Webster out

Press, 19 July 1989, Page 33

Webster out

The North Shore basketball team has sacked its American import, ■ Tony Webster, for disciplinary reasons. The coach, Doc Ward, said yesterday that Webster had been sacked after he failed to fulfil a team obligation last Saturday. The team had assembled at a North Shore motel on Saturday afternoon to prepare for Sunday’s match against Canterbury, Mr Ward said in a statement. But Webster was not present when the team travelled as arranged to the Auckland YMCA to watch Canterbury play Waitemata. “Webster did not return to the team motel until later,” Mr Ward said. “He has not shown his usual professional attitude this season on or off the court, and the incident at

the week-end was the straw that broke the camel’s back?’ While the coach accepted that it would appear to many that Webster had been made a scapegoat, Mr Ward also blamed himself and the team management for the disappointing season so far “Our record speaks for itself, and' we should have sorted out the problem with Webster earlier in the season.” Webster, aged 28, had been with North Shore for four seasons and had announced he was retiring from basketball at the end of the 1989 national club league competition. North Shore, bottom of the national league, has two remaining games — against Saints at home on Saturday and New Plymouth away the following week-end.