Loyal Capital Kopcikas shaves head in memory of late sister-in-law

Written by Julia Montesano

On the court, the Brisbane Capitals are looking to add to their trophy cabinet this NBL1 North season.

But off the court, one player is making an even bigger impact.

Two years ago, Anthony Kopcikas lost his sister-in-law, Lauren, when she was just 35 years old to cancer.

Tragically, she had to battle not one bout of cancer, but two, and both were a different kind.

Kopcikas decided that standing by and accepting it just wasn’t enough.

He made a difference by growing out his hair for 18 months and shaving it all off just last week, raising over $4300 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation in the process.

“My sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 25,” Kopcikas says, reflecting on the difficult time.

“She went into remission and then about 10 years later, it resurfaced as bowel cancer.

“When she became terminally ill, I felt like this (shaving my head) was something I could do.

“Not that it’s going to affect her, but it’ll help other people in those same situations.”

Kopcikas admits that his fundraising expectations were well and truly met.

After only anticipating raising about $2000, he managed to double that total thanks to a raffle he put on which included prizes like a Brisbane Bullets signed jersey, which was donated by the club.

Not only were the Bullets generous with their donation, but some of the players will extend their generosity on NBL1 North courts all over the state when they come into the league following the NBL season.

Kopcikas says this will be a great opportunity for the local players to continue to develop their game.

“Playing against the NBL guys will be a lot of fun,” he says.

“It makes it a way bigger challenge but at the same time, it’s great to have these guys in the league to help others learn and keep developing with the help of these players.”

It will be at least a month before the NBL players come into the league but even after just one round of NBL1 North action, Kopcikas is already impressed by the local talent that exists in the newly formed competition.

“Even though the league is lacking NBL talent at the moment, the standard from the local guys has been really great,” he says.

“It’s really good to see that there’s a lot of talent around.

“I know we’ve got a couple of guys on our team that are looking to take the next step next year, so this is a great steppingstone.”

2021 marks Kopcikas’ ninth season with the Capitals and he celebrated this with a Round 1 win over Northside.

With the club meaning so much to the 28-year-old, he says it was a no-brainer to sign on for the NBL1 North season this year.

“The Capitals have really had my back for a lot of things,” Kopcikas says.

“It’s been nice to have been brought through and developed.

“There’s such a good culture at the club.

“Fortunately, in the last couple of years, we’ve finally had some success after having a few defeats in the grand finals previously.

“It’d be great if we could do a three-peat in NBL1 North and go up against the rest of the country.”