The under-18 men in division one and the under-14 boys, also, in division remain alive in their respective competitions.

Tamworth’s division one side had just one blemish – a close 66-57 loss to Shoalhaven – after the preliminary matches were completed.

The Thunderbolts’ other two games ended in Tamworth’s favour with a 73-46 win over Newcastle White and a 97-51 drubbing of Maitland.

The favourable results saw Tamworth finish on top of its pool and set up a quarter final showdown with Camden Valley.

While Tamworth went down in that game 74-65, the Thunderbolts still progressed as Camden was an invitational side and not able to go past the quarter finals.

Tamworth will now play Bathurst in the semi-finals with three players under an injury cloud from the Camden game.

“It’ll be a tough match, they [Bathurst] have a couple quality kids who are in the state program,” caretaker coach John Ireland said.

“The boys will have to show up and hopefully a couple of the guys who picked up those niggling injuries can suit up.”

In division three, things didn’t start as well for Tamworth but the side’s final result of the tournament reflected the attitude of the players.

Following three losses on day one – all by 18 points or less – a finals appearance wasn’t on the cards for the Thunderbolts.

But there was still one game to go and Tamworth made the most of it.

The Thunderbolts trailed for the majority of the match – at one point by eight points – before hitting the lead in the final minute and holding on to win.

“You couldn’t ask for more, really,” Thunderbolts’ Pete Gambril said of his players.

“They worked hard all tournament, they all their heads down and bums up.”

The Thunderbolts under-16 boys side had arguably the hardest task of all the Tamworth sides being in the premier division.

On day one, Tamworth took on Gosford City and Newcastle with both games ending in a loss.

A win continued to stay out of reach as the Thunderbolts went down to Penrith but the side’s offence improved as the boys scored 62 points – their best effort of the tournament so far.

Tamworth improved even further in the following game against Canberra.

The Thunderbolts still went down but by just 12 points and took confidence into their next game against Illawarra.

They went full steam ahead and secured their first win as they beat Illawarra 54-51.

However, Tamworth    narrowly missed the finals.

The under-14 girls finished the first day with a 50 per cent win record.

Following a loss to Taree, the Thunderbolts bounced back to win in a tight one over Moss Vale.

A win against Canberra would guarantee a finals spot for Tamworth.

It wasn’t to be as Canberra pinched a two-point win after scoring with just six seconds left on the clock.

However, the Thunderbolts still snuck into the finals and met Gosford City Rebels.

The task proved a little too tough for the girls as Gosford got up 50-38.

Coach Robyn Skelton said she was happy with how the girls performed against such quality competition.

“They played as a team and did some wonderful things on court,” she said.

Like the under 16s boys Tamworth’s under 14s took on the age group’s best sides in the premier division.

Despite results not going their way, coach Taylor Skelton said the effort was there throughout the tournament.

The competition started with a so close, yet so far effort against Newcastle Two.

In that game, Tamworth went down by just three points before losing to Penrith on day one.

The games got even harder on day two against Illawarra One and Canberra Two.

Both games ended in losses but the boys never threw the towel in.

That never-say-die attitude then worked wonders for the boys in their final match against Gosford.

The Thunderbolts turned their previous results around and scored a 69-63 win.

With the top eight teams going through to the finals – the division was split into two new ones for the final series – the win saw Tamworth progress to the division one round of finals.