Inanda Hoops quarterfinals ready to ignite as title holders are eliminated
On Friday, the second day of the Inanda Hoops Classic Challenge at St David’s Marist Inanda, the high intensity basketball that was evident on the first day of the tournament continued and set the stage for the quarterfinals on Saturday.
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One of the huge upsets of the day was the early elimination of the defending champions, St Stithians College, from title contention.
In Pool A, the hosts, St David’s, who had won both of their games on Thursday, qualified for the quarterfinals along with Parktown Boys’ High, who finished top of the group.
On Friday, St David’s started off Pool A’s action with a decisive 54-28 victory over Redhill School. However, the hosts were unable to overcome Parktown Boys’ High and went down by only three points in a thriller, with Parktown holding on for a slim 45-42 win.
Parktown also beat Sacred Heart College 46-38 on Friday, while Pretoria Boys High enjoyed an excellent day after suffering defeats to St David’s and Parktown on Thursday. They overran Sacred Heart 71-20 and downed Redhill 46-32.
A second-place finish leaves St David’s to take on Michael Mount Waldorf, who topped Pool D, in the quarterfinals, while Parktown faces an intriguing match against St John’s College for a place in the semi-finals, which are scheduled for Saturday evening.
In Pool B, King Edward VII School (KES) and St Benedict’s College made it through to the quarterfinals. On Saturday, KES takes on Hilton College, the second-place finishers from Pool C, while Bennies tackle The King’s School Linbro, the winners of Pool C.
KES was the most dominant team on day one of the event, and they added two more emphatic wins on day two, handing Grey High a 66-29 loss before beating Michaelhouse 56-34. One of their wins on Thursday was a 57-42 defeat of the second-place finishers, St Benedict’s.
Bennies comfortably handled Grey High on Friday, winning 52-32, while a 40-26 win over St Stithians ensured the defending champs would miss out on the quarterfinals. Michaelhouse also beat Saints, scoring a 34-31 victory.
In Pool C, King’s Linbro finished with an unblemished record, winning all four of their matches.
On Friday, they beat St Peter’s College 44-33 before holding off a stern challenge from St Alban’s College, claiming a one-point 30-29 win.
After winning one match and losing to King’s Linbro on Friday, Hilton College decisively defeated St Peter’s College 41-9 and followed up with a 33-17 victory over Inanda Invitational.
St Alban’s College, meanwhile, beat Inanda Invitational 32-17 after their loss to King’s Linbro earlier in the day.
From Pool D, both Michael Mount and St John’s College advanced to the quarterfinals, with Michael Mount leading the way.
On Friday, St John’s College, who lost to Michael Mount, bounced back with a 46-41 win over Crawford College. They, then, secured their place in the last eight with a 44-32 defeat of St Andrew’s College.
Michael Mount downed St Andrew’s 51-39 and beat Jeppe High School for Boys 48-34. The Kensington boys also fell 53-60 to Crawford, which left Jeppe winless.
Saturday’s schedule includes the quarterfinal matches, as well as the classification and positional games, with the semifinals highlighting the action in the evening.
RESULTS
Friday, 17 October
Pool A
St David’s 54-28 Redhill
Pretoria Boys High 71-20 Sacred Heart College
Parktown Boys’ High 45-42 St David’s
Pretoria Boys High 46-32 Redhill
Parktown Boys’ High 46-38 Sacred Heart College
Pool B
St Benedict’s College 53-32 Grey High School
Michaelhouse 34-31 St Stithians College
KES 66-29 Grey High
St Benedict’s College 40-26 St Stithians College
KES 56-34 Michaelhouse
Pool C
Hilton College 41-9 St Peter’s College
St Alban’s College 32-17 Inanda Invitational
The King’s Linbro 44-33 St Peter’s College
Hilton College 33-17 Inanda Invitational
The King’s Linbro 30-29 St Alban’s College
Pool D
St John’s College 50-22 KES
St John’s College 46-41 Crawford
Michael Mount 51-39 St Andrew’s College
Crawford 60-53 Jeppe
St John’s College 44-32 St Andrew’s College
Michael Mount 48-34 Jeppe
Saturday, 18 October
Fixtures
Quarterfinals
09:15
Court 1 – Parktown Boys’ High (A1) vs St John’s College (D2)
Court 2 – KES (B1) vs Hilton College (C2)
Court 3 – Michael Mount (D1) vs St David’s (A2)
Court 4 – The King’s Linbro (C1) vs St Benedict’s College (B2)
Consolation Games
09:15
Court 5 – Grey High (B5) vs Inanda Invitational (C5)
13:00
Court 1 – Pretoria Boys High (A3) vs Crawford (D3)
Court 2 – Michaelhouse (B3) vs St Alban’s College (C3)
Court 3 – Redhill (A4) vs St Andrew’s College (D4)
Court 5 – St Stithians College (B4) vs St Peter’s College (C4)
Semifinals
18:00
Court 1 – Winners QF1 vs QF2
Court 2 – Winners QF3 vs QF4
