A Hillside man’s efforts to fit nets on basketball rings throughout Brimbank have received a boost.
Ben Cassar ran into trouble last month when Brimbank council began taking down the nets, citing safety concerns.
Mr Cassar said he was blown away by the support following a report in
Star Weekly earlier this month – particularly from a former NBA superstar.
“One of my friends tweeted the story out to Andrew Bogut and he read the article and responded,” Mr Cassar said.
Bogut, who has just signed with the Sydney Kings in the NBL, tweeted: “Hey @brimbankcouncil, next step is bubble wrap your buildings, trees, THE WORLD! #safetyfirst”
Mr Cassar said: “I was absolutely rapt to see that.”
Mr Cassar said the Star Weekly report had helped open dialogue with the council.
“Following the article, 3AW rang me and I did an interview with Neil Mitchell,” he said. “About 30 minutes after that, the council rang me and asked me to come in for a chat.”
Mr Cassar is hopeful he’ll be able to resume the net project.
“I had a chat with the council and they’re allowing me to leave the nets up and to replace the few they cut down,” he said.
“At this stage. I can’t put any additional ones up … they want to monitor how the existing ones go and then they’ll come to a final decision.
“At this stage, they’ve told me it will be about August. I’d love to do it in about a month, but they need to do their diligence.”
In the meantime, Mr Cassar has no intentions of pausing the broader project.
“I’m going to contact other councils and ask if they’re interested in coming on board, too,” he said.
“I’ve also had contact with a few schools, which is another way I can continue.
“I’m actually heading out to St Theresa’s (Albion) to put up some nets on their basketball and netball courts soon.”
