Club strikes gold as Miners return

AHEAD of the start of the Coles Express NBL1 South season in April, three major basketballers have re-signed with the Ballarat Miners.

Zac Dunmore, Will Hynes and Jordan Lingard have committed to the club for the year, which Miners’ senior elite teams chair Cameron Moore said “sets a great foundation.”

“We are very confident that Jordan, Will and Zac will be able to continue to develop their game in 2022 and be good role models for our junior Miners,” he said.

A 185-centimetre-tall guard, this season will be Dunmore’s fifth with the elite group.

“I’m happy to be re-signing with the Miners for this upcoming season,” he said.

“The people around the organisation are very friendly and helpful with my development, not just on the court, but off it as well.”

Also a guard, and coming in at 185 centimetres tall, Hynes played basketball in Ballarat since he was an Exies Acmy junior.

He said the city was still the ideal place for him to be, offering the best supports for him to improve as an athlete and person.

“I would love to win the championship with the Miners,” he said.

“Ballarat has always been my home and I have been able to progress through the pathway here. I want to show the juniors that if you work hard, you can also one day play for the Miners.”

Meanwhile Lingard, 203-centimetre-tall forward, is coaching the Colac Kookas in the off-season, and he said he still feels comfortable with the Miners, recommitting to the club for a fourth time.

“Basketball Ballarat, and especially the town of Ballarat, has become my home over the past three-to-four years, so to be able to put on the blue and gold and represent this town was a no brainer for myself,” he said.

“I’m enjoying the coaching experience. I am working with quality players, and I am improving, which I hope to be able to bring back to Ballarat.”