CBA Winter Club Basketball Results 2013       Week ending Sunday 4^th Aug

 By Club Basketball Correspondent: Bruce Martin, with the aid of Dan Chan, Andrew Gebbie, Ben Sheat, Jamie Graham, Raghav Pratap and stats extraordinaire Sharon Erwood and her sidekick Anna

Photo Courtesy Anna Erwood Photography.

Other contributions from clubs with stats and copy would be appreciated and used whenever possible. Email: bruceymartin@hotmail.com

 Men’s Premier Championship

 Checkers, the defending champion, started off very determined against arch-rival Atami but the highly experienced Atami slowed the game to its pace to steadily pull away to win 82-66 in the Men’s Premier club basketball played in Cowles Stadium on Saturday. Wolverines lead all the way to a sound 82-58 over University while Lincoln University also made a determined start against Gators before Gators lifted its efforts and edged clear to win 79-68.

Atami leads the championship still unbeaten while Wolverines and Gators cemented a top four place sharing second place on 12 points. Checkers and University share fourth place leaving Checkers favoured to take the fourth semi-final berth on September 14^th as it would take a herculean effort from University to put out Checkers when they clash in round ten the week before. Come Piet, show them how and proof me wrong!!

 Atami too strong for Checkers winning 82-66

Paul McFarlin still showed he still has the skills from his NBL days quietly and efficiently compiling a solid 25 points, anticipating the bounce of the ball with uncanning accuracy and quickly shooting under immense pressure. While Checkers raced to a first-quarter 16-10 lead through the efforts of Pip Johnson and Tyson Silberry, Scott Howell came off the bench to slip in some quiet baskets to keep Atami in touch. Rusty Thompson and Sam Dobbs applied pressure in the second quarter for Atami while Ethan Rusbatch found gaps in the Atami defence to reply for Checkers. Atami outpointed Checkers in the second-quarter, trailing 34-35 at the turnaround while shutting down the elusive Nat Connell restricting him to just eight points. Five Atami players hit double figures as they steadily pulled away in the second spell while Rusbatch and Johnston where contained to 12 points each.

 Wolverines soundly beats University 82-58

Wolverines ran its game at speed, shooting at 43% against University’s 31% while also making second chance baskets count and had greater depth on its bench. Wolverines lead 37-29 at the half-time break with stronger teamwork while Joel Stratford continued to regain his strength after a long injury break slotting 15 points while adding 13 rebounds and four steals. Brent Fisher led the students’ efforts with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Sam Crozier added 14 points.

Master coach Jamie Graham sent in his report

The Prems also hoped to get back on track after a narrow loss last week going up against a confident University team. Both teams struggled early but the Wolves ended the qtr up 15 - 10 and looked to have complete control of the game.
The Wolfpack defense stepped up a gear in the second as they forced University into 22 turnovers and only 30.8% shooting for the game. The entire Wolverines team played well as they pulled away in the 4th winning 82 - 58.
Joel Stratford is starting to get back to his dynamic best as he was too much for University to handle scoring 15pts, 13reb and 4 steals.
Four other Wolf members hit double figures including Oli Davies 15pts, 3 steals,
James Levings 12pts, Mike Kinley 11pts, 6 assists and Lionel Hopgood 10pts, 12reb.
Notable mention to Andrew Kellaway who defended superbly against the bigger Sam Crozier and to The Dark Knight, Hitesh Pratap who made an instant impact offensively in limited minutes.

 Gators thwarts Lincoln 79-68

Lincoln is still striving for its first win in the championship round, raced to a 20-14 first-quarter lead through the efforts of Aled Jones with support from Vinnie George and Nick Erwood. Jeremy Kench, a former Tall Black and Matt Stevenson made welcome appearances for Gators with Kench adding five rebounds and five assists to his 11 points. The sharp shooting Jordan Duggan was restricted to 10 points while Chris Duthie weaved his magic through tight Lincoln defence.

A strong second-quarter saw Gators take a 38-32 lead by half-time while Lincoln continued to challenge strongly, Gators proved too strong in all around play.

 Scorers were:

Atami 82 (Paul McFarlin 25, Scott Howell 12, Sam Dobbs 12, Alex Dobbs 11, Ritchie Howell 10) Checkers 66 (Ethan Rusbatch 12, Pip Johnston 12). HT: Checkers 35-34. Wolverines 82 (Joel Stratford 15, 13R, 4S, Oli Davies 15, James Levings 12, Michael Kinley 11, 6A, Lionel Hopgood 10, 12R) University 58 (Brent Fisher 19, 12R, Sam Crozier 14, 10R). HT: 37-29. Gators 79 (Chris Duthie 11, 8R, Jeremy Kench 11, 5R, 5A, Jordan Duggan 10) Lincoln University 68 (Aled Jones 17, 6A, 7TO, Nick Erwood 16, 13R, Vinnie George 10, 14R). HT: 38-32.

 Women’s Premier Championship

 Minties only just maintained a share of the lead in the championship with Patron’s trophy winner Halswell while University retains third placing. These three teams are virtually assured a place in the semi’s on September 14^th while the remaining three are tightly bunched in the race to find a fourth semi-finalist over the final three rounds. The Lincoln/ Pioneer clash in week 10 could finally decide the fourth placing.

 Halswell too strong for Gators 72-41

Halswell over-powered Gators 72-41 in Women’s Premier championship action after leading 31-21 at half-time break. Canterbury Wildcat Italian Cecillia Zambrini led Halswell well with an energetic display coming from Natasha Van Vuuren while her mother, Marinda, was away at the World Golden Oldies in Italy. Former Wildcats Bridget Salkeld and Anna Williams had the experience to set the moves for Halswell and open gaps in the Gators defence, distributing the ball with ease. Kimberley Heron (18) and Chelsea Beaton (13) were the main contributors for Gators while Rachel Harrison was to the fore as usual leading by example with her advanced ball skills.

 University repulses strong challenge from Lincoln 69-63

The defending champion University repulsed a strong challenge from Lincoln University, a stronger third-quarter opening the way for a 69-63 win. In a battle of current Wildcats Shea Crotty led Lincoln with a solid 20 points with back up from Hannah Turton to nearly upset the defending champion University. Teenage representative Laken Wairau produced strong ball skills, scoring 14 off her 21 points including two 3’s and, along with her captain Rosanna Katene, made a breakthrough in the third quarter after Lincoln had lead 30-27 at the break. Fran Edmondson and Bridgette Lawn helped the busy Crotty in a desperate late challenge by Lincoln but the Canterbury students defence held and they escaped to a narrow win.

 Minties pips Pioneer 67-65

A five man Minties side also faced a determined challenge from Pioneer which was boosted by the return of Wildcat and National junior representative Tessa Boagni from injury. Minties sneaked home in a hectic last minute to win 67-65. Canterbury Wildcat Hayley Gray and Sally-Anne Tull led the Minties early efforts while Boagni quickly took a key role for Pioneer. Karla Martin fired up some useful basjkets to put Minties ahead 24-18 at the first break while honours where even in the second, Minties still ahead 36-30 at the turn around.

Harriet Hlavac worked hard inher final game for Pioneeer while Abbey Rutledge also worked hard as Pioneer put pressure on the tiring Minties. Coach Lance Henderson rung the chances to help Pioneer make a break through, closing to within a few points but despite Boagni slotting 13 of her 29 points in the final quarter, Minties escaped through the efforts of Martin and teenager Lauren Mangan.

 Scorers were:

University 69 (Laken Wairau 21, Rosanna Katene 16, Ashlee Fane 10) Lincoln University 64 (Shea Crotty 20, Hannah Turton 14, Bridgette Lawn 12, Fran Edmondson 19). HT: Lincoln 30-27. Minties 67 (Hayley Gray 16, Sally-Anne Tull 15, Sia Ah Tong 14, Karla Martin 12, Lauren Mangan 10) Pioneer 65 (Tessa Boagni 29). HT: 36-30. Halswell 72 (Cecillia Zambrini 19, Natasha Van Vuuren 12) Gators 41 (Kimberley Heron 18, Chelsea Beaton 13). HT: 31-21.

 Men’s Division One

Wolverines, the defending champion Placemakers Wolves and Atami have taken an early lead in the top six section of the MD1 competition leaving University and HSOB to fight out the remaining semi-final berth, but, as the competition has long been unpredictable in the grade any off the other three teams are capable of upsets and could make the grade with the three rounds remaining.

 Master coach Jamie Graham sent in his report

Wolverines 66 Checkers 44

The Div 1 boys moved another step closer to securing a Semi-Final Spot as they beat a scrappy Checkers team 66 - 44 in one of the ugliest games of basketball. In a very low scoring first half the Wolfpack found themselves down 22 - 20 as they allowed themselves to get frustrated.
The boys who started to self-doubt themselves, rallied together at the half and where determined not to let the first half debacle get them down. They came out with much better intensity and team effort as they destroyed any hopes Checkers had of an upset.
The boys have yet another week off this week before they take on Arch rivals Atami.

 Scorers were:

Top six: Wolverines 66 (Paul Havill 15, Nick Purcell 14) Checkers 44 (Alex Kerr 13, Michael Young 12, Stephen Mcleod 10), Atami 62 (Jamin Dyer 14, Hamish Williams 14) University 50 (Chris Grant 36), Placemakers 94 (Cameron Costley 25, John McDonald 22) HOSB 64 (Craig Wilson 25, John O'Leary 10).

Bottom four: North Canterbury 83 (Reilly Price 18, Trevor Brown 17, Simon Falloon 13, Danny Wilson 11) Pioneer Yellow 75 (Ben Magon 29, Mark Simmons 11, Matt Bathurst 10), Pioneer Blue 50 (James Pullar 13) Gators 44 (Mathew Ward 11). 

 Men’s Under 23 Championship

Gators continued its unbeaten run this season, repulsing a strong and determined challenge from Lincoln University, winning 76-62 with Wolverines and Lincoln now sharing second place in the Top four section of the grade. Atami has yet to record a win. In the bottom five pool University is unbeaten on three wins, North Canterbury which had the bye lies second and the defending champion Checkers is making a strong comeback, beating off a strong challenge from Royals 92-80.  University, Checkers, North Canterbury and Royals are now set to challenge in the elimination play-offs on August 31^st while Pioneer has completed its games in the round robin without a win after being hammered by University 104-49.

 CBA Mens’ U23 Reports – Round 13

 Gators v Lincoln University (76 – 62)

Gators continued their unbeaten streak as they dismantled a valiant Lincoln challenge, 76 – 62. Gators started strong and took a commanding lead into the half time break, up 41 – 25. Stern words at the break from Lincoln coach James Lissaman helped revive the sloppy Lincoln ball-play as they hit up a scoring tear to level the scores with minutes to play in the 3^rd. A niggly knee injury to USA-bound Zacc Dwan meant he was forced to sit for the rest of the game. This was a turning point as Gators took advantage of the loss to the Bulls and cruised to a comfortable victory. As per usual for Lincoln, Aled Jones and Nick Erwood led the scoring with 13 and 11 points respectively, while Vinnie George backed up another strong performace with a double double (10 points, 11 rebounds). However, the Jordan Brand player of the game went to Gators’ Chris Duthie (20 points, 12 rebounds) and he was ably aided by the gangly Kaye McKee (13 points, 9 reb).

 Wolverines v Atami (78 – 62)

A depleted Atami outfit fell short against a fired up Wolverines team wanting to get back to their winning ways, as Wolves ran away 78 – 62. With only five players for the whole game, it was always going to be a tough ask for the Atami boys’ but to their credit they stayed with the slick Wolverines as they were only behind by 5 at half time. However, captain Oli Davies took control after the break as he sliced and diced his way to 25 points with support from James Levings (22 points) and Hitesh Pratap (13 points). For Atami, Alex Dobbs (17 points), Bryn McLennan (17 points), Kyle Tikao (12 points) and Cam Chalmers (10 points) all notched double digits.

 Master coach Jamie Graham sent in his report

The U23's looked to get back to their winning ways as they went into their game against Atami full of confidence. They raced off to quick 10 point lead with James Levings scoring 11 of his 22pts in the first qtr as they headed into the second qtr up 22 - 11.
A lack of defensive intensity in the second saw Atami close the gap as they outscored the Wolves 19 - 13 and down only 5 going into the second half.
Oli Davies began to assert himself in the third as he scored 12 of his 25pts including two big 3pters to kill any chance of an Atami upset. Oli also added 10reb and 6 assists for the game.
Hitesh Pratap was also in fine form as he scored 13pts and 9reb as the Wolves pulled away to comfortably win 78 - 62 and move back into a tie for 2nd place.

 Checkers v Royals (92 – 80)

Royals pushed defending champions Checkers right till the very end with a determined effort, only to fall short 92 – 80. Royals’ Simon Hodgson and Josh Burke led all scorers with 25 points each with strong support from Hugh Munro (21 points). However, the experience of the Checkers squad guided them across the finish line with Tyson Silbery (18 points), Aidan Ryan (17 points), and Coree McGrath (11 points) helping to finish off the struggling 6-man Royals side.

 Varsity v Pioneer (104 – 49)

A peaking Varsity unit routed the cellar dwelling Pioneer side, 104 – 49. Varsity blitzed to a big lead early on, winning the first quarter 33 – 13 and never looked back. The students had four players in double figures – Ollie Crawford (27 points, 13/15 FG, 14 reb), Harley Campbell (24 points, 10/12 FG), Karl Magon (16 points) and Dan Mulder (14 points, 11 rebs). To Pioneer’s credit, they won the fourth quarter 18 -14 with Tyla Harrison-Hunt (11 points) scoring some nice buckets.

 Scorers were:

Top four:

Gators 76 (Chris Duthie 20, 12R, Kaye McKee 13, 9R, 3A) Lincoln University 62 (Aled Jones 13, 6A, Nick Erwood 11, 5R, 6TO, Vincent George 10, 11R), Wolverines 78 (Oli Davies 25, James Levings 22, Hitesh Pratap 13) Atami 62 (Alex Dobbs 17, Bryn McLennan 17, Kyle Tikao 12, Cam Chalmers 10). Points table: Gators ,Wolverines , Lincoln Univ , Atami.

Bottom five:

Checkers 92 (Tyson Silberry 18, Aidan Ryan 17, Coree McGrath 11) Royals 80 (Josh Burke 25, Simon Hodgson 25, Hugh Munro 21). HT: 43-40. University 104 (Ollie Crawford 27, Harley Campbell 24, Daniel Mulder 14) Pioneer 49 (Tyla Hunt 11). Bye: North Canterbury.

 Men’s Under 20

 Competition for a Top 8 remains very keen with just two games each left for all the teams to make their moves while warming up for the School Premierships early in September. Teams are still playing for the best ranked position in the Quarter-Finals on August 31^st, a week ahead of the Premierships in Nelson. 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 and 4 plays 5.

While Middleton Grange have their side running smoothly, they have yet to be really challenged with Burnside, the defending champion smarting from its two defeats. Christchurch and North Canterbury share third place (three losses each), Cashmere moved up the ladder after it defeated Lincoln, sharing 5^th spot with Lincoln.

Rangiora High and Gators will be looking for a chance to rescue the last two spots from the clutches of Stac and Wolverines.

Interesting and challenging match-ups this Saturday sees Cashmere and Burnside clash and Lincoln challenges Boys High. Rangiora should take out Aranui but it will be all on between Wolverines and Stac to keep their Top 8 placing. The following week has St Andrews pitted against North Canterbury, Burnside up against Boys High and Cashmere against Rangiora, all key matches still to come. Watch this space and get in behind to cheer them along.

 Cashmere extends Lincoln 76-59

Development coach Ben Sheat sent in his report _ Best of luck at Prems

After a messy few months with the players and I being all over the show we finally managed to get the full squad on the floor. We put together a good performance where we managed to work on a lot of our weaknesses although we still have a long long way to go to get to where we need to be in 24 days. Offensively we started well scoring 49 points in the first half however dropped off only scoring 27 in the second half. Defensively we were up and down giving up a lot of second chance points and easy basket in the paint. George Love with 14 points, 4 assists and 17 rebounds was a solid performer with Gainlorenzo Gai (16 points), PG Alex Irvine (11 points, 9 rebounds) and Joemer Altabano (13 points) also having decent games. We are definitely looking forward to our match up vs Burnside and Rangiora respectively in the next few weeks building into South Islands. 

Bruce takes up the story

Lincoln was without the services of an injured James Cawthorn, usually a prolific scorer, leaving Stu Erskine (24) and Sam Riley (13) to keep Lincoln in touch with the rampant Cashmere. Cashmere lead 28-18 at quarter-time and extended it to 49-35 by the turn around. Tight Cashmere defence kept Lincoln from the boards, forcing the outside shot with Lewis Cooper landing one triple and Riley another. Meanwhile Cashmere continued to increase the margin, up 66-44 by the third break.

 Rangiora High defeats Christ’s College 87-45

Rangiora’s Assistant coach and longtime mentor Andrew Gebbie has supplied this report

A good defensive effort by Rangiora High School led to a comfortable win over Christs College. Rangiora got off to a quick start and managed to force the Christs College players into turn overs that led to easy baskets. Riley Block distributed the ball well on the fastbreak with Rupert Jackman and Lucas Campbell being the main benefactors. Christ College came back strongly in the second half but unfortunately for them they were unable to score inside and were still plagued by turnovers. Rangiora High School could be happy with the way they rebounded the Basketball and ran their zone offense effectively.

For Christ’s Coll, Harry Beadel managed 11 points through tight Rangiora defence while Louis Mann was well contained.

 North Canterbury stops Wolverines 66-58

North Canterbury cemented its third place position in the MU20 competition with a narrow 66-58 win over the strong Wolverines club side after nudging ahead 38-28 at half-time through a strong second-quarter effort in the Bishopdale YMCA on Saturday. The third quarter was neck and neck with North Canterbury still ahead 56-43 but Wolverines mounted a strong last-quarter fightback. Daniel Mills slotted three valuable baskets in the time remaining to edge North Canterbury clear. Earlier in the match Lawson Morris-Whyte weaved his magic, driving the lanes to slot another fine 31 points under much pressure while good ball was feed to him through the efforts of Liam Connelly and Jordan De Winter.

Aaron Gunstone led the early charge for Wolverines while Jacob Fairhall worked hard for Wolverines at both ends of the court as North Canterbury pulled out all stops in the second quarter. Chris Johnston found range to keep Wolverines in touch in the third period. After   trailing 43-56 at the third break Jamie Austin made inroads into slackening North Canterbury defence, helping to close the gap to no avail.

 Burnside runs at speed against Aranui Academy 77-29.

Joe Hammond had his Burnside running strongly from the up and go with many well placed passes finding eager hands but all too often the finishing effort was poorly executed. After leading 15-6 at the first break Burnside began to find the target and was soon well ahead 41-13 at half-time. Jahnim Campbell stole numerous balls and drove strongly to the baskets to slot 20 points but often would also dish off to a better placed team mate. Oliver Fairbrother had the knack of being well positioned to take the pass off or grab the rebound ball. Aranui kept diligently to the game despite overwhelming odds and where deeper in trouble as its key ball handler Jarvis Ataera got into foul problems. His brother Javan, Hayden Lee and Ricky McDonald did their utmost to keep combat Burnside running strongly against overwhelming odds.

 Middleton Grange Gators too strong for Shirley Spartens 72-44

Middleton is looking by far the team to beat as it raced away to a comfortable 26-4 lead by quarter-time. After several triple points Regan Burnett polished off some good build up play and Peter McLean added more later in the second spell to see Middleton through to a 42-14 lead at the break. Middleton closed out the third quarter ahead 60-24 but relaxed the pressure in the final period after some precision shooting from George Klomp. Will Grocott and Reece Bonner stepped up for Shirley.

 Christchurch Boys HS defeats Gators 66-50

Stronger teamwork from Boys High saw them take a sound 22-13 lead by the first break but improved efforts from gators slowed the momentum down, Boys High ahead 35-24 by the half-time break. Nathan Campbell led another strong challenge in the third for Boys High but Tarapi Neilson (17) gave the Gators score some respectability in the final quarter.

 St Andrews Coll worked hard by St Bedes Coll, winning 57-44

Another strong team effort saw St Andrews take control of the game against fellow college St Bedes. Zak De Roo made the early breakthrough for St Andrews while Nick Symon picked up the pace and rebounded strongly, especially in the second quarter, Stac leading 28-12 at half-time. Miracle play-maker Jayden Chan, baby brother of Dan ‘The Man’, continued to show advanced skills setting the moves and slotting a number of baskets while Lauchie Weston led a strong response from Bedes, outpointing St Andrews 21-15 in the final quarter.

 Pioneer Pacers edges Papanui HS 69-67

Even at the bottom end of the grade competition remained competitive with Pioneer going head-to-head against Papanui. The hard driving , quick shooting Taylor Britt gace Papanui a good start, leading 21-15 at the first break while Will Brown penetrated to put Pioneer on the board. Kyle Spriggs lifted the Pioneer challenge in the second period closing the gap marginall y to 31-34while his team=-mates had a full time job trying to contain the rampant Britt who slipped in basket after basket with ease, amazing a high 45 points. While Spriggs and Brown kept the tally mounting in the final quarter it was Karesse Lavery that sunk Papanui’s hopes from the charity line.

 Scorers were:

Burnside HS 77 (Jahnim Campbell 20, Oliver Fairbrother 16, Kazuki Tsukiji 15) Aranui Academy 29 (Hayden Lee 8), North Canterbury 66 (Lawson Morris-Whyte 31) Wolverines 58 (Jacob Fairhall 13, Chris Johnston 11, Aaron Gunstone 10), Rangiora HS 87 (Lucas Campbell 18, Riley Block 14, Rupert Jackman 13, Barclay Miller 12) Christ’s College45 (Harry Beadel 11), Christchurch Boys HS 66 (Nathan Campbell 13, Josh Chin 12, Scott Ralston 11, Joshua Campbell 11) Gators 50 (Tarapi Neilson 17), Cashmere HS 76 (Gai Gainlorenzo 16, Joemar Altabano 15, George Love 14, 17R, 4A, Alex Irvine 11, 9R, Kyle Tikao 10) Lincoln HS 59 (Stu Erskine 24, Sam Riley 13), St Andrews Coll 57 (Nick Symon 18, Zac De Roo 13, Jayden Chan 10) St Bedes Coll 44 (Lauchie Weston 17), Middleton Grange Gators 72 (Ashleigh Adamson 15, George Klomp 13, Regan Burnett 10) Shirley Spartens 44 (Reece Bonner 8), Pioneer Pacers 69 (Willian Brown 18, Kyle Spriggs 14, Karesse Lavery 13) Papanui HS 67 (Taylor Britt 45).

 Boy’s Under 17

Burnside High White, Middleton Gators Green, Shirley Spartans and Chch Boys High

lead the Top six section of the developing U17 grade and looking likely semi-finalists. Burnside is the defending champion seeking to take another double with its U20 side also well placed. Burnside is yet to be stopped this season after hammering the slower starting Middleton Green side 82-53 earlier in the season.

Key matches this Saturday sees Boys High looking to stop Middleton green and Shirley hoping to upset Burnside while the key Burnside /Middleton Green clash is the last game of the round on the 24^th before the teams take a two week break to attend school tournaments.

 Burnside White scrapped home against Ch Ch Boys high 68-66.

Burnside White was given a wake-up call on Saturday by Ch Ch Boys high, having to come-back after trailing 32-35 at the turnaround. Oliver Fairbrother and Kazuki Tsukiji rode out the dangers from the quick thinking Quinn Clinton who shot 20 points for Boys High and marshalled the teams scoring.

 Scorers were:

Top 6: Burnside White 68 (Kazuki Tsukiji 25, Oliver Fairbrother 20, Kyle Louis 12) Ch Ch BHS 66 (Quinn Clinton 20, Ben Harris 17, Michael Knopick 12, Jack Ansell 12), Middleton Grange Green 103 (Sam Riley 20, Sam Lees 14, Jaden Janssen 14, Amosa Faitaua-Nanai 14, Barcaly Miller 11, Harry Mahoney 11) Burnside Green 60 (Toby Gillooly 32, Lewis Baker-McMillen 19), Shirley Spartens 75 (Jake Simpson 17, Will Grocott 16, Patrick Rogers 14, Sean Kelly 11) St Andrews Coll 41 (Jayden Chan 15, Ben Collerton 12).

Bottom 5: Lincoln 99 (Ben Bowie 30, Karesse Lavery 26, Tyler Burnett 19) Christ’s Coll 36 (Miro Sykes 11), Cashmere Gold 67 (Taine Tikao 16, Kanta Nagano 12, Jakob Strong-Van Gestel 12) Middleton Grange White 48 (Lewis Seo 15), Papanui HS 50 (James Small 13) St Bedes Coll 40 (Ollie Weston 15).

 Women’s Division One  

Royals showed that it is still the team to beat for this season’s WD1 championship with a solid 73-46 win over Minties while the defending champion Checkers showed it too has the skills as it outpointed arch-rivals Halswell 60-32.

With two rounds remaining it looks like Gators and Halswell are left to fight out the last semi-final berth on September 15^th.

 Scorers were:

Royals 73 (Candice Costley 19, Jo Casey 16) Minties 46 (Laura King 10), Checkers 60 (Helen Neighbours 14, Mandy Austin 14) Halswell WD1 32 (Loralee Pope 10). Bye: Gators.

 Women’s Under 20

 The defending champion University pulled out all stops as it hammered Pioneer Pacers 109-49 on Sunday while Halswell battled toe-to-toe before being edged 49-48 by the improving Pioneer Red team.

University, Rangi Ruru, Halswell U20 and Pioneer Red are destined for the semi’s on September 15^th. With three rounds still till play the pecking order in the semi’s has not been finalised.

 Scorers were:

Rangi Ruru 82 (Meg Thompson 22, Tessa Peck 16) Cashmere 21 (Jasmine Andrew 8), University 109 (Paige William 20, Olivia Clarke 20, Georgia-May Jensen 14, Esra McGoldrick 14) Pioneer Pacers 42 (Chrystal Pal 18, Alice Clarkson 15), Pioneer Red CGHS 49 (Sophie Cornish 9, Tiare Scott 8) Halswell U20 48 (Jess Ling 19, Aleni Chapman 17). Points after Round 7: University 14, Rangi Ruru 12, Halswell 11, Pioneer Red (CGHS) 11.

 Mid-week Men

 Raiders pip Burnham 46-43 to enhance a semi-final spot

Derek Watson sent in his report

Burnham were missing a few of their strong inside players but the Raiders turned on a good game and shot very well to make the most of their opportunities.

We were up by 8 with 3 minutes to go and used the time well towards the end and only had to hang onto the ball to close it out.

Matt had a mixed game but pulled out a timely 3 pointer and Jason has found some form that we knew he had. The rest of the team assisted the point scores well and everyone contributed when the chance arose.

Need to take the next two games to ensure the top four spot that we are looking for!

 Vince Van Dorn towered over all the players, taking good rebound ball for Burnham while slotting 12 points in the absence of their regular play-makers on Army duties.

Jason Ray, grandson of the late Albie Thompson, a CBA life member, shot 18 valuable points for Raiders to keep them in the hunt.

 University, Burnham and Checkers White have more or less secured a Top four semi-final berth with two rounds still remaining. Raiders have Bandits and The Bishops to contend with while Bandits also faces the near impossible task of downing University. The Bishops also have Burnham to front up with leaving one of these three to grab the remaining Top four semi-final berth.

 Scorers were:

Top Six: University 69 (Jason Rivett 27, Nick Gee 14, Nigel Stevens 11) The Bishops 39 (Simon Megget 16, Karl Moore 10), Checkers White 74 (Nigel Buchanan 16, Gordon Heyward 14) Bandits 51 (Shannon Buckingham 13, Nelson Santos 12, Rijjin Valiao 12, Ben Flintoft 10), Raiders 46 (Jason Ray 18) Burnham 43 (Vince Van Dorn 12, Lawrence 10).

Bottom 6: Sphinx 97 (James Taylor 39, Jilong Zhang 25) Goauld 50 (Daniel Williams 16, Reuben Buzzard 13), Lincoln University 83 (David Croymans 24, Tony Johnson 22, Matty Risi 17) Special Olympics 79 (Bradley Garner 31, Carlton Vivian 16, Jason Roberts 12, Craig Bennett 12), Royals 58 (Scott Nugent 16) Pioneer 28 (Alex Kelliher 19).

 Mid- Week Women Championship

 Halswell Red made Gina Papahadjis work very hard, fast breaking on to well-chosen delicate passes, notching another solid 33 points but some lack of concentration saw a numbe r of shots go wild as they hammered Royals 71-36 and CYA downed Pioneer 53-25. University fort out a close tussle with a depleted Hi-Rollers before winning 43-32.

 Scorers were:

Halswell Red 71 (Gina Papahadjis 33) Royals 26 (Leslie Dick 8), CYA 53 (Carmel Gunn 19, Briar Woodhead 11, Belinda Campbell 10) Pioneer 25 (Julia Thomson 6, Annie Dawson 6), Checkers 41 (Kathryn Hose 14) Halswell Green 23 (Claudine Tapsell 8), University 43 (Adela Knottenbelt 10) Hi-Rollers 32 (Aria Café 15)