Basketball Hill dominant in league match

Press, 7 June 1982, Page 14

Basketball Hill dominant in league match

By FRANK DUGGAN Canterbury 86, Hamilton 57 The scoreline of Saturday's national Countrywide men’s basketball match at Cowles Stadium tells the basic story of 3ZM Canterbury’s continuing dominance of the competition. but compared with the performance of one individual. John Hill, the score was secondary. The tall, unassuming Hill has played many fine games for Canterbury and New Zealand, yet it is unlikely he has ever dominated a match to such an extent as he did on Saturday. Not that he was the “gun" of the game; mostly his role was that of being a link, and a steadier in tense situations, but when the occasion warranted, a dynamic fast-breaker and "magistrate", of justice when he felt one of his team-mates had been given a raw deal. Six hundred onlookers oncourt and thousands of television viewers will never forget his "dunk” shot in the dying minutes. When he grasped the ball deep in Hamilton's court, my friend, Phil Whiteside, nudged my ribs and said quietly, "This is it; you'll see a goal you’ll never forget.” I won’t.

If Hill shone in a match of fits and starts — he was named Canterbmw's player of the day (Eric Howard, for Hamilton) — there was a lot of kudos for the other Canterbury players. Dave Usmar scored 27 points in an unusually quiet game; Gilbert Gordon, who still has some problems retaining the ball when his -arms are outstretched, got 19; Hill, 16; and a rather subdued Andy Bennett, 10. Bede Hall, John Wright, and John Whelan complemented the high-scor-ing forwards with spirited mid-court offence, but at times they lapsed in concentration and gave away possession with ill-directed passes.

Basically, Canterbury played to' its strength — teamwork.

The continued slow build,up of Canterbury's offence quickly frustrated Hamilton, and when it « found the defence almost inpenetrable, the visitors resorted to long shots from the outside. Rarely did they succeed, enabling Canterbury to have a quick turn-around.

Canterbury’s initial approach to the match was tentative. Hill uncharacteristically missed some easy shots under the basket, and two of his team-mates had the same early-match jitters. This meant that from a 10-6 lead after five minutes, Hamilton drew level at 10all. Then Usmar began to find the basket, so that Canterbury went ahead for the remaining 50 minutes and Hamilton always trailed. The gaps in the Hamilton defence became wider as the match progressed. Canterbury found it increasingly easier to get. through or round the defence and the half-time score of 39-25 was a fair indication of the home side’s superiority.

Canterbury lapsed into the doldrums for the first five minutes of the second half and made a lot of mistakes. In this period Hamilton looked like getting back into the match, but then Hill and later Bennett scored the points which appeared to have a sobering effect on a Canterbury side previously “high” on a commanding first-half lead. The mistakes were reduced to a minimum and Canterbury’s game again came together. Gorton started to stamp his mark, whether it was quick hands in the keyhole or scoring from close to the basket. Usmar, who scored 15 of Canterbury’s first 17 points, continued his man-o'n-man

offence and then would slip away behind the guards to set up scoring opportunities from close to or behind the boards. Hill, and to a lesser extent, Bennett, were never far away.

But for brief periods in both halves, Hamilton failed in its pre-match reputation; and two of Waikato’s national team members had games they would sooner forget. Until he was winded, the American import, Tom Donoghue, played fine ball. His ability to dribble off both hands and his elusive running gave Canterbury a hart time for the first 40 minutes, and undoubtedly he was the fastest player on the court The blond-haired American said afterwards: “I’m closer to 6ft lin (180 cm than the carted height of 6ft 4in (193 cm — it must have been a printer’s error — and I know I've been in a ball game.”

Donoghue was Hamilton’s best player. Howard was concise, and Dave Mason shot well in the middle part of the second half. Kevin Lewis and Randy Mudgett also played sound games. The Canterbury team rewarded its bipartisan crowd with a standing ovation. The coach, Mr Murray Mackay, and the assistant coach, Mr Darryl Todd, joined the squad of 10 to applaud the crowd for its support ’‘lt’s great to be a winner,” said Mr Mackay, "but it is even better to have the crowd behind you.” Detailed scorers:

CANTERBURY, 86: D. Usmar 27, G. Gordon 19. J. Hill 16, A. Bennett 10, B. Hall, J. Wright, J. Whelan 4. A. Robson 2.

HAMILTON, 57: T. Donoghue 11, D. Mason 10, S. Agnew 8. R. Mudgett, E. Howard 7, K. Lewis 6, S. Manners 4, P. Braithwaite, S. Mold 2.

The referee was Mr R. Milligan. The umpire was Mr D. Solomon.