Horowhenua Teams Prominent In Basketball Tourney At Weekend

Chronicle (Levin), 11 August 1949, Page 7

Horowhenua Teams Prominent In Basketball Tourney At Weekend

"Forward")

(By

Horowhenua senior A and B teams travelled to Palmerston North on Saturday to take part in the quadrangular tournament Jield there each year. , Each team played against teams from Hutt Valley, Te Kawau and Manawatu. The A'team also had a short friendly game against the Auckland team which had come to play Manawatu reserves for a special trophy.

The Hc r: whenua B team, competing for une B grade shield, played thiee very goo'd games. Tney defeated Manawatu B 14 — 8 in a fasb game in which Horowhenua disp ayed splendid combination, swift passing and' good antieipaiion and dodging. Goal shooting was accura.e m spite of a strong wind. This team has some youflg players who in a year or so should find a place in the team which represents Horowhenua at the New Zealand tournament.. In the second game Horowhenua defeated Hutt Valley by 8 — 6 and went on to play Te Kawau B. At this s:age Horowhenua had two wins and Te Kawau one win an'd a draw. The flnai game against Te Kawau was swift and close, and at halftime the score stood at 5-all. In the second half each team scored goal for goal until Horowhenua urew tv/o goals ahead. Te Kawau retauated with three goals in rapid succession and, wi.h a few minutes oo spare, were one goal ahead -of Horowhenua, who unfortunateiy missed two goals. The game ended 12 — 11 to Te Kawau, who thus camed off the shield. A Team's Close Game. The Horowhenua A team were not so fortunate, but their games were very close and until the final whisfe blew no one could have predic ed the outcome. In the game against Te Kawau Horowhenua were defeated 14—12.! ihe Horowhenua forwards found difficu ty in shooting and often the oall was carried weil over .the goal post by the strong wind. In their second game Horowhenua met Hutt Valley, who two weeks ago defeated Horowhenua 16 — 13. This game was a very fast one and the ball travelled from one third to the next, backwards and forwards with SUch good defence work .on the part of each team that ' ihe forwards had little opportur?:ty to shoot. The Horowhenua defence, M. Winiata, J. Roberts and A. Jacobs, played a beautifu game marked by good intercepacn and anticipation. - Ihe centres were swift and gave their forwards as much opporiun.ty as possible. The forward section is the major weakness of the Horowhenua A team, for here handling and shooting were not as good as in the rest of the team. A Team's Good Handling. In the third game Horowhenua A defeated Manawatu 20 — 8. It was piayed. on the most sheltered court

and goal shooting was more accurate. There was better handling of the bail in the forward third and, cn the whole, better combination j and understanding amongst the ; players. They played less as individua s and more as a team. Iheie is good mdterial here and this team should do well if all members womd put less stress on individual play. This is the fault of lack of practice, which is unfortunateiy the result of p ayers being drawn from the wide area from Shannon to Otaki. Much, however, can still be accomplished in the two weeks before the team travels to Dunedin. Comments On Players. J. Winiata (captain) is a good; captain who understands the nlayers in her team. Though an accurate shot, she prefers to make the openings for her two partners. J. McClune and M. Dome are a'.so accurate shots, but in representative games to date have disappointed by failure to score in easy positions. Defence" and centres work hard to get the ball to the forward third and much depends upon the three forwards. They should spend some time each day practising until they can be sure of scoring from any position. May Davis, a young player, seems to have found her feet in representative games and overcome her nervousness. R. Judd hand.es the ball weli and-passes i& accurateiy to the forwards. N. Stap es has speed and, with a little more practice with the other players in her third, should be an asset in the team. Ihese three players have yet to develop greater speed when the ba'l is in the hands of their oppon-l ents. They must learn to run quickly to their opponents when on tne attack. A. Jacobs has the greatest ability in^this respeco. She attacks well an'd yst when necessary she is quick to get ,away from her oppon- . ent when her side has the ball. M. V/iniata and J. Roberts are playmg a very good game in defence, intercepting well and passing accurateiy and skilfully to their centre third. J. Parr has abi ity as back defence, buc has not been nrq,ch in evidence in representative games to date. J. Eiliot, who played in the B team on Saturday, has earned for herself a place in the A team. She passes and shoots weT. P. Franklin plays a good back de~ fance game and should rely on her own ability to combine well.