Bad Delays In Men’s Basketball

Southland Times, Issue 23888, 5 August 1939, Page 15

Bad Delays In Men’s Basketball

By

TIP-OFF

Men’s basketball players in Invercargill have still not learned to be punctual and on Wednesday night when the weekly competition was continued there were some annoying delays which could have been eliminated had the players arrived at the court on time. The matches were set down to begin at 6.45, but it was nearer 7.30 before the first game was started. Teams playing early in the evening should make it their business to be punctual; otherwise there is an unnecessary holdup. Participants in the game of men’s basketball do not, seem to think it necessary that teams should be complete. Each night some teams are short and consequently men are to be found playing for two or three different teams. This should not be. If the team is not complete then it should default in fairness to the other side.

The matches played on Wednesday night were not without interest, although the standard of play was nothing to enthuse about. Nomads displayed good basketball in its game with Building Society and ran out an easy winner by 19 goals to 4. The Nomads players kept their positions well and were able to flash the ball very quickly from one end of the court to the other. Building Society’s combination was ragged and the members of this team did not combine as effectively as might have been expected. A. W. Wesney was again prominent for Nomads. This player is very quick on his feet and generally fairly accurate at goal. Building Society shows definite promise and once it gains more experience will develop into a solid combination. Kubs No. II has not been very successful this year, but it had no difficulty in beating The Exhibition on Wednesday night. The latter team was one of the first formed, but for some reason or other it has met with very little success. The players do not seem to profit by mistakes and have not yet learned to play the sport in the proper style. One of the reasons for the team’s failures is the comparatively poor shooting by its players. They are to be seen firing shots at the net from all angles, but only a very small percentage of the attempts is successful. G. B. Potter, who is probably the best player in Invercargill at present, is to go to Singapore in about a week’s time. It is unfortunate that he should have to leave when the game is just being placed on a sound footing. Potter has been the mainstay of Europa, one of the leading teams, and if local men have not learned a great deal from watching his play they have only themselves to blame.