Defending champs make winning start at Inanda Hoops Classic challenge
The reigning champions, St Benedict’s College basketball team, made an impressive start to their defence of the title at the seventh edition of the St David’s Marist Inanda Hoops Classic Challenge on Thursday.
Bennies scored two victories on day one, overcoming St Andrew’s College and King Edward VII School (KES). Those strong performances in Pool A mark the title-holders as serious contenders once again.
In their match against St Benedict’s College, the Eastern Cape’s St Andrew’s College faced a tough opponent and were well beaten, going down 17-57, which underlined the dominance of St Benedict’s throughout the contest. KES, on the other hand, stretched Bennies, but the reigning champions held the edge and came away with a 48-39 win.
In other Pool A matches, St Andrew’s College overcame the shock of their one-sided loss to St Benedict’s, defeating Sacred Heart College 61-55 in their second outing. It was a challenging day for Sacred Heart College, who also went down to KES, but not without a fight, with KES claiming a 51-41 win.
Pool B had two matches on the opening day. St John’s College scored a narrow win over Parktown Boys’ High School, with only four points separating the teams at the end, but St John’s the winners’ by a 48-44 margin. winning the game by 4 points in a final score of 48-44. The proud hosts of the tournament, St David’s Marist Inanda defeated Grey High School by 35-29 to get off to a winning start.
In Pool C, St Stithians College comfortably won their first game of the tournament, defeating Hilton College 53-35. Jeppe High School for Boys secured a convincing 66-42 win against Redhill School.
In Pool D, in a low-scoring affair, Michael Mount Waldorf School overcame St Peter’s College 24-14, while Pretoria Boys High School was made to sweat by King’s Linbro before coming away with a 37-33 victory.
u18 Results
Pool A
St Benedict’s 57-17 St Andrew’s College
King Edward VII School 51-41 Sacred Heart
St Benedict’s 48-39 King Edward VII School
St Andrew’s College 61-55 Sacred Heart
Pool B
St John’s College 48-44 Parktown Boy’s High School
St David’s 35-29 Grey High
Pool C
St Stithians 53-35 Hilton
Jeppe 66-42 Redhill
Pool D
Michael Mount 24-14 St Peters
Pretoria Boy’s High School 37-33 King’s Linbro
u15 Results
St David’s 43-37 St Andrew’s College
St Alban’s 35-21 St Peter’s
St Stithians 64-35 Jeppe
St Benedict’s 37-31 Parktown
St John’s College 35-23 Kings Linbro
Pretoria Boys High School 60-10 Redhill
King Edward VII School 45-39 Hilton College
Sacred Heart 39-37 Michael Mount
St Stithians 39-27 Parktown
St Benedict’s 56-45 Jeppe
