ON THE BALL!

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 07, Issue 93, 25 July 1944, Page 5

ON THE BALL!

OLD-TIMERS IN FORM BASKETBALL AND FOOTBALL GREAT PUBLIC INTEREST SHOWN The asemblage of a record cowd' (for the war years at any rate) marked the staging of the two novelty challenge matches in the Rugby and Basketball codes which were played in the Whakatane Domain last Saturday, and the erfthusiasm shown by the spectators from both sidelines, served as a further in- , di'cation of the great fillip which has been given to both ■ games as a result of the re-awak-ened public interest in sport. The friendly challenge of the Stock Agents to 'the Carriers* produced a match which surprised everyone, by dint of its • standard and' pace. On the basketball fields the Businessmen's teams also gave an excellent account of themselves, and at one point looked very like defeating the local A reps., who recently walked off with the Bay championship trophy. The afternoon's programme was preceedcd by a parade ot basketball players from Commerce Street to the Domain at 1 p.m. Headed by the Junior Pipe Band the girls made a splendid impression as they marched, heads erect and arms swinging, to the lively measure; of 'Heilan' Laddie.' Special mention must be made of the local 'A' team,, whose bearing and general smartness was a genuine pleasure to watch, and j would have delighted the heart of the exacting Sar-major of the older school. HEIGHT WILL TELL THE HALL-MARK OF A GENTLEMAN » Spectators who massed around the twin courts upon which 'ye ancient game' was played last Saturday saw something which they are not. likely to see again, at least in a hurry. That they thoroughly enjoyed the sight of witnessing a number of perspiring businessmen dashing about in the. sun while an equal number of the more youthful representatives of the fairer sex sought to hinder that dash, was obvious from the shouts of glee and applause which split the atmosphere from time to time. How- j ever as time wore on, and masculine form wore down, it was a case of 'throwing the tame lions to the wild women,' and superfluous flesh could be seen literally strewn about the field.

The local businessmen can however lay claim to a pretty good performance on the whole, though we have it on record that their decided advantage in height came to their rescue time and time again. K was a pi!t.y thatfc Armstrong's Armadillos •failed to realise this fact, as a huddle :at half-time with Abbott's, Alligators would doubtless have meant a big ■improvement in their score. In spite of this their numbers went up to the tune of a 3-point win against the. 'B' reps* which was not to be sneezed at. Another feature was the signal weakness of the masculine 'pitchers' (w© hope we have used the correct term) who should have scored twice the number of .goals had they had their eye in. Altogether the matches were a great success and we sincerely trust thatj •they will be continued as an annual; feature, together with other items! -—parades etc. whereby to give the sport a boost. The Scoreboard Ist Round A team 20 v Armadillos 6 B team 10 v Alligators 10 2nd Round A team 17 v Alligators 12 B team 9 v Armadillos 12 The initial games could be largely described as preliminaries building up as it were; to the grimmer tests in the second clashes. The A reps, fairly dazzled the Armadillos with, science and combination. It was a pleasure to witness the clever handling and positional play put up by the lassies who> quickly piled up the paints. On the second field the Alligators were putting up a better performance against, the 'B' team by dint of the slogan 'toss, it 'igh' Enery, will yer.' It was useless for the fair leapers to strive to wrench the leather from the clutch of knarled pairs of hands suspending the circle some eight feet in the air, and of course collaring is agin the rules. The drawn score greatly heartened the Alligators who despite their moist, -condition were fairly champing to meet the champs. .Round two saw the Armadillos resuscitating the old bull-dog spirit. Once having licked their wounds they snarled about to lace the second challenge. Here was something worthy of their metal. On a field where

everyone appeared to be a champion, it was refreshing to try conclusions with the. lower grade. We have it under the lap that the 2nd reps played with more maidenly restraint than their senior counter parts, who had of course been recently tempered in the bitterly contested shield contests at Tauranga. In any case' there was almost a complete absence of elbow jolts to the masculine solar-Alexis, as each Adonis stretched manfully skywards to capture the bladder. The final score was received with a volley of deep-throated applause. On the other field the Alligators proceeded to clap on the points merrily till hal Mime, till it looked almost like a rout for the unconqtiered reps. The. turning of the tide set in with a vengeance alter the quarter-orange spell. r lhe doughty Alligators tossing sunwards as usual were seen to lie doubling up all over! the li£ld for some inexplicable re a-1 Abbott missed several brace of comparatively easy goals, and the champs swept the leather from hand 'to hand. Even biased males watching with sagging jaws from the sideline had to admit that the whole display was 'pretty.' Something of real basketball was seen, and the points whistled up to 17 as time was, called. The teams taking part were:— A Reps: P. Carter, R. Howat, P. Francis (goal); M. Howat (capt), Mi. Kobins, 13. Armstrong (centre); S. Cave, P. Jeff ares, Lcs Ryde (defence) . B Reps: D. Stewart, N. Kenyon I. Sullivan (goal): I. Martin (capt) M. Berg, J. Ching (centre); N. West P. Appleby t , G. Harrison )defence). Armadillos: R. Morpeth,, Johnston, A. Ficher; W v Henderson; S. Pyne; V. Bridger; W. Whittake.r; H. Dainton; C. S. Armstrong. Alligators: F. M. Abbott; E. Dixon; Roach; J. Wilson; T. Har-. land;, McKenzie; L. Rosenfeldt; J. Whitehead; Darvill.