ESCA and Herschel claim the spotlight at St Peter’s Basketball Tournament
The Elite Sporting and Cultural Academy (ESCA) Wanderers made a big impression on the opening day of the 20th annual St Peter’s College Sport and Cultural Festival’s basketball tournament, roaring to three dominant wins, while Herschel Girls School exhibited a miserly defence, conceding only one point in two matches on Friday.
Boys’ Competition
Pool A
ESCA, who went unbeaten on their way to lifting the title at The King’s Linbro Basketball Tournament last weekend, continued with their winning ways at St Peter’s on Friday.
They’re top of Pool A after scoring three commanding wins. They thumped Norkem Park High 40-12 before hammering Enjabulweni High 48-6. Then, in their final game of the day, they cruised to a 45-15 win over Redhill School. No doubt, ESCA has set their sights on another title.
Redhill bounced back from their heavy loss to ESCA with a 30-15 victory over Enjabulweni High. They also cruised to a comfortable 32-12 win over Christian Brothers’ College (CBC) Boksburg.
St David’s Marist Inanda is also in Pool A and is another team to be reckoned with. They recorded a 26-8 victory over Norkem Park High and followed that with a 36-16 win against CBC Boksburg.
CBC also suffered a narrow 24-27 defeat to Norkem Park High.
Pool B
In Pool B, Parktown Boys’ High ran up three victories in a clean start to their campaign, beating Crawford International – Sandton 38-23, then following that with a 39-13 victory over Penryn College, and a 23-14 win over Saheti School.
St John’s College played twice and scored two wins. They downed Dainfern College 32-23 in their first game before easing to a 38-8 win over Penryn.
Crawford edged out Saheti School 29-27, but Saheti picked up a 20-11 win over Dainfern. Dainfern, in turn, sneaked a 23-22 victory over Penryn.
Pool C
In Pool C, Curro Helderwyk positioned itself as a leading contender after starting the festival with a couple of clear-cut victories, handing Marist Brothers a 41-14 loss before rolling to a 35-10 win over Reddam House Helderfontein.
Southdowns College won 31-15 against St Dunstan’s College, but they tasted defeat in their second outing, going down to a tight 21-23 loss against Reddam Helderfontein.
Marist Brothers, after their loss to Curro Helderwyk, made a strong comeback with a 37-6 win over Christian Brothers’ College (CBC) Mount Edmund.
CBC Mount Edmund lost by almost the same score against St Dunstan’s College, who won 36-7.
Pool D
In Pool D, Clapham High, recognised for its outstanding football programme and its strong connections with Mamelodi Sundowns, demonstrated excellence on the basketball court, too, on Friday. They outplayed Crawford International Lonehill, winning 45-17, before seeing off Blue Hills College 48-22.
The hosts, St Peter’s College, claimed two hard-fought wins, beating Blue Hills 23-15 before picking up a narrow 22-19 win against African Leadership Academy.
Pecanwood College also edged out African Leadership Academy, recording a 20-18 win, while Crawford beat Pecanwood 33-22.
Girls’ Competition
Pool A
In Pool A of the girls’ competition, St Mary’s Waverley and Enjabulweni High emerged as strong contenders after excelling in their first two matches.
St Mary’s kicked off their challenge with a decisive 47-6 victory over Blue Hills College. It was far tighter in their second match, but they secured a 19-15 win over Norkem Park High.
In a low-scoring game, Enjabulweni High held on for a 13-9 win over Reddam Helderfontein. Again, there weren’t many points scored in their second outing, but they, nonetheless, cruised to a 17-2 win over the St Peter’s College Invitational Team.
After suffering a loss in their first match, Norkem Park got themselves onto the winning track with a 15-4 victory over the St Peter’s College Invitational Team, while Reddam Helderfontein celebrated their first win of the festival, beating Blue Hills College 16-9.
Pool B
In Pool B, the competition for first place in the group is fierce, with Herschel Girls School, St John’s DSG, and Southdowns College all achieving victories in their opening matches.
Herschel romped to the most lop-sided victory of the day, blanking Jeppe High School for Girls 51-0. Following that huge win, the Cape Town school continued their dominance, powering to a 29-1 win over Dainfern College.
St John’s DSG had to scramble to pick up a close 12-10 victory over Crawford International – Sandton, but they had things their own way against Jeppe, easing their way to a 41-0 win.
Southdowns College also won twice, coming out on the right end of two low-scoring affairs – the first a 14-8 victory over Dainfern and the second a closely contested 15-14 win against Crawford.
Pool C
The hosts, St Peter’s College, and Hilton’s St Anne’s Diocesan College lead Pool C after Friday’s matches.
St Peter’s powered their way to a comfortable 26-3 win over Saheti School. That was a disappointing result for Saheti, who recently won The King’s Linbro Basketball Tournament. For the hosts, the victory was a statement, and they followed it up with a 27-13 win over CBC Mount Edmund.
St Anne’s also defeated Saheti, winning 26-7, before beating St Dunstan’s College 19-13.
CBC Mount Edmund, after their opening loss, trounced Trinityhouse Glenvista 26-2, while St Dunstan’s also beat Trinityhouse, winning 20-11.
Pool D
Redhill School caught the eye in group D with two wins on Friday. They enjoyed a smooth ride against Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) – Makhanda, winning 32-8, and then defeated Marist Brothers 17-7.
St Cyprian’s School also enjoyed a fantastic Friday, with two 11-5 wins, downing African Leadership Academy and Dominican Convent – Harare.
The Zimbabwean side claimed a tight 9-7 win over DSG, while Marist Brothers also went from defeat to victory, beating African Leadership Academy 10-4.
RESULTS
Boys’ Competition
Pool A
St David’s 39-16 CBC Boksburg
Redhill School 30-15 Enjabulweni High School
Redhill School 32-12 CBC Boksburg
ESCA Wanderers 40-12 Norkem Park
St David’s 26-8 Norkem Park
ESCA Wanderers 48-6 Enjabulweni High
Norkem Park 27-24 CBC Boksburg
ESCA Wanderers 45-15 Redhill School
Pool B
St John’s College 32-23 Dainfern College
Crawford International – Sandton 29-27 Saheti
Parktown Boys’ High 38-23 Crawford International – Sandton
Parktown Boys’ High 39-13 Pernyn College
Saheti 20-11 Dainfern College
St John’s College 38-8 Penryn College
Parktown Boys’ High 23-14 Saheti
Dainfern College 23-22 Penryn College
Pool C
St Dunstan’s College 36-7 CBC Mount Edmund
Reddam Helderfontein 23-21 Southdowns College
Marist Brothers 37-6 CBC Mount Edmund
Curro Helderwyk 41-14 Marist Brothers
Curro Helderwyk 35-10 Reddam Helderfontein
Southdowns College 31-15 St Dunstan’s College
Pool D
Pecanwood College 20-18 African Leadership Academy
St Peter’s College 23-15 Blue Hills College
Clapham High 45-17 Crawford International Lonehill
St Peter’s College 22-19 African Leadership Academy
Crawford International Lonehill 33-20 Pecanwood College
Clapham High 48-22 Blue Hills College
Girls’ Competition
Pool A
St Mary’s Waverley 47-6 Blue Hills College
Enjabulweni High School 13-9 Reddam Helderfontein
Enjabulweni High School 17-2 St Peter’s College Invitational
Norkem Park 15-4 St Peter’s College Invitational
Reddam Helderfontein 16-9 Blue Hills College
St Mary’s Waverley 19-15 Norkem Park
Pool B
St John’s DSG 12-10 Crawford International – Sandton
Southdowns College 14-8 Dainfern College
Herschel Girls School 51-0 Jeppe
Southdowns College 15-14 Crawford International – Sandton
St John’s DSG 41-0 Jeppe
Herschel Girls School 29-1 Dainfern College
Pool C
CBC Mount Edmund 26-2 Trinityhouse
St Peter’s College 26-3 Saheti
St Anne’s Diocesan College 19-13 St Dunstan’s College
St Peter’s College 27-13 CBC Mount Edmund
St Anne’s Diocesan College 26-17 Saheti
St Dunstan’s College 20-11 Trinityhouse
Pool D
St Cyprian’s School 11-5 Dominican Convent Harare
Redhill School 32-8 DSG Makhanda
St Cyprian’s School 11-5 African Leadership Academy
Marist Brothers 10-4 African Leadership Academy
Redhill School 17-7 Marist Brothers
Dominican Convent Harare 9-7 DSG Makhanda
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