It was Ringwood Hawks who claimed honours at the Arc after defeating the Warrnambool Mermaids 43-36.

The Hawks feature in the Big V women’s championship division, while the Mermaids are one tier below in division one.

Ringwood coach Tim Mottin said the side that played on the weekend was basically the group of players who would contest the coming Big V season.

Click on the photo to view the image gallery from the carnival.

“We have a lot of new players in the team, so the objective was to try and play as a team and to learn how each other plays to get ready for the regular season,” he said.

“It didn’t matter if we won.”

The Mermaids used the three-day tournament to improve fitness, which they were able to do by playing seven games.

They trailed the Hawks 22-13 at the main break in yesterday’s final, with the visitors able to maintain the gap in the second half, leading by eight points with 10 minutes remaining.

A three-pointer from Mermaid Elle Zeunert reduced the margin to five points as the contest became more physical.

Led by Amanda Behnke, the Hawks stretched their lead out again to nine points but refused to settle, pushing up into a press which forced the host into turnovers, but the visitors could not capitalise on them.

Consecutive three-pointers from Warrnambool’s Maddison Smedts and Darcy Saunders reduced the gap to five points. But with the Mermaids in foul trouble, some clutch free throw shooting from Ringwood in the last 90 seconds sealed the win.

The A men’s final was taken out by the star-studded East Preston side, which included former NBL and NBA players Lanard Copeland and Chris Anstey.

East Preston defeated Melbourne Ballers 50-45, while in the B women, Warrnambool Mermaids enjoyed a 37-24 win over Jetvold.

In the B men, Flying Horse overcame Year Of The Vulture 47-36, with both sides featuring some ex-Seahawks, while in the other B men final, Ravies Rim rolled Roosters 48-35.

The Big Fellas overcame Maccabi Warriors 40-27 in the A reserve men’s final.

While the masters men’s match between East Preston and State Bank was a 29-all draw.

The Seaside Carnival welcomed more than 60 teams.