Canterbury should do well in N.Z. tourney

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31766, 24 August 1968, Page 11

Canterbury should do well in N.Z. tourney

JT is unlikely that the Can-

terbury men’s basketball team will be able to win all its games at the national invitation tournament, which begins on Monday at Masterton. A relatively inexperienced side, it will be without its former New Zealand representative, C. Morris, in the important midcourt position, and it may lack the staying power of some of the other teams. However, under the capable guidance of its coach (Mr G. D. Dempsey) it should be able to give a good account of itself and could even upset a few of the more favoured sides. With Auckland unable to compete because of a dispute with the national body over the payment of affiliation fees, Canterbury could finish in the first three. Its strongest opposition will come from Otago, the

reigning South Island and New Zealand champion side, and Wellington, the North Island champion and run-ner-up in the national final. These two teams have been playing some outstanding basketball this season and have each beaten Canterbury twice already. In the recent New Zea-

land final, the veteran Otago centre, L. Pearson, scored a brilliant 31 points to show once again that he was far from finished in top class basketball. It seems inevitable that he will be one of the outstanding personalities of next week’s tournament.

It will be Interesting to compare his performance with that of Canterbury’s two centres, R. Millard and A. Hounsell. At last season’s national tournament, Hounsell played outstandingly and was considered by many to be unlucky to miss selection for the New Zealand team. Hounsell has again been playing well this season and the threat to his position, posed by Millard, has inspired him to greater effort.

There will be no New Zealand team chosen this year but,the national selec-

tor-coach (Mr C. E. Agnew, off Hamilton) will be looking for prospects for the ' test teams to play against Japan next season. He will undoubtedly take special note of Millard, who is 6ft 6in, and Hounsell. If they cannot contain Pearson they may have to wait another year.

Canterbury’s over-all performance will depend a lot on the form of its captain, P. Ross. Unfortunately, Ross has been rather subdued in his recent games and. it appears that the captaincy may be a responsibility he would rather be without. Nevertheless, he Is an extremely capable player and should rise to the occasion. P. Stigley, at 6ft 3in one of the tallest members of the team, could well make his name at this tournament. He has been one of the leading players in Canterbury for some years now but pressure of university studies has prevented him playing at representative level. This season he has perhaps been the most prominent member of the Canterbury team and could be the type of player Mr Agnew is looking for. To finish third, it will take a special effort "from every member of the Canterbury team of nine. After Otago and Wellington, Waikato and Rotorua should prove the biggest stumbling blocks. If they can be overcome, Canterbury will at least finish the season on a high note.