Fitting finale for Lesko?

Press, 22 June 1984, Page 32

Fitting finale for Lesko?

By FRANK DUGGAN The 2m tall Bowater Nissan Nelson men’s basketball captain, Tom Lesko, plans on Sunday afternoon to treat himself to a fitting finale in New Zealand before returning to the United States in August by again beating 3ZM Canterbury in a Countrywide league clash.

A few weeks ago, Nelson drubbed Canterbury, 103-80, and Lesko said yesterday that a repeat of that victory on Sunday would just about climax his three-year stay in Nelson. Better still would be Nelson making the final at Wellington on July 14. Lesko, a schoolteacher at Nayland College, Stoke, has been a dominant force in Nelson’s league team in recent years. He has accepted a teaching position at Morley Standwood College in Michigan where he previously had a teaching appointment before coming to Nelson.

However, Lesko could still return to Nelson next year. “It depends on the local association,” Lesko said yesterday. “I expect discussions to take place in the next few days.’”

Both Nelson and Canterbury have a chance of making the final next month and Sunday’s result will have a major bearing on their chances. Canterbury, at present, is sharing second place with Hamilton and Saints (Wellington) after 11 games, while Nelson has 10 points from nine games. D.B. Auckland leads the league with 14 points from 10 games.

Sunday’s Nelson-Canter-bury game is something of a local “derby.” On its earlier display against Canterbury, Nelson should win. However, Canterbury’s display that afternoon was its worst this season and the team has improved since then. But Lesko, a fellow American, Jacques Tuz, Nick Costley, Euan Lockhart and Tony Shallgrass are Nelson players of skill who should again give Canterbury a hard time.

Canterbury will be without the tall forward, Lance Dixon. He has withdrawn because of personal reasons,

and the Canterbury coach, Darrel Todd, has decided not to bring in one of his reserve players. This appears to be a short-sighted decision with the likes of the leading Vistalite High School Old Boys players, Kelvin Duff, Hugh Thomson and Al Manco, waiting in the wings for an opportunity.

This week the appeals committee dismissed a further protest from Hamilton relating to its game with Canterbury on June 9. Canterbury won 98-92. Hamilton disputed the official score sheet and the number of fouls given to Zack Jones.

The executive director of the Basketball Federation, Joe McLeod, said yesterday that the appeals committee decided that “on the basis of the evidence produced it was decided that the result would stand.”

Nelson’s protest over the result of the Napier game in Napier last week-end (Napier won 78-71) has still to be heard by the league commissioner, Mr Barry Wilson, of Wellington. Mr Wilson said last evening that he is still waiting to hear Napier’s side of the disagreement. The Nelson coach, Mr Dave Taylor, asserts that the method of the timing in the second half — the scoreboard broke down at halftime — was not accurate. A stopwatch was used, and Mr Taylor asserts that it was not used accurately.