One-point loss again

Press, 30 May 1983, Page 20

One-point loss again

Special correspondent The fickle hand of fate dealt 3ZM Canterbury a cruel blow at Napier’s Centennial Hall on Saturday evening when the home side, Sunhawks, scored a 72-71 win over their southern opposition. It was the Napier side’s second successive single-point win and the Canterbury’s side second single-point loss in its four Countrywide basketball league matches. The Canterbury coach, Mr Murray Mackay, and his leading players, John Rademakers and Clyde Huntly, must now be wondering just what they have to do to win. In the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Napier Stadium, where a capacity crowd surrounded the court from courtside up to the roof, Canterbury looked the winner from the opening tip-off.

In spite of some savage refereeing decisions, Canterbury led throughout the first half until the final 15 seconds when Sunhawks’ point guard, Jack Maere, slotted a bank shot to give the home side a 38-37 half-time lead. Behind some fine outside shooting by Rademakers and the strong pivot play near the hoop by a New Zealand representative, Gilbert Gordon, Canterbury still looked the better team in the second half. The Canterbury shooting had been of a high percentage, in marked contrast to the home side’s efforts, and the full-court defense pressure had caused

the Sunhawks all sorts of bother. However, Sunhawks’ 2m black American, Robbie Robinson, made a Jekyll and Hyde transformation in the second half, and turned on a brilliant rebounding and scoring performance. This gave Napier a comfortable lead, which it held for most of the second half. With the match slipping from Canterbury’s grasp, Rademakers and Huntly stepped up their defensive pressure, and Rademakers stole the ball five times in a row to allow Canterbury back in the match. Rademakers, Huntly, and Bert Knops notched points rapidly in the final five minutes to give Canterbury a 71-70 lead with just over a minute remaining. Then disaster struck. Gordon collected his fifth and disqualifying foul and, in so doing, gave away two free-throws, which were duly converted to give the home side the lead, 72-71. With just on a minute remaining, Knops was fouled while snooting, but then missed all three free-throws. With just 23s remaining an Andy Bennett foul meant that Sunhawks could inbound the ball from the side of the court and only had to pass it among themselves to waste the remaining seconds. In a superhuman effort, Rademakers made yet another steal and set off to make the match-winning shot. He pulled up 6m from the hoop and launched a well

balanced shot only to see Robinson leap in the air and deflect it ever so slightly. With one second remaining, the ball fell to the Napier captain, Tom De Marcus, who hurled the ball way down court as the buzzer sounded. The home crowd was ecstatic, the Dixieland band struck up a song, and the Canterbury players, who were dazed and bewildered, could only look at one another in disbelief. Mr Mackay said after the match that he was bitterly disappointed about “some crucial refereeing decisions.” He said that he felt the match had not been won by one side, but had rather been lost by his side. Rademakers, with 24 points and superb play on defence, was the pick of the Canterbury players, while Huntly and Knops both played useful games. For Napier, a former Canterbury player, Carl Stent, was a vital defensive rebounder, and a former national player, Maere, was almost singlehandedly responsible for keeping the Napier team in the match. Scores were: Central Hotel Sunhawks 72 (R. Robinson 20, T. de Marcus, Jack Maere 16, R. Aird 8, C. Howlett 6, C. Stent 4, Joseph Maere 2), 3ZM Canterbury 71 (J. Rademakers 24, C. Huntly 19, G. Gordon 9, J. Hill 7, B. Knops 6, D. Usmar 4, A. Bennett 2).