Northwood retains St John’s Basketball Tournament title
There is something about certain teams that makes them almost unbeatable in big tournaments, the clutch gene.
In rugby, the Springboks carry that unbeatable aura in World Cups. In cricket, the Aussies exude the same aura in ICC events. It seems, in high school basketball, coach Kent VanderYacht‘s Northwood School occupies a similar space.
The Knights entered the St John’s College Basketball Tournament as the defending champions, thus making them a team that all others would target. However, when the dust had settled on Sunday afternoon, Northwood had gone back-to-back, beating the hosts, St John’s College, 53-42 in the title decider.
The Durban school led from the start of the final and imposed themselves on a nervous St John’s outfit. At the end of the first quarter, though, they held only a three-point lead.
Both defences stood strong in the second quarter, but Northwood ended it with an eight-point advantage, ahead 24-16 at the break.
With Siya Shabalala producing a clinical performance, pulling the strings, and dominating the game, the Knights were in front and looked unlikely to cede their lead.
In the third quarter, the Knights continued to pressure St John’s. All credit to the home team, though, they matched Northwood, with both sides adding nine points.
Coach VanderYacht’s team pressed hard for victory in the last quarter. St John’s, led by Bandile Nsele, Clemen Kock, and Sihle Ndlovu, fought to the end, adding 17 points, but Northwood one-upped them, improving their lot by 20 points to finish with a 53-42 victory and the title of champions of the St John’s College Basketball Tournament for a second year in succession.
Scoring
1st Quarter: St John’s College 12-15 Northwood School
2nd Quarter: St John’s College 16-24 Northwood School
3rd Quarter: St John’s College 25-33 Northwood School
4th Quarter: St John’s College 42-53 Northwood School
Earlier in the day, Jeppe, after going down to Northwood by 20 points in a group stage match, gave the Knights all they could handle, in the semi-finals but they eventually succumbed 40-45. St John’s handed Pretoria Boys High a 31-26 loss in the other semi-final.
The u15 final was contested by two KZN sides, with Maritzburg College pulling off a 15-point win over the defending champions, Hilton College.
FINAL RESULTS
u19: St John’s College 42-53 Northwood School
u15: Maritzburg College 57-42 Hilton College
Playoffs
23rd/24th – International School of South Africa 25-9 St Peter’s College
21st/22nd – St John’s College (Zim) 36-18 St Andrew’s College
19th/20th – Maritzburg College 19-9 Sacred Heart College
17th/18th – Falcon College (Zim) 22-23 S David’s Marist Inanda
15th/16th – American International School of Johannesburg 48-17 Alma Mater International School
13th/14th – St Charles College 28-43 St George’s College
11th/12th – Michael Mount 26-25 Parktown Boys’ High
9th/10th – King Edward VII 43-33 Hilton College
7th/8th – The King’s School Linbro 33-40 Park St Alban’s College
5th/6th – St Stithians College 24-25 St Benedict’s College
3rd/4th – Pretoria Boys High 31-26 Jeppe High School for Boys
1st/2nd – Northwood School 53-42 St John’s College
Final Standings
u15
1 Maritzburg College
2 Hilton College
3 The King’s School Linbro Park
4 King Edward VII School
5 St Stithians College
6 Kearsney College
7 St John’s College
8 Jeppe High School for Boys
9 St David’s Marist Inanda
10 Michael Mount Waldorf
11 St Benedict’s College
12 Mangaung Knights
13 Soweto Basketball Academy
14 Northwood School
15 Sacred Heart College
16 Pretoria Boys High
17 Saheti School
18 St Andrew’s College
19 St Alban’s College
20 St Charles College
21 Redhill School
22 St John’s College Invitational
23 Clifton College
24 St Peter’s College
u19
1 Northwood School
2 St John’s College
3 Pretoria Boys High
4 Jeppe High School for Boys
5 St Benedict’s College
6 St Stithians College
7 St Alban’s College
8 The King’s School Linbro Park
9 King Edward VII School
10 Hilton College
11 Michael Mount Waldorf
12 Parktown Boys’ High
13 St George’s College
14 St Charles College
15 American International School of Johannesburg
16 Alma Mater International School
17 St David’s Marist Inanda
18 Falcon College
19 Maritzburg College
20 Sacred Heart College
21 St John’s College (Harare)
22 St Andrew’s College
23 International School of South Africa
24 St Peter’s College
U19 Awards
Gold – Northwood School
Silver – St John’s College
Bronze – Pretoria Boys High School
U19 All-Star Team
Yanda Peter, St John’s College
Mitchell Igboegwe, Northwood School
Chris-Junior Okeke, Jeppe High School for Boys
Nehemiah Nii-Artee, Pretoria Boys High School
Ikechukwu Ejike, St Benedict’s College
U19 MVP
Sims Vacu, Northwood School
U15 Awards
Gold – Maritzburg College
Silver – Hilton College
Bronze – The King’s School, Linbro Park
U15 All-Star Team
Fynn Asamoah, Hilton College
Nkazimulo Dlamini, Maritzburg College
Langalethu Shabalala, King Edward VII School
Nathan Platt, The King’s High School, Linbro Park
Mbusi Keta, St Stithians College
U15 MVP
Tinyiko Maseko, Maritzburg College
