Tauranga-Matamata Basketball Team Defeated By All Australian Side

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVII, Issue 14770, 8 September 1948, Page 3

Tauranga-Matamata Basketball Team Defeated By All Australian Side

„, n thousand SPECTATORS TAKE ® t k een intebest in match

, f]i c: 'DlciVS of representative basketball Lae «f many years, the all-Australian basketball V ransaf lhined Tauranga-Matamata team by 12 U ,e i. 8 The combined team played determined y, to e« M , the advantage of height on their side. etr* lia " S rntom witnessed the match, and although y spectaWS odat i on had been arranged for the [] Status * , Jjaij to stand, a number 01 the seat. one o’clock for a match that commenced

swift passes employed by the combined fit short ', “effective counter to the long one-handed U tbe f Lilians and this method adopted almost r.f‘ tei llftotralian side at times, Of the 4 lot ” St Tfh?o"ring the Combined team had 25 shots ill** s °t™ 30 the number of misses being due, no i»st»hans . hand and a keen wind on tne

fnrwfrds who have been noted throughlie - ’ tiieir accurate shooting and *}had an off-day. The defence of both » ,lEß \Awards well out of the goal circle, and kept the fo " a k from we ll back. The Australians foments more frequently than the S a teOT, showing: less familiarity with the nme-a-side

I t fe St first V s e peli a the r e was S| interception by Z. Poole L“ defence, wno staved 'Australian attack ‘-he team took charge and j , 1D to B. Steedman, ’along goal then p. as Players B^™°™ the visitors retaliated, , L. iialising for Australia. Ihe S next goal was gam[rationally long lob passes centre which baffled the tpam; Score 2-1. , prospective Australian brilliantly intercepted by a layer, I. Stuart, and the down to the Australian [e B, Steedman equalised

first spell the hard work Stuart, a Tauranga defence, eable in her many intert goal. For some time the ia ined at two-all with the M at great speed all over ■t, Exceptionally long the Australians enabled L. 5 net two more goals in [ making the score 4-2 in Australia. ' nappy passes from the cen-r-off puzzled the Austrarst, and enabled B. Graham id) to throw another goal ie score 3-4. Shortly aftere scored a beautiful long placing both teams equal, round the goal spoilt oined forwards’ tactics at ! the Australians were not ake advantage of this.

I after half-time B. Steed[Combined in the lead after Iliad gained possession from I who took the throw-off tage excitement was rUn- )’ high. .The Australians ball right into -the opposing a beautiful intercep- . Cockerton, captain of the 1 side and a New Zealand alive, saved the point. She the centre, the ball, howIg brilliantly intercepted Australian, A, Murray, who lack to her forwards, D. loaled, making the score ■For some time the score I this, with play mov|ly up and down the, court, I suddenly gained the inlowever, and scored two Ils, making the score 5-7. pe Australian centre, W. I, the ball passed into the ICraddock scoring with a S'" With the ball back in |e Combined took possesfhort swift pass from P. |cD. Kenyon being followed lob pass into the the (Steedman netting. This |he score to 6-8. Australia I with two more quick goals I Combined scored again. Mr °wn defence the Ausent the ball up to the Com'a* w hh long throws that he opposing defence, and a netted another goal. ®tralia 11, Combined 7.

After intercepting in their own goal area the Australians took possession and passed the ball swiftly down to L. Hornig who notched another goal. After putting the ball out in the Australian goal third, the Combined team regained possession and swift passing 'took the ball into the goal where B. Graham scored. Shortly atier the game ended, the score reading 12-8 in favour of Australia. The referee was Mrs H. Ingram.

After the match, the Australians gave a display of seven-a-side basketball, using their twelve players and two of the combined team, D. Cockerton, of Matamata. and P. Johnson, of Tauranga. D. Cockerton, who injured her ankle during the game was replaced by R. Grantham, also of Matamata. Explanation of the difference in rules was given by one of the visiting Australian officials, Anne Henderson. Miss Anne Clark was umpire. In extending his_ warmest congratulations to the visiting team, the mayor, Mr L. R. Wilkinson pointed out that it was certainly no disgrace for the Combined team to be beatetn by the Australians—an international side —and he said that the teams should regard as a compliment the great number of spectators present. The wife of the president, Mrs B. K. Gifford, then made presentations of the mementoes, small silver' badges with fern leaf and suitable engraving on them, to both teams and visiting officials, in memory of their game in Tauranga. The captain of the Australian team, Mrs M. White, suitably replied. Curtain-raisers to the main match were played between Te Puna and Matakana, Bethlehem and St. Mary’s orimary schools, and Tauranga and Matamata Colleges.

In the primary school games excellent matches were witnessed, although fumbling due to nervousness, with the large number of spectators present, was noticed. These names resulted; Matakana Ik Te Puna 8, referee. Mr T. Church: Bethlehem 12, St. Mary’s 8, referee Mr V. Halpin. Although beginning as a game ot changing fortunes in the first half of the College match. Matamata began to take the advantage towards the end of the first spell and at half time the score was eight points to five in Matamata’s favour. Tauranga gained first blood in the second spell, but Matamata retaliated and scored three goals on end. The latter team kept its lead and the final score resulted: Matamata 16, Tauranga nine. The Australian team who took the field in tunics of old gold with a Myrtle green “A” on yoke included;—M. Craddock, L. Hornig and D. Munro (forwards); J. Cowan (vice-capt), W. McKenzie and A. Murray (centres); M. White (capt,), L. Hewish and A. Bauer (defence). The Tauranga - Matamata combined team wore grey tunics with green girdles. The personnel included—B. Graham (T., vice-capt.), B. Steedman (T), and J. Williams (M) (forwards); P. Johnson (T), N. Pond (M), and D. Kenyon (T), (centres); D. Cockerton (M. capt.), I. Stuart (T) and Z. Poole (T) (defence).