As we start this year’s shortened Basketball season against our first round opponents, St Aloysius’, we would like to share some achievements that occurred over the holiday period.
Holiday Period Achievements
All teams had two rounds of trials before the end of Term 4 against Cranbrook and Trinity. The 1sts and 2nds teams were able to win all four of their games, due to the great performances of Aodan Byrne, Cooper Stynes and Solomon Tuquiri from the 2nds, and Marko Rangan, Sergej Jakovljevic and Tom Gleeson from the 1sts.
Intensive Training Camp with High Performance Squad
1sts and 2nds also completed in a two-day intensive training camp with the High Performance squad, which was then followed by a one-day tournament at Alexandria Basketball Stadium. This was a great three days for both teams, as they gained more game experience before Round 1 commenced, which helped to overcome the lack of games in Term 4 due to COVID-19.
Camp, Trinity Challenge and Newington Classic
In late January, 1sts, 2nds and High Performance players participated in another two-day camp, which was then followed by a two-day tournament. 1sts played in the Trinity Challenge, and the 2nds played in the Newington Classic. Both teams were unlucky with their results, but with players missing and still getting used to each other, they were hoping to turn things around in Round 1 of the CAS.
Congratulations
A big congratulations goes to 1st’s player Marko Rangan on being selected in the U18 NSW Metro team. They will compete later this year in the National Championships.
Another congratulations goes to our Head Coach, Mr Johnston and his wife, on having their first child.
Round 1
2nds
Round 1 against St Aloysius’ at Waverley started in a great way, with the 2nds having a tight win. It was within five points almost the whole game, until Solomon Tuqiri and Charlie Smith hit back-to-back corner three-pointers to extend Waverley’s lead to 10. After great team defence and intensity, they were able to close out the game in great fashion for their first win of the season.
1sts
With the intensity and energy still high from the 2nds game, the 1sts were looking to beat St Aloysius’, three years in a row. The first half was very back and forth with St Aloysius’ holding a four-point lead the whole way until half time, where they managed to go on a run and be up by 11. After trying to claw back the lead for the entirety of the 3rd quarter, Waverley went on a quick 10-0 run, thanks to Daniel Palacio and Hugo Roles, and brought it back to within seven points. However, St Aloysius’ were too good, and picked their intensity right up, and finished the game strong. Great games were played by Sergej Jakovljevic and Daniel Palacio.
7As, 8As, 9As, 10As
The rest of the As teams were unlucky as well, with all being defeated. The 7As went down 16-43 with great first games for the College from Phil Falaniko, Otto Murcutt and Duke Thomas. The 8As had a closer game, only losing by 12 points with Angus Peshos, Tane Barclay and Xavier Koster all having standout games. The 9As were within single digits, and were just beaten by eight points, 24-32, with Renato Rovacch, Ben Pignatelli and Giles Strachan having fantastic games. The 10As lost in a mighty effort, as they were only narrowed out by six points, despite Aren Yaghoubian, Hudson Hatchett and Ricardo Zanapalis all contributing in a big way.
7th V, 8th V, 10G, 9B, 9D, 9E, 9G, 9H, 8C, 8D, 8G, 7B, 7E, 7G
In other games, the following teams enjoyed first-up wins against St Aloysius’: 7th V (27-19), 8th V (50-34), 10G (26-14), 9B (37-27), 9D (19-8), 9E (31-20), 9G (42-6), 9H (26-9), 8C (25-24), 8D (22-12), 8G (22-13), 7B (28-13), 7E (23-16) and 7G (36-32).
The Weekend Ahead
As we look ahead to this weekend against our Eastern Suburbs Rivals, we hope to better our performances from last week, starting on Friday night when Cranbrook host the 1sts and 2nds.
If anyone is interested in undertaking an externally accredited Beginners Basketball Referee course, please see Mr Gibbs in the TAS staffroom for more details, and to register your interest.
Student reporters
Hugo Roles (Captain of 1st V)
Thomas Gleeson (Captain of Basketball)
Mr Anthony Gibbs
Convenor of Basketball
E: agibbs@waverley.nsw.edu.au
