Weakened Y.M.C.A. remains unbeaten in basketball

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33230, 21 May 1973, Page 17

Weakened Y.M.C.A. remains unbeaten in basketball

The demands of representative play sadly depleted half the teams in the sixth round of the Canterbury A grade men's basketball competition in Cowles Stadium on Saturday. Largely because of this, the games were scrappy and undisciplined, and referees were at times hard pressed to maintain order.

Although missing its four provincial representatives, the competition leader, Y.M.C.A., retained its unbeaten record with a very scrappy win over lowly Rex, 71-62. Five of Rex’s players were disqualified from the game with five fouls and the team finished with only four on the court.

But Rex could be forgiven if Its temperament was not quite what it should have been. It had learned earlier in the day that it had been stripped of the two points it had won the previous Saturday against Mairehau for using an unregistered player. High School Old Boys had two awav with the representative team but for all the good those remaining did most of them

might just as well have stayed away, too. They were no match for a similarly weakened Checkers line-up, going down 81-49.

Mairehau defeated University, 64-57, in the most entertaining encounter of the day. However, this was marred by the ordering from the stadium of University’s tall centre, I. Robertson, by one of the two referees (Mr R. B. Milligan) after an incident in the dying stages of the game. Robertson allegedly abused Mr Milligan after being called for his fifth foul, which automatically disqualified him from the game. Mr Milligan awarded a technical foul against the team for this action. Then, when Robertson made a rude sign at him, he stopped the game and ordered him from the stadium.

After briefly remonstrating with Mr Milligan on the sideline, Robertson gathered his clothes and departed for the dressing room. He did not leave the stadium and later honoured a previous agreement to referee the following game. “It was all in the heat of the

moment and I am sorry I did it,” Robertson said afterwards. “Il was pretty upset getting my fifth i foul with the game the way it was, but that was no excuse. But I should not have been ordered from the stadium.” “I will not tolerate abuse,” Mr Milligan said. “I would not hesitate to do it again. One of the reasons why there are not enough referees in Canterbury is that they are always being abused by players.” Until Robertson’s departure, University was strongly challenging Mairehau for the lead. After the incident, it was no longer a threat and Mairehau finished on a high note. Points after six rounds are: Y.M.C.A. 12, Checkers 8, Mairehau 8, Old Boys 4, University 4, Rex 0. EASY WIN CHECKERS 81: P. Trass 16, G. Bonniface 13, S. Ricketts 12, M. Johnson 12, L. Brown-Haysom 10, K. Baker 10, G. Nobbs 4. V, Clarke 4.

OLD BOYS 49: K. Luxton 16, M. King 13, C. Huse 10, I. Simson 4, M. McKay 2, J. Corrick 2, D. Cameron 2.

Checkers had much greater depth of ability and their victory was hardly surprising. However, the game was expected to be much closer than it was.

Old Boys had a dreadful first half and never realty got to grips with the situation. They had the opportunities to score frequently but their shooting was dreadful. Simple lay-ups and set shots from close in were missed with monotonous regularity. At one stage, Checkers had almost a complete B grade lineup on the court without losing their superiority. The Old Bovs players were very weak individually in practically every aspect of play and made little attempt to combine as a team. Checkers led, 37-15, at halftime. In the second spell, Old Boys improved greatly but Checkers always had control of the situation.

Trass, was in outstanding form for Checkers, dominating midcourt play and displaying accuracy with his set shooting unequalled by any of his opponents. Bonniface filled the rebounding gap left by the absence of T. Peterson and J. R. Fail-weather more than adequately. It was pleasing, too, to note that the trials and tribulations of B grade competition had not dimmed the talents of Brown-Haysom and Baker. Luxton, considered by many to be unlucky to lose his place in the representative team, and a B grade replacement. M. King, both found their form in the second spell to top score for Old Boys. King appeared to re-discover the form which once earned him selection for Canterbury to score 1,3 points. Later, he returned to his B grade team and scored 38 points, bringing his total for the day to 51.

Scrappy game Y.M.C.A. 71: B. Shipley 18, R. Stocks 15, P. Carpinter 14, G. Rosewall 10, D. Symonds 8, H. Doggett 4, R. Jaeguar 2.

REX 62: T. Green 13, K. Kilgour 12, J. McDonald 11, G. Ritchie 10. G. McKay 6, S. Fifield 4, T. Rowe 4. W. Dalberg 2. This was a particularly scrappy affair and Y.M.C.A. had great difficulty settling down against the bustling tactics of the Rex players. But the outcome was never in doubt.

Y.M.C.A. led, 35-23, at halftime and maintained the lead throughout the second spell. Its task was made easier as the Rex players got themselves fouled off the court, mainly through over guarding. Ritchie. McDonald, Ward, Dalberg, and Fifield were all disqualified and the four left on the court for the final few minutes had no hope of retrieving the situation. Fine struggle

MAIREHAU 64: M. Seaward 33, D. Green 14, J. McDowell 10, P. Daigneault 6. G. Phillips 1.

UNIVERSITY 57: D. Barrv 17, B. Searle 12. W. Smith 8, I. Robertson 8, H. Bier 5, C. Potton 3, I. Day 2, P. Keenan 2. Trailing, 31-29, at half-time, Mairehau rallied well to win in reasonable comfort. Nevertheless. it was not until Robertson was fouled out and subsequently ordered from the stadium tha’t University’s challenge came to an end.

The game was closely fought, although at one stage in the first spell an easy win for the students seemed possible. They made the most of the early play and Mairehau only closed the gap as half-time neared. Mairehau’s New Zealand junior representative. Seaward, was in grand offensive form. Some of his shooting under pressure was remarkable. But his great emphasis was on offence and his defence suffered badly because of It. Green showed that he was fully recovered from the thigh Injury he received a fortnight ago with some sound, controlled play. The outstanding figure in University’s line-up was undoubtedly Barry. He probably attempted too much on his own, but he gave the side some badly needed drive. Smith showed flashes of brilliance, although he was not confident with his shooting. His departure on five fouls 6min from the end did nothing to help University’s cause.