Tonight's Game Could Be Preview Of N.Z. Basketball Final

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30841, 28 August 1965, Page 11

Tonight's Game Could Be Preview Of N.Z. Basketball Final

TT is now 10 years since Canterbury won the New Zealand men’s basketball crown and much water has flowed under the bridge of national competition since Canterbury was last considered a threat to the supremacy of the powerful North Island combinations such as Wellington and Auckland.

In more recent years the local representatives have been unable to even win a place among the first division teams at the annual championship tournament But this season, thanks mainly to the tremendous efforts of the chief selectorcoach (Mr P. Doogue), Canterbury has demonstrated a spectacular improvement in its attitude to the game. With a good performance at the South Island titles and a victory over the touring North Queensland side already behind it, the team’s chances of taking the major prize at the New Zealand championships, which begin in Dunedin on Monday, are as good as they have ever been.

However, the path to victory will be no easy one. One of its toughest opponents will be Nelson. Its coach (Mr T. Wright) has already stated that if Nelson was to ever win the crown, this was the year it w-ould do it. With three New Zealand representatives, K. Baddiley, C. Cotton and D. Taylor, and other players of the calibre of D. Charlett, this claim certainly seems reasonable. And so it is inevitable that tonight’s match be-

tween Canterbury and Nelson in Cowles Stadium will take on a greater stature than a normal representative fixture. It could well be a preview of the New Zealand final. Both sides are well aware that the winner of tonight’s match will have a grand chance of capturing the coveted basketball crown. Nelson also has an added incentive. It has to wipe out the overwhelming 44-69 loss it suffered when it met Canterbury earlier this season. But Canterbury now has a reputation to preserve and it will not give up easily.

The main obstacle facing Canterbury is its apparent -ineffectiveness to penetrate a sound defence. Its own defence is superb. Unfortunately, it has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of ability to score freely against a good side. If it is going to conquer this problem then it is tonight that it will have to do it. A greater variety of shots is needed by most players. A more aggressive

approach to the game could also pay dividends. It is obvious that Canterbury has no-one of the versatility of Charlett, the brilliant Nelson forward, but by team work and sound tactics it could well emerge the victor.

The effectiveness of Canterbury’s offensive play will revolve round the form of four players, R. Entwistle, R. Zachariassen, J. Smith and the tireless C. Morris. In the two games played against Nelson this season, it has been Entwistle who has inflicted the most damage. His pivot play and driving for the basket has been little short of outstanding. Perhaps more than any other player, Morris has successfully managed to combine very sound defensive play with a strong attacking attitude. Another good performance by these two will considerably enhance Canterbury’s prospects for this vital gar e and for the championships which follow.