Basketball News and Results 2012:
St Andrew's College played basketball against Grey PE over the past weekend in which St Andrew's recorded good wins, losing only one of the four games they played.
The results are as follows:
U14 A lost 12 - 15
U16A won by 28 - 21
U16B won by 43 - 3
The first won 48 - 37
St John's Festival:
The U16A basketball team went on the St John's Annual Tour. This is a very prestigious tournament with participants coming from all over South Africa, Zimbabwe and Angola. As usual, the level of play and competition at this tournament were of a very high standard. The highlights of this tournament were playing King Edward School, the 2011 and 2009 champions, as well as St John's College, the 2010 champions, where we lost to King Edward and beat St John's by a close 25-23. College came 8th out of 12 teams. Not only should they be congratulated for their fighting spirit on the court, but their exemplary behaviour and impeccable manners off the court deserve special mention and praise.
Assembly report 15 February - results vs Kingswood:
U16Bs lost 22-9
Fist TEam won 35-28
BASKETBALL VS LAWSON BROWN
The College first 5 played against Lawson, dominating for the first two quarters. In the third quarter, however, with obvious signs of complacency from the College side, Lawson Brown made a good come back, narrowing the deficiency quite considerably. But in the 4th and last quarter, College accelerated their scoring rate, winning the match by 85 points to 32. Our congratulations go to the first team the coaches who reffed the match.
Assembly report 1 February:
St Andrew's 1st team played basketball against the Makana Spears, a Grahamstown local club.
In what would be described as a very thrilling encounter, the scores were very close and tight at 36-34 with the Makana Spears leading by two points by the end of the third quarter. However, College showed lots of resilience and strong psychological composure going into the fourth and last quarter, winning the match with a final score of 63-46.
Other results
St Andrew's College U16A lost by 28-23
St Andrew's College U14A lost by 27-6
Basketball News and Results 2011:
Congratulations to Graham House for winning this year's Senior Inter-house Basketball. The Junior Inter-house Basketball was won by Merriman.
This weekend 22 October SAC played basketball against Grey PE in what could be described as a very tough encounter. The results are as follows:
U14A lost 28 - 26
U16A won 19 -17
U16B lost 26 - 5
U19B lost 24 - 19
U19A lost 47 - 39
On the 8th October we played against Kingswood and the results are as follows:
U14A's won 18 - 8
U16A's won 26 -23
2nd Team won 29 - 2
After a very close encounter for most of the game, the 1st team started losing its focus and composure as the game came to the finish, resulting in the final score of 53 - 44 to Kingswood.
Congratulations to all the basketball players who played with guts and determination, and to the boys who helped with scoring and pick-ups afterwards, as well as all the coaches involved.
St John's U19 basketball tournament:
In what was a stellar field of the very top basketball playing schools in Southern Africa, the St Andrew's College 1st Team proved that we have become a force with whom to be reckoned at a national level. If the tournament results were to be regarded as a ranking of the top South African state and independent schools, we'd be placed seventh. With tournament statistics of played 6, won 4, lost 2, and those to quarter-finalists, it was clear that the team had begun to play some very good basketball.
The boys were great ambassadors for both the sport and the College, working hard academically, at their own performance on the court and by being exemplary in their behaviour.
In closely contested matches against Grey High School on Saturday 19 February the basketball players won two matches of the five played. The results were:
U14A won 14-13
U16B lost 11-18
U19C lost 11-13
U19B won 17-14
U19A lost 44-46
Assembly Report 18 February:
The College U16 A's played against Lawson Brown over the weekend, recording a comfortable win of 48 - 23.
Assembly Report 2 February:
vs Makana Spears
U14As won 22-14
U16As won 24-16
Assembly Report 26 January:
College played Kingswood
U16 beat Kingswood 24-16
1st Team narrowly lost 28-26
Basketball News and Results 2010:
The basketball club has made the following appointments for the 2010/2011 season:
Captain of basketball: Christian Malila
Vice -captain: Timothy Asingura
Club Secretary: Allemano Ondego
Assembly report 26/10/10: Basketball vs Lawson Brown
On Saturday all three teams who played against Lawson Brown came away with convincing victories, particularly impressive was the performance of the U14A team who beat the Lawson Brown U16A team, by 12 points to six.
Full results
1st team 59-20
U16A 55-14
U14A vs Lawson Brown U16A 12-6
Basketball Festival Assembly Report 19 October:
Over half term the basketball club hosted the annual St Andrew's College Basketball festival. Poor weather and shifting venues meant that arrangements needed to re-organised daily, but almost all of the matches were played, despite wet courts. We thank Mr Jonono, Mr Mhundura, Mr Mangwengwende, Ms Mangoma, Mr Holder, Mr Soko, Mr Lwana for their complete dedication to running this festival, and to the Matrons Mrs Richards, Ms Letcher, Mrs Maree; Ms Mazwai for the hosting our guests so graciously. This event has gained considerable momentum and this year we hosted some of the best basketball playing schools in the country and from as far afield as Swaziland. Full results for the three College teams participating will be posted on the notice board. As one of the goals of the festival is to expose younger players to high levels of competition, we were delighted in particular with the U16A team's victories over St John's College, St Benedict's College and Hilton College. This bodes well for the future, both for the club and the individual players who were watched by provincial and national coaches over the course of the festival.
1st team report:
Our first team played 6 games at the festival. The first was a game against the tournament invitational team. We started slowly but then showed some clinical finishing, taking the ascendancy and winning 48- 26. We then played the Swaziland league champions Enjabulweni College. We were able to dictate the pace of the game and create good opportunities to a comfortable 78-19 victory.
The third game was against St Andrews School from Bloemfontein. After a slow start, we were able to shut down our opposition with a very well worked defence which turned into good fast-break ball. A very clinical performance ending in a convincing 88-17 win.
St Benedict's College were tough opponents. Our boys had a very slow start to the game and the opponents took full advantage of this leaving us down by 27-6 in the first quarter. Some adjustments to the defence brought us back into the game in the second quarter but we just couldn't catch up. We lost 55-38. From here we went into another tough fixture against St John's College. The game was tightly contested all the way to the end and then eventually some fatigue started to creep in at crucial moments. The boys showed good determination and spirit in this game and were very unfortunate to go down by 5 points in the end.
The final game of the festival was a thriller. Our first team faced Hilton College in the most exciting game of the whole weekend. Scores were close for the whole game and we were tied with 11 seconds remaining on the clock. Some accurate free throw shooting and a well worked 3point play saw us snatching a victory by 5 points.
Our boys must be commended for showing great character and sportsmanship both on and off the court. They contributed to a most successful festival and we congratulate them for their hard work and good results. I would also like to thank all of the staff involved in making this event such a great success and putting St Andrew's College on the national basketball map.
Tatenda Mhunduru (coach)
Assembly report Basketball vs Grey:
It is always wonderful to be part of derby day fixtures, and whether watching the 1st X1 or in the Grey gym, where our basketball club was playing, the atmosphere was positive and full of pride in our school. It is also always a great delight for any College boy or coach to be part of a team that beats Grey, and our 2nds, U16A and U14A teams are congratulated on their emphatic wins. Of the two defeats, the composite team (mostly U14Bs) who took on the Grey U16B team, played with passion and dignity, and the 1st team who gave it their all, in very trying conditions, maintained discipline despite severe provocation, and came within a whisker of snatching a victory, losing in the final seconds by 46 points to 40. We are very proud of all of the players.
Assembly report 5/10/10: Basketball vs Kingswood:
On Saturday all three teams who played against our old, familiar rivals emerged victorious. The U16A team won by 25 points to 17 and the second team by 22 point to 17.
The first team match was a close-fought encounter, with College beginning strongly and stamping their authority on the game. They, however, squandered a 23 point to 9 lead mid way through the second quarter, and allowed Kingswood to outscore them in both the 3rd and 4th periods. At the end of regulation time, the scores were tied. The team tightened up on their discipline during the last stages of the fourth quarter, and played a disciplined pattern in the over-time period. A final basket by the captain, Malila, broke the deadlock, and saw College run out winners by 47 points to 45 after overtime.
Basketball Announcement - 23 September 2010:
Sifiso Mkhabela and Lonwabo Nyhonyha have been selected for the U16 Eastern Cape team playing in the interprovincial tournament taking place in Port Elizabeth next week.
The following boys have been selected to represent the Makana region in an international festival taking place in Durban next year:
Timothy Asingura
Christian Malila
Allamano Ondego
Ayesha Cindi
Kevin Souchaud
Rodney Avutia
Philip Kapia
Interhouse Basketball:
Graham House swept all before them in both Senior and Junior interhouse basketball competitions held on Sunday 12 September. Mr Barnard thanks the boys and basketball staff for their positive participation in this fun day.
Basketball Assembly report: 1st June 2010:
Laurent Chartier Fitzgerald has been selected to attend a further round of trials for the South African U20 Basketball team during last weekend's national trials in Johannesburg. Whilst this does not mean an automatic selection, it is a significant step closer, and is in itself a significant achievement. We congratulate him.
Basketball Assembly report: 18th May 2010:
In the Eastern Cape provincial basketball trials which took place on Saturday, Simon Muchura, Sifiso Mkhabela and Lonwabo Nhonya were selected for the U16A team.
The 1st Basketball team enjoyed a very successful weekend of matches in Cape Town, with them winning 5 out of five matches, including victories against Pinelands, Wynberg and Bishops.
Bishops won 36-32
Pinelands HS won 36-22
Wynberg BHS 43-40
St Josephs Marist Brothers 62-2
Hertzlia 47-31
The St Andrew's College first team Basketball participated in the St John's College Invitational Tournament. As expected from twelve of the top Basketball schools in the country, the level of basketball was very high and our pupils matched up to this standard. St Andrew's was very unfortunate to lose their opening game to St John's, who knocked us out of the finals stage and went on to win the tournament. All in all our players did a sterling job. St Andrew's played six games, won four and lost two. All the games were very competitive and this put St Andrew's College on the map as one of the top Basketball playing schools in the country.
23.2.10:
1st and 2nd St Andrew's College Basketball teams travelled to East London, where they played Fast-shooters (a club team) and Baysville school respectively. Both teams overcame the challenges presented. On Sunday the 1st team played a Rhodes University team which included four players from their 1st team, and whilst the final result was not in our favour, the boys impressed with their determination. Third team, U16B and U14 players participated in a coaching clinic run by the top coach in the district, Mr Tisco Mati. He reported that he was impressed with the approach and attitude of all the participants.
This weekend the under sixteen A team participated in the St John's College tournament. After the first day's play, they lay second in their group, but being drawn in the same group as KES and Pretoria Boys' meant they'd probably end out of contention for a semi-final place. Having won matches against The American International School of Johannesburg, and the Dominican Convent, they went into the play-offs for 5th place against St Georges of Harare, losing narrowly, after leading for much of the first half.
Results:
1st Vs Fast-shooters won 20-16
2nds vs Baysville Won 34-0
1st vs Rhodes lost
U16A
Vs American International School of Johannesburg won 24-23
Vs KES lost 17-60
Vs Pretoria Boys' Lost 25-52
Vs Dominican Convent won 42-12
Vs St Georges (Harare) Lost 21-27, coming 6th/10 (a significant improvement on last years' performance)
Basketball vs Grey:
The Basketball club enjoyed a very successful day against Grey on Saturday 23 January, winning four matches of the five played.
U14A vs Grey won 15-10
U14B vs Joza lost 21-2
U16B vs Grey won 11-7
U16A vs Grey won 23-10
2nds vs Grey won 22-9
1sts vs Grey lost 35-51
Basketball vs Nombulelo High School:
Having squandered a 14 point lead, the 1st Basketball team squeaked out a narrow victory against Nombulelo High School. The rest of the club enjoyed a successful weekend.
In an oversight error, Colours and Team awards for Basketball were not made during 2009. Following review of this situation, Team awards have been made to:
Kevin Souchard and Angelo Awaseb and Colours for 2009 have been awarded to Joe Lovelace, Ben Davies and Laurent Chartier-Fitzgerald.
Colour for 2009: Laurent Chartier-Fitzgerald, Joe Lovelace and Ben Davies
Basketball vs Lawson Brown and Kingswood College:
In a clinical performance, the 1st basketball team overwhelmed Lawson Brown with speed and skill. The U16A team was similarly successful, but the victories of the week must belong to the U14 A and B team who beat the Kingswood U16A, and U15A teams respectively in mid-week fixtures.
Assembly Report: 19 January:
The injury plagued first team and U16A team played against PE Comets this weekend, facing some very tough opposition. The first team lost, while the U16A team came back from an 8 point deficit to win by a two point margin.
Basketball News and Results 2009
Office-bearers for Basketball for 2009
Captain- Pablo Pascual-Serratosa
Vice-Captain- Greg Ntore
Club Secretary- Nathan Meyer
Basketball Ten years on:
The 1999 Andrean Magazine report begins, "Basketball became an officially recognized minor sport at St Andrew's College for the first time this year. Most of the credit for this achievement must go to the matric boys who kept asking for the sport's status to change. It is very doubtful whether basketball would be amongst the official sports had it not been for Tom Avutia and Mooketsi Chinyoka..." In 2001, the club had its first national representative, when Nyasha Bingandadi was selected for the South African under-sixteen team. It is a wonder to look back at how far we have come since Kutlo Motseta and Uyapo Mpuchane were the first captian and vice-captain. In 2002, the status changed again to become a "major" sport, with no restrictions on numbers join the club, as had been the case until then. In 2004, the 1st team toured for the first time, returning from the Western Cape with an even win-loss record. As part of the jubilee celebrations in 2005 we hosted an under-sixteen basketball festival, and have become regular travelers to festivals, tournaments and tours across South Africa. In 2008, we began hosting a prestigious 1st team festival, and this looks set to grow from strength to strength, with considerable interest from top schools in the country. In 2009, the number of boys choosing to play had grown to close to 80, or about 20% of the school. Interhouse, and internal league matches have seen even greater participation. We began with two hoops, one on each side of the tennis practice wall at the Bedford street tennis courts, and now we have three side-by-side outdoor courts where the Library tennis courts stood, providing us with a venue next to Lower field, toilet and changing room facilities. Over the last ten years we have had the support of local players, university students, interested adults, and more recently, student tutors appointed specifically to coach basketball. We would never have got where we are without them. The future of College basketball is exciting, with excellent players, dedicated coaches and broad acceptance of the game as part of the College landscape. Part of our plans include the formation of a supporters club, comprising primarily past players, and parents to held maintain the momentum the club has gained. Tom Holder, OA, who was part of the first touring team, who is currently the club's U16A coach has agreed to assist with this project. Further future projects include the building of Makana regional teams, to ensure fairer representation at provincial level, running of local mid-week leagues, and development coaching of primary school teams from the broader Grahamstown community.
2009 Report:
Captain: Pablo Serratosa Pascual
Vice-Captain: Greg Ntore
Basketball players enjoyed the newly corrected Library court facilities which allowed, at stages, three teams in some age groups the chance to practice without having to work in a half-court. A particular highlight this year was the third term festival which saw six teams from out of the province, and 18 from across the Eastern Cape play 72 matches over five courts. It is quite surprising, that the most memorable games were the narrow losses (by 3 points in each case) by the College 1st team to St Benedicts and St John's Colleges from Johannesburg. I have seldom seen better basketball played by any schoolboy teams.
1st team report
Easter Term
A highly competent team players worked hard at the pre-season camp in January, and prepared for a tough season ahead. Ably led by Pablo Serratosa Pascual, the team offered great heart in every game, and developed a winning mind-set from the very beginning. Ben Davies, Joe Lovelace and Laurent Fitzgerald all grew in confidence as younger members of the team, and contending for places in the starting five frequently alongside Nathan Meyer, Musweu Sitengu, Pablo Serratosa Pascual and Greg Ntore. Angelo Awaseb, Kevin Souchard, Simon Tukuhirwa and Tafadzwa Sibanda usually played off of the bench, making significant contributions to the success of the team.
The tour to the "home of hospitality", Mafikeng was not without incident. As we travelled we played, and beat Spandau High School in Graaff Reinett, and Welkom High School. The festival at the International School of South Africa was a hugely positive experience, with us facing our first opposition from across the border in the form of Maru a Pula, who we played twice, having gone down heavily in the first match after a late night of interactions with immigration officials and lawyers. The rematch, at Maru a Pula's request, came hard on the heels of a very tight and contentious win over the host school. The team performed magnificently, with tired legs and weary heads showing the real spirit of the school motto. It was a very proud moment, when their coach told me we had just lost by 5 points to a team, seven of whom play for the Botswana national team. Long road trips are good for teams, they build bonds beyond those on the court. We thank Mr Donkin for managing the team, Mr Edey for his support, Mrs Harrison for actions way beyond the call of duty late on a Friday night of half-term, Mr Wally Stanton, Advocate Swart and the team for all they contributed to the resolution of a difficult situation.
Michaelmas term
Mr Mhundura took over the coaching of the start of the season, and after minor hiccups, managed to get a team of very mixed experience to gel. Playing regularly at centre were either Kevin Souchard or Angelo Awaseb, with Ben Davies usually filling the power forward spot in the starting line-up and who rebounded particularly strongly. We continued to struggle with our foul count, and far greater discipline is required if our defense is not going to cost the teams cumulative free-throws. Joe Lovelace, Laurent Chartier Fitzgerald and Pablo Pascual-Serratosa all played at guard or small-forward, with Pablo also making the odd appearance at "bigman". Cover was provided by Greg Ntore, Siphe Mjele, Christian Malila, Thibault Kivuvu, Casey Chungu, Sibongile Xalabile and Tom Price. Working with a large squad and a squad of variable levels of fitness and ability is always a challenge, and the boys have met this with passion and enthusiasm. Colours for 2009 have been awarded to Greg Ntore (re-award), Museiu Sitengu (re-award), Nathan Meyer (re-award), and Joe Lovelace. Team awards have been made to Laurent Chartier-Fitzgerald, Ben Davies, Kevin Souchard, and Angelo Awaseb. We were also delighted by the award of Honours for Basketball made to Pablo Pascual-Serratosa made late in the thirs term of 2009.
2nd team
Easter Term
This year was a tremendous success with the second team setting itself the ambitious goal of an unbeaten season which they successfully met. To this end the team's training remained disciplined throughout the season even in spite of the often frustrating rains that saw many practices cancelled. As a result of the players commitment a few of the second team players earned a chance to represent the 1st which they did admirably.
The boys season began with a slender victory over Kingswood in a game in which the players were a little rusty from the long December break and culminated in a convincing home victory over Grey High School to cap off an perfect season. It was a pleasure to coach the boys and I wish them all the best in the next season. I hope to see many of them stake a claim for regular positions in the first team. Special mention must also go to the team's captain; George Oberholzer. It was often his inspiring words and dedication that the players on the court were able to rally around in their few moments of distress.
Michaelmas Term:
While the team struggled to achieve the results that they would have wanted this season it was pleasing to see the enthusiasm and sense of fun with which they played and practiced. There was a noticeable development in the level of skill and the character within the team as the season progressed. Particular mention must be made of the valiant effort of the team in the narrow defeat to Grey away, a game that we really should have won. Had our finishing matched our work ethic many more results could have gone our way. The team was brilliantly led by captain, Lakhanya Mahlati, who deserves special mention for his tirelessness in continually motivating his team even when the odds seemed insurmountable. Congratulations go to the entire team on their efforts. The future looks bright for College basketball.
U16
The Under Sixteen teams showed great depth, with, for the first time, the division being split into U16 and U15 in the first term. The U16A team, dominated by the fast running of Christian Malila and the strong post play of Ayesha Cindi, saw a number of very talented players emerge, with Timothy Asingura, the Ondego brothers and Kanekwa Mondoloka all showing well. The U15 team saw Tanaka Lusengo and Simon Muchura emerge as stars of the future. In many respects, the lack of on-court discipline within these teams was the predominant factor in determining their success. At the St John's U16 festival, the team faced some of the best opposition in the country, and gained much valuable experience. The teams were coached by Mr Holder, Mr Donkin and Mr Mangwengwende.
U14
Easter
Starting boys off in new sports is always a challenge, always fun and always hugely rewarding. This term we saw seventeen boys playing basketball, many of whom had never touched a ball until their orientation day. As a physically demanding sport, many lacked fitness at the start of the season, but became better conditioned with tiume and focused practice. Lonwabo Nhonyha, Brandon Haynes, Blaise Atoliyah, Danny Thomas and Trent Bassett were all exceptionally keen to improve. With hours of consistent practice these fine young players will come to dominate their age-group teams. It was a pleasure coaching these enthusiastic young players.
Michaelmas Term
Under fourteen basketball underwent a sea change at the start of the summer season, with Mr Barnard building on the fine foundation laid in the Easter Term by Mr Mhundura. Much time has been spent on building fundamentals, with specific focus on free-throw shooting, footwork and strong passing. We have benefitted from the positive influence of some of the 1st team players who have given their time generously to mentor younger players. Both U14A and U14B teams have shown great potential, with they key challenge remaining getting players to make good physical contact, earning fouls and being able to convert these opportunities into points. The U14A team were unbeaten this season, with a thorough drubbing of Grey by 30 point to 12, a highpoint to end the season.
Pablo Serratosa-Pascual receives honours for Basketball:
Pablo began playing basketball for St Andrew's College, whilst still a member of the Preparatory School, and has consistently been the best player in his age group throughout his time at St Andrew's. Pablo captained the U14A, U16A and 1st team, and was selected to play for the 1st team in his Grade nine year. Since then, Pablo has represented the school's first team with passion, commitment and discipline.
The Basketball club's constitution allows for the award of Honours to be proposed in cases where a player merits selection for a national team. As Basketball South Africa does not allow non-South Africans to represent their province at inter-provincial tournaments, it has been impossible for Pablo to meet this criterion.
Pablo has, for the last three years, played for Rhodes University, forming a key part of their team to the South African Student Sports Union games this year, at which he was acknowledged as being one of the better players of the tournament. The Rhodes University coach remarked on his skill, and ability to read the game at a very adult level. Pablo has worked very hard on his game, training with a men's club team in his holiday in Spain, and has been accepted for a trial period with a club in Europe.
Pablo has always given more than just his skill and passion to basketball at St Andrew's College. He has lead with maturity and vision, and been able to discipline his peers on and off the court. His own exemplary behaviour, contribution to coaching younger players, and assistance with the running of fixtures has placed the basketball club as a whole in a stronger position.
Missing Helen8th May 2012
"Missing Helen" will be St Andrew's College and DSG's Dance 2012 Production. Updates on the preparation and production will be posted here.
Ireland Debating Tour4th May 2012
13 College Debaters participated in the St Andrew's Ireland Model United Nations competition in Dublin.
