CANTERBURY B BEATEN

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30147, 3 June 1963, Page 8

CANTERBURY B BEATEN

Burnham Wins * 5549

An astonishing 55-49 defeat was suffered by the promising Canterbury B representative men's basketball team in its match against one of the bottom teams in the weekly inter-club A grade competition. Burnham, played as a curtain-raiser to the firsrt telecast match in the Cowles Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Canterbury B’s loss was completely unexpected. The match was originally intended purely as a trial for the Canterbury B team before it contests the South Island B grade championships at Nelson on June 22 As a result of the defeat, the Canterbury B coach-selector (Mr G. Dempsey) may be forced to make one or two changes ~or at least call for increased tralnAt half time Canterbury B lead, 23-20, but never had command. Throughout, the side's passing was very weak. Players attempted passes that were far too long and did not run in to take the ball. Burnham was very steady, showing good positional play and ball control. But for the excellent play of W. Shaw, Canterbury B's loss would have been far greater. He shot very accurately, scoring from seven out of 10 foul shots, and made full use of his height in rebound play. He was top scorer for his side with 15 points. A. Ballantynne showed potential. His guarding was good and his defensive rebound play was sound. C. Minhinnick was steady and was the only Canterbury player to give good, crisp passes. The outstanding player of the match was P. D. Dyson (Burnham), a member of the Canterbury A training squad. His generalship and shooting were excellent. He was the leading scorer with 20 points—a total which only two other players have reached in a match this season. D. A. de Felice (10) made some beautiful fast breaks, and W. Pihema (10) proved very solid in the guard line. The players, with individual scores In parenthesis, were:— Burnham.—P. D. Dyson (20). W. Pihema (10), D. A. de Felice (10), B. D. Watson (6), I. McFarlane (5). L. Rose (4). Canterbury B.—W. Shaw (15). J. McArthur (8), J. Peyton (6). R. Milligan (6), J. Stead (4). A. Ballantynne (4), E. Yee (2). R. Spark (2), C. Minhinnick (2). Messrs M. A. McDougall and R. Thomson were the referees.