Basketball ‘crunch’ reached

Press, 18 August 1978, Page 20

Basketball ‘crunch’ reached

By

MURRAY OLDS

Jaks-High School Old Boys will have a tough struggle tomorrow against Checkers if it wants to capture the 1978 Canterbury, men’s first division basketball championship. Both sides won through to the best-of three-match final with solid, consistent displays during the season, and with two games of the final gone, the score stands at one each.

Last Saturday, Jaks won the first clash. 66-55, but the standard of basketball was abysmal. Too many errors were committed by both teams, and an appreciation

of this was evident in the second game, on Sunday. This time, Checkers prevailed, and came back from a 12-21 deficit after lOmin to record a good 74-68 win. The stage is now set for a grand game today, on the Cowles Stadium centre court at 12.30 p.m., when the champion side will be decided.

But Jaks wiil have to produce something of the form it displayed at the recent national club championships if it is to topple very determined Checkers team. Jaks won the national men’s title, last month but since then has shown patchy form. Checkers, on the other

hand, has been playing sound basketball, and last Sunday’s win proved it has the ability to match the high-scoring Jaks line-up. Another problem for Jaks will be the absence of its top stars. John Hill, Stu Ferguson and David Usmar are all in London with the national team to contest the Commonwealth basketball championships, and although Jaks has tremendous depth on the bench, it may be weakened just a little too much. Checkers, too, will be; depleted. John Fairweather has gone to Missouri Uni=] versity on a basketball scholarship, and his place

will be a difficult one to fill. | The Jaks captain, Ed Manco, made a good return! to the court last week after! being sidelined with a broken arm for much of the season. He did not play in Sunday’s game, however, and may have had a recurrence of the injury. Checkers’ task will be made a lot easier if Manco is unable to I play today. Checkers took the title from Old Boys last year, but, it had the assistance of two ! Americans, Bill Kinchen and) (Lloyd Sanders. They are not (playing this year, and Jaks (will be keen to avenge last ‘season’s loss.