117 This page is sponsored by: The Blignaut family BASKETBALL BASKETBALL 1ST TEAM BACK LEFT: I Ngidi, N Mkhwanazi, D Fabre, D Blignaut, J-L Talbot, B Karnezos, R Booyens, Y Ngidi FRONT LEFT: W Mabaso, M Dlamini (Capt), Mr M Delport (Coach), I Sprague, W Redinger 1ST TEAM The first team had a sluggish opening season and never really got going. There were some good moments and the team did improve with each game, but they never quite peaked. They were too timid to express themselves on the cour t and they lacked solid leadership due to no one being ready to carry the team on their shoulders. Perhaps because the seniors come from a losing playing career, they lacked selfbelief and did not trust their instincts. That said, there were moments of brilliance when the team looked ready to take its place in the sun only to stumble at the final hurdle. They beat Michaelhouse at home in the opening fixture but then slumped to two huge losses to DHS andWestville. This was followed by a humiliating home loss to Clifton – who appears to be Kearsney’s Achilles’ heel. The following week the players picked themselves up and beat Hilton and the touring American International School. The team then put in their best performance of the year against Nor thwood on the final weekend of fixtures for the opening season. At the St Johns schools tournament in Johannesburg the team did well to make it to the quarter finals. Unfor tunately, they lost narrowly to Pretoria Boys and finishing eighth out of the twenty schools: the second highest placed KZN school. During the closing season we decided to play a stayers team to allow the matrics to concentrate on their final examinations. This gave the younger members of the team an opportunity to develop in preparation for the opening season of 2012. The team went on a camp at Ashbur ton where Bob Graham worked extensively on individual and team defensive strategies. There were injuries to key players Ben Karnazeos and MatthewWhitmore. These vital boys were unable to play for most of the season. The opener against Maritzburg College was a good one with Kearsney emerging victorious and showing their potential. The team then choked against Hilton and Michaelhouse, losing both games by the narrowest of margins. Then St Benedict’s came down from Johannesburg on a tour of KZN and the team played sublime basketball to record a resounding victory. The two most difficult fixtures: St Charles and DHS went well and Kearnsey restricted the scores in these matches to 7 and 68 respectively. The game against Alex the following weekend was a disaster for the team played poorly and lost to a team that was clearly inferior. But it is said that we learn more from losing than from winning so this young team will have the opportunity to demonstrate their character in the opening season of 2012. They will hopefully turn around some of these losses. Myles Delport RESULTS Played: 20 Won: 8 Lost: 12
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