Page 63 - 1966

SOUTH ISLAND TOURNAMENT A CRITIQUE
THIRD BASKETBALL FIVE
A H.:An
SECOND BASKETBALL FIVE
SENIOR
of last year and ran out winners in a very dose and hard-fought match by 38 to 34 in extra time. The half­ time score was 14 points all, the full-time score 32-all, and in extra time of ve minutes, King's scored the vital first basket and never looked back.
The School team was weakened by the loss of two players who were playing in the 1st XV match, but the rest combined well and played to the best of their ability. The School was unfortunate to lose Adam ve minutes before full time when he was fouled o , and it was in this period that School lost the game when not one of eight attempted foul shots was successful. Polsen top scored with 14 points and Adam and Robertson scored 8 each.
Held annually in Dunedin, this tournament attracts some of the best basketball schools in the South Island. This year nine teams from Christchurch south were competing. The tournament was run on a Round Robin system, thus insuring all teams of at least four games.
S.B.H.S. had the misfortune to be drawn against a team of such high standard as Christchurch Boys, who eventually won the tournament, in its rst game and in a hard-fought match went down 32 to 47. The next day a tired S.B.H.S. team played Palmerston, but the team's carefree attitude could not match the enthusiasm of Palmerston or the brilliance of their caetain (who scored 31 points) and went down 46-33. The team's other two games were against South Otago and Bay­ eld, both of which were won comfortably, 41-22 and 60-23 respectively. It was in these two games that S.B.H.S. turned on some of their best basketball.
POLSON, N. G. (captain): A very capable player who excels in defence. Has led the team ably. Has good future in the game. Rarely makes a mistake.
BREEN, G.: Has become the best rebounder in the team on the defensive board. O ensive play is incon­ sistent. much improved player.
MORGAN, J. intelligent player. Played some excellent games. Handicapped by lack of height.
KEITH, G.: What a pity he played rugby! Poten­ tially very good but was unable to play two sports to a high level. good team man.
ADAM, G. N.: Had some excellent games towards the end of the season. Shooting action is too slow and often tries to shoot when guarded by tall opponents. Excellent team player.
ELDER. P. A.: Experienced, sound player but divided his time between rugby and basketball, to the detriment of the latter. Very co-operative team man.
ROBERTSON, I.: The big man. Developed a great deal of skill over the season. Intelligent player, most improved. Should have much success next season.
HENDERSON, J.: Started well but had a bad patch later on. Has lots of ability and should be successful next season.
BAKER, H.: Very inexperienced. Joined the squad late but could become a top-class player next year.
This year the team played in the C Grade competi­ tion at Surrey Park. At the start of the season, ten teams competed in his grade, but the competition was later divided and the team was placed in the top four with Y.M.C.A., Cubs and Musketeers. Owing to the
fact that all of the teani played rugby as their major winter sport, no practices were held during the season. As a result, shooting was of an inconsistent standard. In spite of this, all games were thoroughlv enjoyed and many closely-fought games resulted.
NEWTON, A. (captain): Was a steady player, a good set shot who played well on defence.
ERSKINE, R. (vice-captain): A good steady all­ round player who did not score as many points as he deserved. Good drive and set shot.
GRAHAM, A.: Scored mainly from set shots.· Care­ lessness marred his game. Played well when roused.
THOMSON, B.: Was good on fast break. His play was hindered by lack of height and concentration.
McLEAN, D.: Improved rapidly during the season and developed into one of the team's best guards.
WATTS, B.: Improved near the end of the season.
The team's best o ensive rebounder.
HUNTER, G.: Had a mixed season. He was good on fast breaks but must concentrate when shooting.
BLAKELY, K.: Filled in when the team was short.
An honest player but a careless shooter.
The team would like to thank N. J. Polson for coach­ ing on the nights of the matches.
The 3rd Five had a most successful season, winning all but one gameto the 2nd V. The C Grade com­ petition was divided into two ections, and being placed in the B section, the 3rd V won quite comfortably.
The team, however, consisted of individuals and it was this individual characteristic that prevented the team from functioning as a smooth-running combination. It was not until later in the season that they realised that they must play as a team, and as a result the games became much more enjoyable.
Wayne Collie at centre was a consistent scorer and drove strongly. Max Collie was as consistent as his brother and often brought o some very clever moves. S. Wallis at right forward harrassed the opposition on every occasion and intercepted well. The backs, who tended to be caught out of position too often, made up for this with strong rebounding. B. Wallis was also a very strong dribbler and could bring the ball quickly on to attack. I. McCallum tended to hold the ball for too long but his defensive play improved as the season progressed. Alan Minty, who captained the team early in the season, will be pleased to see that we carried on the good ork after his departure.
The Senior C team was composed of a mixture of new and old players and consequently took some time to settle down to a pattern of play. The games in the early part of the season were very much an individual e ort but all of a sudden the players clicked as a team and began to play quite successfully.
Although we did not win many games, we had a most enjoyable season. The standard of most players improved considerably as the season progressed.
Our best games were with Borstal, who, beat us 14-12 twice and drew 12-all on another occasion. We seemed to feel a kindred spirit in their players and enjoyed those games immensely.
The team was: G. Ronald (captain). Scandrett, Swain, Soper, Withington, Slaughter and K. Rankin.
Out of the three·teams in the Thursday night com­ petition contested at the Centennial Hall, the High A
Forty- ve