Waverley vs Cranbrook at home
Captains of Basketball Report
From Co-Captains of Basketball, Luca Zanarini & James Foster
Recap
This season has been one to remember. Every week all 38 teams have gone up against our CAS rivals putting in the hard work at two to three training sessions a week as well as competing in weekly games. We have had many ups and downs this season, such as injuries, however we have had some great achievements with the 1st V’s record breaking season as well as the 2nd V who were able to equal the win/loss record of two seasons ago. A lengthy of season full of countless scrimmages and trainings as well as an offseason gym program helped improve the culture this year in Waverley Basketball. With The CAS season over, we say goodbye to all the Year 12’s finishing their final season for the school, some having played for 7 years. The 1st’s finished on 6-4 which is the best win/loss record for the past last 7 seasons whilst the 2nd’s equalled the record of the 2015/16 squad who went 4-6. For the 2017/18 season, the overall win percentage was 44%, a drastic increase from the 2013/14 season of 21%. These improvements can be attributed to such things as the offseason program, tournaments, holiday training camps, the USA/Canada development tour and an ever-increasing number of talented basketball players in the program.
Juniors
Being the last week, the junior teams were all looking for wins against Barker. The 7A’s were fortunate enough to get their win and have improved a lot in their short season. The 8’As, unfortunately, the only team to lose in the juniors.lost by just 6 points. Jake Weinstein had 14 points. The 9A’s fixture was a thrilling game, down by 12 towards the end of the game, Eoin Morrissey excelled in the clutch and contributed to reducing the deficit, eventually leading Waverley to the win in the final moments with a free throw. The 10A’s also won quite comfortably with a 13-point win.
2nd V
The 2nd V played their last home game for the season and it was the last home game ever for the Year 12’s. The atmosphere of the change room had changed from previous weeks as the reality set in this that was the last game of the season for the team and for some their last game ever wearing the uniform. The game began and the nerves instantly settled as soon as Patrick Ibarra scored the opening basket off a midrange jump shot. This was quickly followed by two threes from Mark Goncalves, however the 2nds were unable to capitalise on their early lead and allowed Barker back into the game, due to poor defence and an excess or early turnovers. Daniel Callaghan and Tom Deakin-Bell combined for multiple baskets throughout the half further solidifying Waverley’s diversity between their inside and outside game. Daniel Marando continued the scoring run with an impressive layup however it was not enough to put Waverley in front of Barker at the end of the half as Barker poured on the pressure and were able to score at will. Waverley trailed 24-44 at the end of the half. Although trailing by 20 to start the second half, the 2nd V continued to fight to reduce the lead throughout the game. Daniel Callaghan and Mark Goncalves were a part of the initial push to reduce the lead, however Goncalves continued to increase his scoring tally throughout the game. The attempt to close the gap was also help by Nathan Papageorgious, who made a long two after coming off a well-executed play. It was evident just how much the 2nd V had improved throughout the season. It was great to see the development of the team as well as individuals who had improved and exceeded expectations throughout the season. Although it was a tough loss at home for the 2nd’s, it was great to see the future talent that will be present next year within the 1sts and 2nds as the Year 12’s finished their final game for the school. The 2nd’s should be proud of how much they accomplished and improved throughout the season. For some individuals, this year within the 2nd’s will serve as a learning experience as they aim to play their final years wearing the 1st V jersey.
1st V
The final week of the season left the 1st V wanting to get a win and stay undefeated on home turf. However, their final opponent, CAS leaders Barker, had their CAS championship on the line and were not going to give it up so easily. As this was the last game for the Year 12’s, it was quite important and emotional. The 1st V boys knew that they needed to give it their all to get this win. From the start of the game, Waverley went through their defensive plays and sets and knew what to run. Barker showed strength and speed, catching Waverley off guard and scoring some quick open baskets, however Waverley opened their scoring through Alex Higgins Titsha and a layup by Luca Zanarini. As the half progressed each side scored some inside shots and the score stayed even. However, some penetration into the paint showed Alex Higgins-Titsha’s length, allowing Waverley to take a lead to finish the quarter 22-20. With the second quarter starting, Waverley continued their momentum, opening up the scoring once again, however some poor decisions lead Barker to catch up again. Waverley, quickly fixed themselves and gained a 4-point lead going into the second half. As Waverley switched to a zone defense, it left some gaps in the paint, which Barker took advantage of, setting up their big men for some quick points. Waverley continued their plays, which lead to made shots, evening out the score once again as Waverley was down 53-52. Going into the final quarter, both teams were on edge and trying to draw a larger lead. Barker made some large adjustments in their game, setting up plays for their 3-point shooter and scoring back-to-back 3s. This caused Waverley to struggle a lot with their defense, unable to stop Barker’s offense. Waverley kept pushing as Ryan Abbott scored some key shots, however Waverley lost their lead and were unable to contain Barker as they continued to grow a lead with momentum upsetting Waverley’s final game, with the game ending 79-73 to barker. Although it was an unfortunate ending to the season, congratulations goes out to Barker for winning the CAS championship in both 1sts and 2nds. The 1st V boys should also be very happy with their season finishing 6-4 as it was the best season for 7 seasons.
Conclusion
This basketball season has been a great success with so many teams doing well. The Year 12’s should also be commended for all their hard work over the years to reach this point and good luck to them in the HSC and their futures. Over the years, we have really seen Waverley basketball improve through the help from coaches, supporters, helpers, players and our head of basketball, Mr Gibbs. Without all the hard work from these people, Waverley Basketball would not be what it is today. For years to come, we hope we see our school basketball grow to be more successful and win a CAS championship. Good luck to all students in their upcoming winter season sports and their future studies.
Convenor’s Report
From Convenor of Basketball, Anthony Gibbs
The last game of the season is always an emotional time for staff and players, especially those players in Year 12. However, this occasion held further significance, being that it was played at Waverley and was against Barker, who had already won both the 1st’s and 2nd’s competitions coming into the final round.
The 2nd V began well, however were unable to keep up with a very strong Barker 2nd’s side that went undefeated for the season. Despite playing with heart and determination, the 2nd V went down 69-47 in a high-scoring 2nd’s game. The 1st V were confident of challenging Barker’s supremacy this season and were on a mission to make amends for their 34-point loss to Barker last outing. Despite having already secured the Rev Fr A V Smith Shield, a loss to Waverley would mean the possibility of Barker sharing their premiership with Knox, who were one win behind and playing 5th placed Trinity. The 1st’s played extremely well from the start and throughout the game gave Barker plenty of anxiety about their ability to win the game. Waverley led at half-time 42-40 and the second half continued to be a very close affair with Barker closing out the third quarter in front 56-52. The final quarter was frenetic as each team ran the floor, however Barker eventually snuck over the line 79-73 in a very high-quality game.
The 1st V finished the season with 6 wins and 4 losses and came 3rd on the ladder. Barker took out the premiership with 9 wins, while Knox came 2nd on 8 wins. The 1st V had the distinction of being the only CAS team to score two 100+ point games during the season. Apart from their blowout loss to Barker in the first round, they were extremely competitive throughout, with their only losses being by 6 points to Barker in the last game, Knox once by 10 points and St Aloysius once by 3 points. It was a great season that started with their semi-final appearance in the Sydney School’s Shootout Tournament way back in October 2017. The 2nd V were also competitive throughout the season with four of their losses being decided by 12 points or less. They finish equal 3rd with Knox in their competition behind Barker (10 wins) and Trinity (7 wins).
The College is extremely grateful and appreciative the service of all our Year 12 players, many of whom have been a part of basketball for Waverley since Year 5. We especially acknowledge and thank 1st V players Mike El-Haddad, James Foster (Co-Captain of Basketball), Jacob Gibson, Alexander Higgins-Titsha, Jeremy Petritsis (Captain), Hayden Walton, Luca Zanarini (Co-Captain of Basketball) and 2nd V players Daniel Callaghan (Vice-Captain), Justin Capra, Mark Goncalves (Captain), Patrick Ibarra, Daniel Marando. Being a part of 1st’s and 2nd’s has meant many hours of dedication to basketball over the season, including three training sessions per week, mentoring junior teams, participating in holiday training camps and tournaments, training during the off-season, playing trial games, assisting with scorer’s duties on Saturday’s at Waverley, as well as numerous other commitments.
Of the six Waverley 1st V players to trial for CAS 1st’s and 2nd’s, five were selected. Congratulations to Alexander Higgins-Titsha (CAS 1st V), Jeremy Petritsis (CAS 2nd V), Kyle Goulding (CAS 2nd V), Ryan Abbott (CAS 2nd V) and Luca Zanarini (Reserve, CAS 2nd V). Unfortunately, while trialing very well, Hayden Walton just missed out on selection. This is the most number of players selected to represent the College for CAS Basketball representative honours in my time as Convenor and is indicative of the fantastic season the basketball program has had. Across all teams, it has been the most successful season since my first season in 2011/20120. The players have two training sessions with their teams in the coming week, followed by games against AICES (22nd March at Trinity Grammar), ISA (26th March at St. Paul’s Grammar, Cranebrook) and GPS (28th March at Waverley College). Tip-off times for all games are 5:30pm (2nd’s) and 7:00pm (1st’s).
In other games, Waverley were successful across many teams against Barker. The following teams recorded wins: 10A (35-22), 10B (36-15), 10C (32-18), 10E (32-18), 9A (47-46), 9C (36-33), 9D (38-11), 9E (44-25), 8C (37-19), 8D (30-19), 8E (26-22), 8F (24-22), 7A (55-40), 7B (40-28), 7C (36-8), 7D (48-14), 7E (29-24) and 7G (20-14) with the 9B’s (28-23), 9Fs (27-26), 8A’s (42-36) and 8B’s (26-21) playing well despite losing close games.
Thank you to all our coaching staff, especially 1st V coach Mr Johnny Jovine, 2nd V coach Mr Phil Noreika and Assistant Coach, Mr Joan Creus Custodio for all the extra work they have done for the program throughout the season. Mr Creus Custodio leaves us to return to Spain to purse his basketball playing career and we wish him the very best of luck. Thank you to Mr James Spargo, who has done a great job managing our team of student scorers each week. Thank you to Director of Co-curriculum Mr Stephen O’Donnell and Assistant Head of Co-Curriculum Ms Stephanie Floyd for their ongoing support of basketball.
Thank you to all our parents who helped on the Supporters Club BBQ during the season. Your help was greatly appreciated and I have received many comments from parents about the great sense of community within Basketball at the College. While many parents contributed throughout the season, special must go to Mrs Sharon Frazer, Mrs Sophia Hatziandreou, Ms Terry Higgins, Mrs Jo Morrissey, Mrs Nicole Abbott and Mrs Wendy Jones from the Basketball Supporters Club for their wonderful support of basketball throughout the season. Without the dedication and support of parents, Basketball would not have been the success it was. Thank you to the parents of the 1st V and 2nd V players, who for every home game hosted the post-game luncheons, which are still the best in the CAS!
Thank you to all those students who assisted with scoring duties each weekend. I must not forget the fine work of our gym managers, Mr Emmett Pugh and Mr Jamie Mattick, who have ensured that our home games on Saturday’s run smoothly. Finally, thank you to the College’s Maintenance staff and Mr John Kara for a lot of behind the scenes work with logistics and Head of TAS, Mr Garth Aird for allowing Basketball to utilise our state-of-the-art TAS facilities.
The Basketball Presentation Night was hosted on Saturday night at the College and was a great success with players and parents both commenting on the great time they had. The afternoon weather was perfect as players and their families enjoyed hot dogs, roast chicken, a selection of organic salads, fruit platters and a variety of delicious desserts outdoors on Braidwood. The awards ceremony was also an enjoyable event and was hosted by our two captains of basketball, James Foster and Luca Zanarini, who did an excellent job controlling proceedings. Congratulations to all award winners. A full list of winners is reproduced below. A huge thankyou to club president Mrs Sharon Frazer, Mrs Sophia Hatziandreou, Mrs Jo Morrissey and the numerous parents who helped out with the organisation of the night.
One final note of gratitude and appreciation goes to the staff, students and parents who participated in the USA/Canada Basketball Tour in December 2017. In particular, thank you to staff members Mr Richard Chen, Mr James Spargo, Mr Tony Montano, Mr Tom Chamberlain, Mr Edward Hartson, Mr Tony Banboukjian, Mr Johnny Jovine and Mrs Sharon Frazer of the Supporters Club.
Important: please note that the annual Basketball Supporters Club AGM has been postponed to Monday 26th of March at 6pm in the Grange (entrance on Carrington Road). All parents, including the Junior School, are welcome to attend.
Waverley Basketball is now using Team App to publish information such as scores, news, fixtures, team lists and announcements. Download the app and search for ‘Waverley College Basketball’ to receive notifications and updates.
Enjoy a well-earned break and best wishes for the winter season.
Signing off for another season!
| 2017/2018 CAS Basketball Season Award Winners | |
| Award | Winner(s) |
| Captain of Basketball | James Foster & Luca Zanarini |
| Captain of 1st V | Jeremy Petritsis |
| 1st V MVP | Ryan Abbott |
| 1st V Best Defensive Player | Ryan Abbott |
| 1st V Most Improved Player | Angelo Di Bartolo |
| Captain of 2nd V | Mark Goncalves |
| 2nd V MVP | Mark Goncalves & Daniel Marando |
| 2nd V Best Defensive Player | Daniel Marando |
| 2nd V Most Improved Player | Tom Deakin-Bell |
| 3rd V Best & Fairest Player | Joshua Gleeson |
| 4th V Best & Fairest Player | Timothy Waring |
| 5th V Best & Fairest Player | Alexander Bruce |
| 6th V Best & Fairest Player | Harvey Williams |
| 7th V Best & Fairest Player | Leonardo Bosi |
| 8th V Best & Fairest Player | Noah Lohmann |
| Service to Basketball | Daniel Callaghan, Justin Capra, Mike El-Haddad, James Foster, Jacob Gibson, Mark Goncalves, Alexander Higgins-Titsha, Patrick Ibarra, Daniel Marando, Jeremy Petritsis, Hayden Walton, Luca Zanarini, Ryan Abbott, Ash Backlund, Tom Deakin-Bell, Angelo Di Bartolo, Sam Frazer, Kyle Goulding, Dion Hatziandreou, Heath Lawther, Joey Lyons, Stephen Morrissey, Nathan Papageorgious |
| Outstanding Contribution to Waverley Basketball | James Foster, Jacob Gibson, Luca Zanarini |
| With Great Appreciation from Waverley Basketball | Nicholas Corias, Brendan Morrissey, Mr Emmett Pugh, Mr Jamie Mattick |
| Ed Hartson Gym Manager’s Award | Charlie Adonis |
| 10A Best & Fairest Player | Christian Diaz |
| 10A Best Defensive Player | Ben Walton |
| 10A Most Improved Player | Peter Cassimatis |
| 10B Best & Fairest Player | James McMahon |
| 10C Best & Fairest Player | Nathan Le |
| 10D Best & Fairest Player | Jake Burns |
| 10E Best & Fairest Player | Hugh McSweeny |
| 10F Best & Fairest Player | Jonathan Chen |
| 9A Best & Fairest Player | Eoin Morrissey |
| 9A Best Defensive Player | Clem Halaholo |
| 9A Most Improved Player | Charles Harris |
| 9B Best & Fairest Player | Spencer Kapos |
| 9C Best & Fairest Player | Leon Palacio |
| 9D Best & Fairest Player | Connor Carr |
| 9E Best & Fairest Player | Cameron Lin |
| 9F Best & Fairest Player | Jack Bush |
| 9G Best & Fairest Player | Luuk Zilich |
| 9H Best & Fairest Player | Toby Connolly |
| 8A Best & Fairest Player | Jake Weinstein |
| 8A Best Defensive Player | Brynn Siltala |
| 8A Most Improved Player | William Paterson |
| 8B Best & Fairest Player | Aodan Byrne |
| 8C Best & Fairest Player | Reuben Maree |
| 8D Best & Fairest Player | Kai Puntigam |
| 8E Best & Fairest Player | Axel Jeffries |
| 8F Best & Fairest Player | Darcy Ferguson |
| 8G Best & Fairest Player | Cjuba Lord |
| 8H Best & Fairest Player | Kayton Lee |
| 7A Best & Fairest Player | Oscar Walters-Green |
| 7A Best Defensive Player | Max Murphy |
| 7A Most Improved Player | Samuel Stewart |
| 7B Best & Fairest Player | Max Dimtrijevic |
| 7C Best & Fairest Player | Darcy Standfield |
| 7D Best & Fairest Player | Thomas Johnson |
| 7E Best & Fairest Player | Thomas Stewart |
| 7F Best & Fairest Player | James Clarke |
| 7G Best & Fairest Player | Frank Vescio |
| 7H Best & Fairest Player | Aiden Pascoe |
