Canadian Goodwill Tourney

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31062, 18 May 1966, Page 15

Canadian Goodwill Tourney

r rHE new selector-coach of the Canterbury men’s basketball representative team (Mr L. N. Saunders) has not had very long to work up a combination in the side to contest the Canadian Goodwill tournament at Blenheim on Saturday but it should be able to give a good account of itself.

With four YMCA players in the team, it already has the basis of a combination and should be able to settle down reasonably quickly If it does not allow itself to be bustled. Three of the four remaining players come from the University A side and so it is virtually a matter of moulding the best points of the two top club sides together.

Last season, Canterbury finished runner-up to Nelson in the tournament, losing to the eventual winners, 58-70, after a good struggle. It made a notable comeback In its match against Hutt Valley, finally winning 63-51, a very satisfactory result considering it was down 2632 at half time.

On Saturday, the side could do even better, although it would be unwise to expect too much in tire first representative matches of the season. The great experience of R. Entwistle in the centre and the basic knowledge of the two Americans, M. Busch and C. Walton, gives Canterbury a very solid core to work with. And of course, the New Zealand trialist C. Morris, cannot be disregarded. He is mainly a defensive player but has shown the ability to

score goals when they are most needed. This leaves one position in the first line-up with a weakness. The other members of the team are all very competent players and will no doubt acquit themselves well but if they reach the standard of the others it will be a pleasant surprise. A. Hounsell is perhaps the one player who could be considered unlucky if he misses out on the first line-up. He has proved an extremely

accurate sharp shooter from the centre this season and in time promises to succeed Entwistle as Canterbury’s top centre. Nelson will once again be Canterbury’s biggest obstacle and the brilliant Nelson forward, D. Charlett, will probably provide the greatest headaches. For yea re he has been rejected by successive New Zealand selectors but in the opinion of many basketball authorities few better forwards have ever worn the silver fem. In spite of their strange attitude he has continued to $ be one of the highest scorers in the Dominion and time without number has been the backbone of the strong Nelson side. With the 1965 New Zealand representatives, C. Cotton, K. Baddiley and B. Taylor, also available, the province could field a team of near New Zealand standard. To beat it would be a feather in the cap of Mr

Saunders in his first year as a coach. Lower Hutt will not be any easy nut to crack either. The former New Zealand representative, L. McLaughlan, and the spidery South Island forward, R. Gay, could make Canterbury’s task a difficult one. Fortunately, Canterbury’s first game is against Marlborough, the home side. This is very much the weakest of the four teams, although it is capable of reaching a relatively high standard. Its centre will , probably be the 1965 New Zealand representative, W. Shaw, a player of undoubted rebounding ability. By experimenting with its offensive pattern in this game Canterbury should be in a good position to match Hutt Valley and later, Nelson. A win in this tournament would indicate a bright future for the team in island and national tournaments this season.