The 2022 1st V Basketball squad will be forever etched in the pages of Toowoomba Grammar School history as the first TGS team to win a GPS Basketball Premiership since the competition commenced in 1984.

Head of Basketball, and 1st V Coach, Mr Kabe Cicolini has been instrumental in the growth and success of not just our leading team, but of the TGS Basketball Program as a whole.

Kabe has come from a background of playing GPS sport – cricket, rugby and basketball as a student at Ipswich Grammar School (IGS).

“I’ve had a similar background to most of the boys here,” stated Kabe.

“Sport was everything to me and going to a Grammar School was everything to me, taking advantage of the opportunities given to me.”

His basketball coach was a huge mentor to him, igniting Kabe’s desire to coach and he took up the role at IGS straight out of school before coming to TGS in 2011 as the Sports Officer and running the Basketball Program. A year later he went to Canada to coach College basketball there. Kabe returned to TGS in 2017 as the 1st V Coach and then the Head of Basketball in 2018. He has been steadily building the TGS Basketball Program for the past five years and this year’s GPS Premiership is a culmination of that hard work.

“I am really excited for the boys to get this first Premiership,” said Kabe.

“For me personally, it’s a weird sense of accomplishment and relief; we’ve been toiling away quietly for a long time so it’s great to see the hard work come to fruition.”

Kabe said the TGS team was not the most talented in the GPS competition, but they had common values and expectations; they focussed on a game-by-game scenario rather than becoming overwhelmed by their good results or looking too far ahead.

“We weren’t expecting to achieve as well as we did each week, but the boys kept growing, and as a result we could keep going without putting too much pressure on ourselves,” said Kabe.

“Also, central to winning this Premiership was the fact that this was the first group of boys who have genuinely grown up playing TGS Basketball, with our culture, values and style of play – even though this was the first year these boys had actually played together as a team.”

The Premiership winning match against Gregory Terrace was a nail biter. TGS had a comfortable 14-point lead going into half time (45-31) and were 59-48 coming into the third quarter but GT turned it on with the score 63 all with two minutes remaining and 65 all with two seconds on the clock. Year 10 student, Samuel Geu then had a moment that dreams are made of - he hit the winning shot with just 1.4 seconds remaining!

“I’m immensely proud of the boys,” said Kabe.

“We are so young, so I’m proud of their resilience and ability to achieve what they have already.

“I’m excited for next year too, as we have the same group, so I’m content with what they’ve achieved and I’m ready to move on to the next challenge.”

Kabe loves the fast, dynamic competitiveness of the game, but said the truly unique aspect of coaching GPS Basketball is the “revolving door of boys who you can have an impact on, the chance to shape them into good men.”

“We just get to help kids keep growing and building and achieve their goals – whatever they may be.”

The 1st V 2022 Basketball Premiers are presented their caps by TGS Old Boys' Association representatives, Mark Creedon and Nicholas Hess

Latest Blog

Community Engagement
/
Thursday, 24 Apr 2025

Honouring Tradition: Toowoomba Grammar School and ANZAC Day

This year marks 98 years since TGS and the 13 Army Cadet Unit (Toowoomba Collective Unit) first participated in ANZAC Services in Toowoomba. The School's commitment to these services is a testament to its deep-rooted military traditions and the enduring spirit of remembrance. Mounties out the front of School House in 1908. A Legacy of Service Toowoomba Grammar School's military traditions date back to its early days. The School's Cadet Unit, formed in 1892, has been a cornerstone of its…

Read More
Character & Wellbeing
/
Thursday, 03 Apr 2025

Outdoor Pursuits and Activities Week - Developing Good Character Beyond the Classroom

We offer a range of enrichment activities for our boys, but the last week of Term 1 is a very special opportunity for all of our Senior School students. It's Outdoor Pursuits and Activities Week, which provides age-appropriate physical challenges in a safe, well-supervised environment. Activities on the various camps may include ropes courses, rock climbing, bodyboarding, surfing, mountain biking and canoeing. The aim is to foster a love of the outdoors and an appreciation of the environment.…

Read More
People
/
Thursday, 27 Mar 2025

Stories behind key TGS staff helping shape our students

It was my great privilege to join TGS as Head of House - Boyce Boarding in 2024. The opportunity to lead these young men of character on their TGS journey carries great weight but is also enormously exciting. Embarking upon this project alongside my wife Meg as Boyce Boarding House Manager strengthens the team further. I am hopeful that we will demonstrate to the boys how positive relationships can foster a warm and supportive environment. I know that many of our boys are familiar with strong…

Read More
Sports & Activities
/
Thursday, 20 Mar 2025

More Than Just an Education and That Makes All the Difference

Toowoomba Grammar School excels in its extensive co-curricular programs, particularly in performing arts and sports. Our boys learn that success comes from hard work and dedication. This ethos is inspired by quotes like “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great,” “The harder I work, the luckier I get” and the words emblazoned on our P.B. Hauser Aquatic Centre wall “Success is the celebration of preparation.” These opportunities allow students to excel in programs…

Read More
Stewardship
/
Thursday, 13 Mar 2025

Stewardship: Leading the Way in Safety, Sustainability and Security

However, the challenges facing the Director of Facilities, Mr Bengie Dickeson and the Director of Information Technology, Mr Ron Robinson certainly are. This month's weather has been nothing if not unpredictable and it's in those conditions that both these men's skills come to the fore. With Tropical Cyclone Alfred and its threat to our School campus and community - Mr Bengie Dickeson and Mr Ron Robinson played integral roles in keeping everyone and everything on our 150-year-old campus safe.…

Read More
Old Boys
/
Thursday, 06 Mar 2025

Pursuing New Horizons in Horticulture

Jake Moon is a sixth-generation primary producer. He is dedicated to agriculture and is currently working at his family’s St George farming enterprise, tackling some of the sector’s biggest challenges. The 28-year-old says his family moved to the St George irrigation precinct in 1978, initially growing rockmelons and watermelons, hence the business name Moonrocks. Seasonal and market changes led them to switch crops frequently, growing grapes, broccoli and even wax flowers over the years.…

Read More
Sports & Activities
/
Thursday, 27 Feb 2025

Crushing it at Cricket and Conveying Culture

He explains that he’s named after Yarramundi, a respected and influential leader of the Richmond tribes of the Dharagnora (Hawkesbury-Nepean region of New South Wales) and a respected elder of the Boorooberongal clan of the Dharug people. “I’m proud of my culture and excited to have just started learning Dharug Dalang as part of the language revitalisation with my family.” During one week late last year he juggled exams, balanced representative cricket in Mackay with being the emcee of the…

Read More
Character & Wellbeing
/
Thursday, 20 Feb 2025

Disappointment: A Necessary Part of School Life

Schools are inherently hopeful and happy places. Their natural focus on growth, connectedness and preparing youth for a better future creates an optimistic atmosphere in which ambitions are born. These positive emotions and experiences lay the foundation for our expectations and while these can be highly motivating, they come with a catch: the greater our expectations, the greater the disappointments, too. Disappointment is not a popular feeling. Rightly so, not many of us wish to feel sad,…

Read More
Stewardship
/
Thursday, 13 Feb 2025

Boys and Belonging at TGS

As a boarding master of adolescent boys, my role fundamentally concerns pastoral wellbeing and character development to support a successful academic journey. A positive sense of belonging — where boarders feel safe, supported and heard — is fundamental to an effective boarding environment. As such, I felt there was a distinct connection between the International Boys’ Schools Coalition’s (IBSC) theme for the 2024–25 Action Research Cohort, “Boys and Belonging” and what I believe is best…

Read More