Student and Convenor Basketball Reports

Team Highlights from our Student Reporters

1sts

On Saturday, the 1st’s V Basketball team faced off against their strongest opponent of the CAS competition, Knox Grammar School. Surprisingly, there was a large number of supporters in the crowd rooting for Waverley to take home the victory. Unfortunately, the Waverley boys came up short to Knox, falling 75-69 in an extremely close and hard-fought game.

The boys were led and motivated throughout the game by Tom Gleeson’s all-around impact, as his defensive efforts were enough to slow down the great offence of the Knox Basketball team. The score was close throughout the whole game, with the lead only slipping to a high of 9 for Knox, however the boys were unfortunate and unable to close the gap by the end of the game, as Knox fought hard for their victory.

Good luck to the 1sts who now face a tough opponent in an electrifying atmosphere: St Aloysius’ at St Aloys on a Friday night, a game that is bound to be exciting to witness.

2nds

Before the 1sts faced off in their hardest game so far, the so far undefeated 2nds showed up to prove why they were undefeated, as they too faced a tough Knox opponent. Unlike the 1sts, the 2nds were able to outplay Knox, concluding the game with an amazing 43-point victory, the final score 73-30.

The game was not so one-sided, as Waverley went into the second half up barely 5 points to Knox, led by Ehren Little’s defence and Tashi Harrison’s athleticism. As the 1sts went into the change room to prepare for their game, the 2nds exploded. This was largely credited to 3 back-to-back 3-pointers sunk in by Charlie Smith as the 2nds increased their winning margin. From then on, the game was one-sided, as the boys were able to increase their lead until the end of the game, regardless of the never-ending efforts from the Knox boys.

Good luck to the 2nds who remain undefeated with a record of 6-0, as they too face St Aloysius’ away next Friday night.

10As

On Saturday, the 10As faced off against another historically tough Knox squad, after watching their B team in a tough loss. Unfortunately, the boys weren’t able to get it done, but were led by Renato Rovacchi and Rory Donnellan, with the final score 43-64.

9As

The 9As were able to contain Knox’s tough squad, and remain undefeated going into round 7 of the CAS season. The boys were led by Angus Peshos’ leadership, Jonte Garvey’s rebounding and hustle plays, and Nico Palacio’s defence. The game resulted in a 45-37 win for the 9As, as they face another great St Aloysius’ team next week.

8As

The 8As faced off against Knox in a home game that eventually didn’t sway their way. As the highly organised Knox team slightly edged over Waverley, the efforts of Phil Falaniko, Phoenix Miconi and Hayden McAusland assisted Waverley in staying in the game. Unfortunately, the final score was 41-54, and the boys fell short of another victory to their name. Good luck, as they too will be facing St Aloysius’, who are at the top of the table.

Make sure to keep an eye out for the annual Basketball Presentation night, which will occur after the conclusion of CAS Round 10 at Barker.

 

Daniel Palacio
(Captain of Basketball)

Tom Gleeson
(Captain of 1^st V)

 

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1st V

The start of the second half of the season saw Waverley take on CAS Basketball heavyweights, Knox Grammar. With Knox one win in front, the 1^st V came into this game needing to beat their North Shore rivals to give themselves their best chance of staying in the premiership race. They did extremely well to compete in a closely fought game against the reigning CAS premiers, however, they were ultimately unable to snatch victory.

Waverley was slow to start, and Knox was able to pull out to a 7-point lead before Waverley troubled the scorers. At one stage, Knox had a game-high 11-point lead, however, Waverley was always able to pin this back and finished the quarter trailing by 6 points. In the second quarter, Waverley was able to reduce their deficit by 1 point and move to a 3-point lead midway through the third quarter, however Knox was always able to find a way to maintain a small lead.

Ultimately, Waverley went down by 6 points, 75-69. It was a gutsy effort by Waverley and the closest game between the two schools since the 2017/18 season, when Waverley last defeated Knox with a 66-62 score line. The 1^st V still sit equal third and now turn their attention to St Aloysius’, who defeated Barker by a point, and remains in equal first place with Knox on 15 points.

2nd V

Coming into the game, the 2^nd V were all-conquering, having defeated all five CAS schools in Term 4 to sit atop the table, as well as the best in the GPS, ISA and AICES, with their incredible efforts to win the Newington Classic Tournament.

In Round 1, Waverley defeated Knox by 4 points, and it looked like it might be another close game with the score at the end of the first quarter, 11-7 to Waverley. Waverley had other ideas and continued to build on their lead, going into the big break 26-15, however, it was an impressive 3^rd quarter performance that saw Waverley outscore Knox 26-4, to take the score to an unassailable 52-19 lead.

The 2^nd V continued to up the ante, winning the 4^th 19-11, and ultimately taking the game in a somewhat unexpected but satisfying 71-30 score line. The undefeated 2^nd V is now a win clear of Trinity, and has a very healthy points differential of 120. Next up is a winless St Aloysius’ this Friday night in Kirribilli.

10As, 9As, 8As, 7As

Top of the table Knox was too strong for Waverley in 10As, who still sit on two wins.

The 9As continued to dominate their opponents, downing Knox for a second time this season, and are two wins clear of the rest of the league, on six wins.

The 8As loss to Knox sees them remain on two wins and a draw. Our new Year 7 teams gave a very good account of themselves in their first-ever games for the Senior School, winning four games and drawing two from 10.

The 7As drew their game 36-all in a high-scoring game, with a last-second buzzer beater.

Other Victories, Draws and Losses

Over the past decade, Knox has been Waverley’s toughest opponent and while this week was no different, there are signs that this dominance is waning. While just a handful of teams were able to savour victory: 10G (20-15), 10H (32-22), 9A (45-37), 9B (35-11), 9D (24-21), 9G (44-22), 7B (27-21), 7F (33-18), 7G (44-26), 7I (25-23) and draws by the 3^rd V (36-all), 8A (36-all) and 7E (26-all), 13 teams lost their games by 10 points or fewer, demonstrating Waverley is closing the gap, and becoming a lot more competitive.

Heartfelt Appreciation

Head Coach, Mr Matthew Johnston, deserves enormous praise for his leadership and expertise in guiding the program, and the development of our players and coaching staff.

Thanks to our amazing Supporters’ Club for their wonderful efforts again on the BBQ. It was a very busy day, and it was great to see them sell out by 2pm. If you can help for one hour this Saturday, before or after your son’s game, please contact Ms Rachael Smith at 0412 693 243 or rachael_gray@hotmail.com because any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Recently, the College purchased two new Porter glass backboards for the main court in the Gym, as well as new rims for all backboards in both the Gym and TAS COLA. A significant sum of money from funds raised by the Supporters’ Club contributed to the purchase of this new equipment, and it is the weekly Saturday BBQs that raise the most money for the Club over the season.

Save the Date – Basketball Presentation Evening, Braidwood, 6pm-8:30pm

Saturday, 18 March is the Basketball Presentation Evening. The awards ceremony will be hosted in the Gym, after an onsite dinner in Braidwood (weather permitting). On the night, there will be shooting games and prizes to win. A flyer with further details will be released shortly.

Good luck to all teams this week against St Aloysius’!