Round one of the 2023 NBL1 South season tips off this weekend with some tantalising clashes across the conference!
The biggest for the round is the Kayo Game Of The Week between northern cross-town rivals, Eltham Wildcats and Diamond Valley Eagles. The two clubs have a traditional feud that is ingrained from the junior ranks right through to NBL1 South- there is no love lost!
To add an extra incentive and further bragging rights, the teams battle it out for the O’Connor / Cukier Cup. The cup was created to be awarded to the team with the highest aggregate scores from the women’s and men’s games on the night. The cup was named after two amazing families who, through several generations, have been the backbone of both clubs.
The O’Connor and Cukier family names have been synonymous with basketball in the north region of Melbourne, dating back to the infancy of both the Eltham and Diamond Valley Basketball Associations.
Led by the ‘matriarch’ of the tribe Margaret O’Connor; who first became involved at Diamond Valley in 1973, to this day four generations of the family have and continue to devote countless volunteer hours to support basketball from the beginner and junior levels right through to the highest divisions within both associations.
Margaret herself was a passionate Diamond Valley loyalist through and through, until her passing in 2022. Her eight children all played, coached and refereed at Diamond Valley, across all levels of the competition. Margaret became a Scoretable Official for Diamond Valley, for over 30 years, whilst also supporting any international players by offering to house them for the senior teams and billet visiting junior players. This loyal support continued during the short, but Championship winning period of the ‘North-East Arrows’ a team which represented the combination of the Eltham and Diamond Valley associations in what is now known as NBL1 South. Whilst Margaret’s son, Terry O’Connor, has been involved in the Diamond Valley Assocation since he was a junior player, at Greenhills, moving through the ranks as a junior Eagle till he aged out after U20’s, he then went on to play in the senior teams for an amazing 12 years, with nine of those years as captain and two years as player/ coach. Terry has also supported many teams as a coach across both associations. Naturally with this level of impact on an association, Margaret and her son Terry are Life Members of the Diamond Valley Basketball Association.
Peter O’Connor, another son of Margaret’s, had also climbed the ranks through Diamond Valley’s junior championship age groups, then into coaching/ mentoring and educating.
Patrick Di Lizio, General Manager of Diamond Valley Basketball Assocation, cannot wait for round one of the season, as to if Diamond Valley will retain the Cup, “We are really excited to kick of season 2023 against our rivals Eltham Wildcats for the O’Connor/Cukier Cup. Margaret O’Connor was a very special person in our community who we unfortunately lost last year, and we are proud to play for the perpetual trophy in her name.”
So with the conviction and loyality the O’Connor family have given to the Diamond Valley Assocation, how does an O’Connor become an Eltham Wildcat? It was through Cathy’s children, in the early 1980’s when they wanted to play basketball for a club that had strong junior programs, it was suggested that Eltham would be a good choice, this is how they became part of the Wildcats family (much to the disgrace of her mum, Margaret!).
Cathy herself is held in the highest honour at the Eltham Wildcats, anointed with Life Membership in 1999. Throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s the name ‘Cathy Cukier’ was recognised as the driving force of female basketball at Eltham and surrounding suburbs. Although growing participation within the girls program was the primary focus, under her time of leadership several star players came through the ranks, such as Alice Kunek, Katrina Hibbert and Anneli Maley, along with many coaches and administrators all under the watchful eye and support of Cathy Cukier. Whilst all of Cathy’s children were involved at Eltham in a range of roles and support, it has been Paula and Ben that have continued the family legacy in the sport. As Cathy stepped back from the Vice-President role at the club in 2020, it was daughter Paula Hogan (married another basketball tragic – D’Wayne Hogan) who took on the role. Paula continues to coach at domestic and championship level, whilst recent seasons have also seen her as Assistant Coach in NBL1, yet still leading the coordination of Junior Domestic registrations and team allocations.
Ben Cukier (son of Cathy) built himself a legacy in junior basketball, coaching girls for approximately 20 years at both junior domestic and junior championship levels for Eltham.
Paula and Ben were awarded Life Memberships to the club in 2004 and 2011 respectively.
Now the fourth generation is starting to take the mantle with the volunteering being the main priority. Paula’s daughter Breanna is proving herself to be a successful administrator in the sport and connecting back to her great grandmother's roots; she has become a Scoretable Official in 2023. Breanna can also be found coaching junior girls’ basketball and has been Team Manager at NBL1 level, whilst also playing a key role in the setup of the Eltham-Dandenong Junior Basketball Tournament 2023. Meanwhile the son of Terry O’Connor – Tom is a well-known and much-loved figure in basketball circles. Whilst Tom these days plays for Seymour and Wallan in Big V, he spent time on the General Committee, is still an active junior coach after eight years, and has also played NBL1 for Eltham whilst taking on a range of operational roles in the sport, proving he is living up to his family’s reputation.
Connor Amey-Matthews, CEO, Eltham Wildcats, acknowledges the importance of both family's legacies and the cross-town clash,” The O'Connor Cukier Cup is an incredible event that never fails to deliver. To be able to give recognition to the families for all their hard work and dedication is a special thing for both clubs. With all the prestige and professionalism of NBL1 it is easy to forget that it is grassroots families like the O'Connors/Cukiers that have helped drive us to where we are now and continue to provide support today. For it to be the debut game of the season adds an extra layer of excitement that we can't wait to see on court.”
For all our associations competing in the NBL1 South conference we understand to be successful, basketball communities require families such as that of the O’Connor and Cukier connection. The contributions both families have given to assist children to play basketball across the Diamond Valley and Eltham areas would be in their tens of thousands and their legacy in the sport whilst continuing to evolve through the third and fourth generations, is one that we are proud to see celebrated every time that Diamond Valley and Eltham clash in NBL1 South competition.
The O’Connor/Cukier Cup is game of the week and will be streamed live on Kayo!
For more information head across to the NBL1 South website.
