Basketball sides evening up

Press, 26 April 1983, Page 30

Basketball sides evening up

By

FRANK DUGGAN

Christchurch’s senior men’s basketball competition is facing up to be the closest for some time. Despite the loss of the national league players to a tournament in Dunedin over the week-end, the standard of club matches on Saturday was 25 per cent better than the opening round the previous week. Better still, combination and the skills of last season were coming through. Mairehau, now sponsored, by Edgeware Service Station, had the hardest time of all, being called on to play two games in seven hours. The first, Mairehau, won over Butler Auto Spares Y.M.C.A. 70-63, and then, later in the afternoon lost to Collins Real Estate University by three points. The games were always close: the biggest scoring was Mairehau’s seven-point win over Y.M.C.A.; one game was separated by one point, and the others by three points. Vistalite High School Old Boys confirmed the previous Saturday’s rating as the favourites to retain the Hoben Trophy. Apart from skills, H. 5.0.8. have teamwork, something which is lacking in one or two of the senior sides: individualism is one thing, but sometimes a few players ignore the basics of team work. Results:

Vistalite H. 5.0.8. 67, Aranui 64; Collins Real Estate University 44, Edge-

ware Service Station Mairehau 41; Continental Caterers Rangiora 65, Admiral Lodge Checkers 64; Checkers 70, Butler Auto Spares Y.M.C.A. 63. Mairehau v. Y.M.CA. Murray Weir and Matt Hall, aided by their captain and coach, Mike Seaward, gave Mairehau a deserved win over Y.M.C.A. Seaward elected to play a back : stage role. He gave all of his players a chance at “getting” at Y.M.C.A. and it worked. Talking before the second match of the day against University, Seaward was reasonably confident of success. However, in a low scoring game, Mairehau lost to University. The morning’s game was Mairehau’s best. They broke more quickly than Y.M.C.A.; had more control on most aspects, and generally were the better team. A team is a unit and that is something that Y.M.C.A. is lacking. Individual skills are one thing; working in with fellow members is another ball game. Guntis Atvares carried on his improvement of the present Saturday, and, as usual, Tom Neumann and John Bosch had useful games. Rangiora v. Checkers Al Robson may have had a setback with an injury last week, but it was not evident in his team’s clash against Checkers. Robson dragged back a five-point deficit in the last minute to give Rangiora a 65-64 win. He scored two baskets and had a free

throw to clinch the success. Without the side’s league’ players, the side did well. Checkers lost nothing in status Peter McGrath got 16, Steve Edwards 16, and Maurice Corkery 12. H. 5.0.8. v. Aranui Under the astute bench coach, Ray Thomson, H. 5.0.8. went one step further to retain the Hoben Trophy, defeating Aranui 67-64. The game was one of fits and starts. The difference was that H. 5.0.8. had more starts. Aub Atchinson, Aranui’s coach and captain, later explained, that his side’s “fits” were less frequent than H.5.0.8.’5. Kelvin Duff, Craig Cowie — although his hands let him down at times — and Hugh Thomson were the principal scorers. Korry Ritsma stood out for Aranui, and until he was forced out because of fouling, Harrison was good value. Mairehau v. University After a hard game in the morning, Mairehau appeared to play the penalty against University, going down 41-44.. This match was perhaps the worst of the day. Mistakes were frequent. Compared with the morning game, Mairehau’s combination fell away. Richard Evens (University) continues to impress, top scoring with 14; John Wright netted 10, and Colin Crampton 9. Matt Hall made a delight-

ful substitute for his league squad brother, Bede, in top scoring for Mairehau with 14, and Mike Seaward and Brian Fifield got 10 each. Results and main scorers: Edgeware Service Station Mairehau: 70 (M. Weir 24, M. Hall 20, M. Seaward 8, R. Keenan, J. Sullivan 3, P. Daniels 2), defeated Butler Auto Spares Y.M.C.A. 63: (G. Atvars 19, J. Bosch 12, T. Neumann 10, M. Turner 10, C. Pierce 6, B. Duggan 4, P. Cook 2). Half-time: Mairehau 31 — YMCA, 30. Collins Real Estate University: 44 (R. Evans 14, J. Wright 10, C. Crampton 9, A. Guillen 4, P. Mulvihall 3, S. Clark, J. Caldwell 2);

Mairehau: 41 (M. Hall 12, Seaward, B. Fifield 10, Weir 8, P. -Daniels 1). Half-time: 21-20 (University). Continental Caterers Rangiora: 64 (A. Robson 25, S. O’Connor 16, S. Nutu 10, J. London, P. Hobbs, T. Hawke 2); Admiral Lodge Checkers: 64 (P. McGrath 16, S. Edwards, M. Corkery 12, J. Piket 9, M. Burnside 8, B. Ashworth 5, A. Bennett 2). Half-time: 40-40. Vistalite H. 5.0.8. X 67: (K. Duff 24, H. Thomson 18, C. Cowie 13, J Whelan 6, K. Agar, T. Cronshaw 2, M. Searle 1); defeated Aranui 64 (K. Ritsma 16, P. Hill 9, G. Harrison 7, A. Atchison 6, D. Moir 5, T. Costain, P. Nuata, N. Costain 4).