos 6pm Ambassadors v Sonics 7pm Barking Owls v Denmark 8pm Round two - Tuesday, Oct 26 Infernos v Sonics 6pm Tigers v Denmark 7pm Ambassadors v Raiders 8pm Round three - Tuesday, Nov 3 Sonics v Denmark 6pm Infernos v Raiders 7pm Tigers v Barking Owls 8pm