Taupo Sent Two Bus-Loads Of Indoor Basketball Players To Rotorua

Taupo Times, Volume XIV, Issue 66, 24 August 1965, Page 10

Taupo Sent Two Bus-Loads Of Indoor Basketball Players To Rotorua

Two bus-loads of indoor basketballers travelled from Taupo to Rotorua recently to take part in a club tournament. The games were played in Rotorua' s Sportsdrome, which had three courts in action simultaneously all afternoon. Eacb team had two games against Rotorua teams and it was interesting to see the various reactions to playing on courts larger than Taupo players are used to. Some revelled in the extra room while many seemed lost, which may account ff>r many of the low scores. Following are impressions of each team's play. Tauhara women comfortably won their first game with hard-working Bev Forsythe scoring a well-deserv-ed 14 points, ably helped by Estelle Darlington. Another win in their second game saw the same players outstanding. Wendy Dance played a very good guard's game. College won their first game and lost the second.

C. Broughton was top scorer. Centre R. Wall did a good job in his position, binding the team together. With more experience these young players should go far. Comets seemed rather lost in the larger courts, but they did well . with a win and a loss. Outstanding player for the team was M. Scrimshaw at guard. Carol Draper played -a good first game while P. Slater did some good work in the second game. Beatles had two wellmerited wins and credit should go to captain Alan Davies who played two excellent games. He was ably supported by B. Morehu. Eagles with a draw and a loss didn't seem too happy on the larger court, G. Tewano put more spirit than usual into her play and turned out two useful games. Educats were rather unlucky and lost. both their games by only one point. B. Williams, K. Morehu and H. Koopu went well. Tauhara men's first game was a rather muddled affair, resulting in a loss, but the second one was a different story, with an easy win. Len Dance and steady Seddon Crowther were top scorers, but it was Tauhara's usual good teamwork that won them this game. Peter Flintoff headed the scoring for Hillbillies in their one win and one loss. W. O'Brien went well and young Mike McLaren did some good work although he was rather unfortunate with some of his shots. Aratiatia lost both their games, but Heke Tamepo played her usual determined game while H. Patience seemed to find the court to her liking and went extremely well in both games. Checkers had a loss and a win. Here was another team that the larger courts seemed to turn baek-to-front. The usual highscorers had poor days, while some of the others seemed to adapt very well. Pauline Elwin did a ton of work but her shooting was off. Jo Blackbourn played well and D. Spackman put in two very sound games as guard. St. John's lost both games but individual players seemed to go well, Graham Spackman and Tom Anderson especially. Bruce Vernon played very soundly in the first game, al-

though his shooting was astray. Tom Anderson's set shots in the second game were a pleasure to see. Whatever the result of games, the players had a very enjoyable afternoon. The fact that this was a club tournament and not a representative fixture meant that nothing was at stake and a mueh more casual atmosphere was evident. This sort of tournament is something that could be held more often, as the enjoyment and valuable experience gained, especially by the younger players, can do Taupo indoor basketball nothing but good.