Indoor Basketball Goodwill Trophy Won By Canterbury

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29851, 18 June 1962, Page 6

Indoor Basketball Goodwill Trophy Won By Canterbury

The Canterbury men’s basketball team avenged its earlier defeat by Nelson by winning the final of the Canadian Goodwill Trophy tournament at Blenheim on Saturday. The match was possibly more thrilling than last month’s encounter, and Canterbury won only after extra time had been called.

The final match produced the best and most exciting basketball of the tournament, and the spectators were apt to forget the cold and bleak surroundings. Both teams olaved constructive basketball on a man-to-man basis The defence was of a particularly high standard, and most of the points came from planned moves. There was little scope for the opportunist in this match.

Canterbury’s earlier matches were very scrappy in comparison, but this could be attributed to the bleak surroundings and because all games were played on a concrete surface.

The stage was set when W. Smith opened the scoring for Canterbury with a long jump shot, and D. Harford replied with a fine lay-up. The score mounted steadily, with both teams probing for any weaknesses.

Tlie tempo quickened towards the end of the first half, but there was little between the teams. R. Zachariassen moved quickly into position for two set shots, and Canterbury led by four points at the interval.

D. Charlett and C. Cotton tested the Canterbury defence. and R. Gay drove fast on occasions. But Canterbury maintained its slight lead. Midway through the second spell D. Taylor fell heavily and was taken away by ambulance with a suspected fracture of the arm. With six minutes to full time. Cotton was fouled off the court, and Canterbury’ led, 42-36.

The crowd roared its approval as Nelson closed the gap in the last minutes of play. Charlett scored from a fine lay-up, and D. Harford netted a fine jump shot. Nelson adopted a full court press at this stage. The Canterbury guard. P. Doogue, was fouled, and scored with two penalty shots. Nel-

son retaliated and Harford scored with another of h.s jump shots, only seconds before full time. Extra time was called. Five minutes were to be played. Shortly after the resumption. K. Baker cut quickly and netted two more points for Canterbury. Then the Nelson and New Zealand representative. F. Baldwin, had to leave the court with five fouls alongside his name Zachariassen scored with a jump shot and the match was virtually over. Excellent Defence Possibly the main factor in Canterbury's success was the excellent work done on defence P. Doogue and R Zachariassen completely dominated the defensive backboard, and all members of the team marked their opponents closely. P Doogue again played a valuable rote in containing Baldwin. He worked hard for the whole 40 minutes, driving well on attack, and then falling back to pick up hla man Zachariassen lept well under both baskets, and ecored 12 points for hit team. Hl, layup in the closing stages was a particularly fine piece of work Smith again top-ecored for Canterbury. He was closely marked throughout, but still showed glimpses of the form which won him a place In the New Zealand squad this season K Baker played an excellent game at guard. He cut nicely, lept well, and always seemed to be tn the right place at the right time. He played particularly well In the lan fir, minutes. P. Dyson also played an Intelligent game. He proved an admirable team man. Women’s Games Canterbury was unfortunate in the women's section. It wa, narrowly beaten by Nelson In the first game, and was unluckly to lose the second against West Coast. Canterbury held a territorial advantage for most of this game, but the Coan centre. A Finnerty. scored heavily. The score was 41-all. but a foul on full time cost Canterbury two points and the match. The evening match against Marlborough produced a better standard, with A. Sinclair and H. Fellows playing excellent basketball, niese two were the mainstays of the Canterburyteam. although Miss Sinclair did not reveal her true form until the last match. Results of Canterbury matches were:— Men—Canterbury 81. West Coast 27; Canterbury 71. Marlborough 58; Canterbury 57, Nelson 52. Women. Canterbury 39, Nelson 48; Canterbury 42. West Coast 44; Canterbury 42. Ma Iborotigh 28.