BASKET BALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22064, 21 September 1933, Page 4

BASKET BALL

By Watch. JUNIOR TOURNAMENT

The annual Junior tournament, held in the Drill Hall on Saturday afternoon, marked the close of basket ball activities for this season. Great credit ,is due to Miss R. Mackenzie for the very efficient organisation and to the'following .officials', who kept the games running smoothly from 1.30 p.m. until nearly 6 o’clock. Other officials were:—Timekeeper, Miss I. W. Knight; score secretary, Miss M. Coutts; referees —Misses S. Foster, M. Fafquharson, 11. Sunderland, K. Mercer, I, Mercer, and Messrs J. Bruce and W. Sansom; scorers—Misses J. • M'Culloch, M. Fleming, L. Taylor, and Mr A.- Muric. Games were played in two four-minut>2 spells, with one niinute to change over at half time, and in order to cope with the large number of entries in four different grades, three courts were kept busy all afternoon. .The fair number of spectators who watched from the gallery were kept well keyed up to that high pitch of excitement which only a fourminute spell can produce. . In the Second Grade entries were received from 12 teams, including one from the Oamaru Women’s Basket Ball Club. This lent additional interest to the games, and from their first appearance on the courts it seemed that the visitors might take home the Second Grade Trophy. That the standard of play shown in this grade was not as high as had been expected, is probably due to the fact that interest has been switching over to summer sports, and teams have, therefore, not been having their regular practices. The 12 teams entered in this grade were divided off into three sections. The four teams in each section played three games each to find the section winners. In the first section Oamaru was top with five points, followed by Albany with four, ExNormal with three, and University ml. In the second section Caversham came first with five points, then First; with four, Athletic with three, and Maori Hill nil. In the third section Blue Triangle ran ahead ’ with the maximum of six points, followed by Roslyh with' four, Rawhiti with two, and Tinopai nil.; The section winners —Oamaru, Blue Triangle, and Caversham —had then to play off. Oamaru and Blue Triangle met first in a very hard-fought game. The Oamaru players had a thorough understanding of each other's play, and the forwards brought to fruition some very fine movements from the centre. The forward third was the most outstanding of any seen during the afternoon. The passing movements into goal were so well timed that the opposing defence had an impossible task in keeping up. with the play. For the losing side. Miss Buchler played a fine game, making the; most of any chances to intercept. The final game between Caversham and Oamaru was very exciting. The Caversham team had already won the weekly competition and it remained to be seen whether it could withstand the attacks of the visiting team. Both teams, realising the strength in the opposition, settled down to hard play from the • initial whistle. Over-eagerness spoiled many excellent movements, but the game was very interesting to watch. The bell rang with Caversham one point ahead of Oamaru. Caversham is to be congratulated on winning, especially when one remembers that the Oamaru team includes four .ex-Dun-edin First Grade players. As there were Only seven teams entered in the Third Grade, it was not necessary to subdivided into sections. Seven rounds were played, during which each team met every other team. Musselburgh scored the maximum of 12 points. All the games were decisive victories except, the last, in which Musselburgh defeated University by the very small margin of 1 goal to nil. Whether Musselburgh was resting on its laurels or University was making a final spurt to . win the last game is not known. Mutual won second place, scoring 10 points. Its, one defeat was suffered at the hands of the winners by 5 goals to nil.. Central played. very well to gain third place on the list with seven points. It suffered defeat- by Musselburgh and Mutual, and had a drawn game with First. It will be remembered that Central Club was newly-formed this year, and it has taken some time for the team to find its strength. Blue Triangle follows next on the list with five points, and then hirst and Woolworths with four points, each, and lastly University. , , , The Fourth Grade, like the second, had 12 entries, and was played in three sections. In the first section D.T.C. was top with the maximum of six points, followed by Wesley with four, and Normal II and Tinopai with one point each. In the second section Normal I, which scored six points, had a decided lead over Musselburgh, Rawhiti, and Blue Triangle, which scored two points each. In the third sec*

tion. Blue Bird won first place with sis points, followed by Roslyn with four, Central with two, and Gipsy nil. The Blue Bird-Roslyn game was one of the beet seCn'in this grade, both teams playing at top speed. The section winners, DJ.C., Normal, and Blue Bird, had then to play off. , , , , The first game was played between D.I.C. and Normal. This showed all that sparkle and dash which characterises the play of top teams. Both teams showed how, when the play 'was going against them, it was possiblereverse it by very clever pieces of interception. When time was called the score card showed an even game, and at the end of further play the game was still a drawn one a true indication of the merits of the two teams. At this time an unfortunate accident occurred to a member of the Blue Bird team, making further play undesirable. The three section winners, D.1.C., Normal, and Blue Bird, were joint winners in the Fourth teams entered in the Fifth Grade, and matches were played in two sections. In the first section Blue Triangle was top with the maximum of six points, followed by North-East Valley and St. John’s with 1 three points each, and then Mosgiel ml. In the second section Caversham was top ‘ with six points, Maori Hill next with four

points, then Gipsy with two, and Wesley nil. The section winners, Blue Triangle and Caversham, had then to play off. A Very exciting battle ensued, each team being urged on by the cheers of club mates. The Caversham team proved superior in the short space of tune allowed. MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE The Management Committee will meet to-morrow, when the final business for the year will be dealt with. Among other things discussed will be the social function at which the trophies for the year will be presented. It is possible that there will be a change in this years programme, but further notification will be given after the meeting, '• . PRIMARY SCHOOLS Most of the weekly competition matches were played off before the end of the second term, and activities were concluded last week by the annual tournament held in the Drill Hall on Wednesday afternoon. . ■ ■ The matches played in the weekly competition were of a very high standard, the trio of finalists in the A Grade being particularly good. A stage was reached when Caversham. Albany, and Normal had to play off for first place. Normal and Caversham played first, the result being a drawn game. Caversham then played Albany and won. The result of the final was a win for Normal, thus making Caversham and Normal top equal. It might have been fairer to the teams had they been declared top equal, but it was decided to play a final match. In this game Caversham proved to be the better team. The team is to be congratulated on the improvement made during the' season. At the beginning of the season the team played a very unusual and somewhat ugly, low-passing game, but as the season advanced it adopted the style shown by opposing teams, and. guided by the coach, Miss Hastings, played

excellent basket ball in the final matches. A team will go far that is willing to learn from opponents., The runners-up. Normal School, played a more finished style of . basket ball, showing a well-thought-out plan of movements. In these particular matches the team was lacking in the additional speed and force that would have won the game. Much of the credit for the team s fine standard, of play is due to the coach, Miss M. Morris. The B Grade competition was won by the Musselburgh'team, which defeated Forbury in the.final match. These small players were astonishingly quick on their feet, and ‘capable of handling the ball in. .fine-fashion. Miss Hughes has been responsible for the good game played by the Musselburgh teams.

The annual tournament was again an exciting day for the schoolgirls. Competition was keen, and some very good games were played. Normal won the A Grade! and Musselburgh the B Grade, with Caversham runners-up in each.