13 February 2024
Maritzburg College hosts the Jenny Orchard Invitational Basketball Tournament from midday on Thursday, 15 February. A jam-packed schedule concludes with the A Division final at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. For many, the hosts will be the favourites to lift the title, but it’s most definitely not a foregone conclusion.
Sports is unpredictable, as Michaelhouse proved in 2023 by claiming the inaugural Jenny Orchard Invitational title. They didn’t even win their pool, but they found something special in the playoffs to shock two of the title favourites.
Gritty Michaelhouse captures Jenny Orchard Invitational Title
A total of 26 u19 teams will be in action this year, with 16 competing in the A Division and 10 contesting the B Division.
Pool A has the look of “the group of death” about it, with Michaelhouse, St David’s Marist Inanda, Westville Boys’ High and DHS set to do battle. It’s really tough to call.
St David’s scored a 50-45 win over Jeppe this past weekend and appear to be a solid unit. Meanwhile, when DHS and Westville met in September last year, they entertained with a fantastic game that was decided by only two points.
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Pool B features St Charles College, Clifton College, Rondebosch Boys High and St John’s College.
Last year, in October, ‘Bosch whose basketball will be a bit of an unknown to the KZN and Gauteng schools, finished as runners-up in the u19 division of the Wynberg Basketball Festival, while their u16s lifted the title. That suggests that they should have some good depth in their ranks, but KZN and Gauteng have traditionally set the pace in the sport.
Saints possess some outstanding talents, Clifton, after successive wins over Glenwood and Hilton College, are on the up, while St John’s is usually among the leading schools in the country. They will, however, want to set the record straight after a 22-point defeat to St Alban’s this past weekend.
Kearsney College, semi-finalists in the Jenny Orchard Invitational in 2023, face the Soweto Basketball Academy, Hilton College and Bishops Diocesan College and they’ll fancy their chances of securing a quarterfinal berth.
Maritzburg College are up against ESCA Wanderers and SACS, the u19 winners of the Wynberg Basketball Festival, who in late January thumped Rondebosch 80-47.
At first glance, though, if there is any team that is going to challenge College for supremacy in the tournament, it’s going to be the other Pool D participant, Northwood. At the end of 2023, with the same personnel, the schools split a pair of games.
Both are currently playing good ball on both ends of the court. In their most recent outings, College beat DHS 62-40, while the Knights notched an eyebrow-raising 76-54 win over St Charles College.
They meet early in the tournament, at 13:30 on Thursday. Expect basketball of the highest order. It’s a cracking match-up.
Pool A of the B Section features UFS International, Pinetown’s St Benedict’s School, the Maritzburg College 2nd team, Queen’s College, and Treverton College.
Alexandra High, Botswana’s Maru-a-Pula, the Jenny Orchard Invitational Team, Eswatini’s Enjabulweni Independent School, and Wynberg Boys’ High will duel in Pool B.
In a welcome message, Maritzburg College Director of Basketball, Suwi Siwila, stated: “The Jenny Orchard Invitational Basketball Tournament has always stood for the values of sportsmanship, teamwork, and excellence. It’s not just about winning games but also about the journey, the camaraderie, and the lifelong memories that are created on the court.
“We firmly believe that each and every team participating embodies these qualities and will contribute to the tournament’s success.”
FIXTURES
A Division
Thursday
Alan Paton Hall (APH) 1
12:00 – Michaelhouse vs Westville (1); 13:30 – Maritzburg vs Northwood (3); 15:00 – SACS vs ESCA (5); 16:30 – St David’s vs DHS (7)
Alan Paton Hall (APH) 2
12:00 – St Charles vs Clifton (2); 13:30 – Kearsney vs Hilton (4); 15:00 – Rondebosch vs St John’s (6); 16:30 – Soweto vs Bishops (8)
Friday
APH 1
08:00 – Westville vs DHS (9); 09:30 – Michaelhouse vs St David’s (11); 11:00 – ESCA vs Maritzburg (13); 12:30 – LUNCH; 14:00 – SACS vs Northwood (15); 15:30 – DHS vs Michaelhouse (17); 17:00 – Westville vs St David’s (19); 18:30 – Northwood vs ESCA (21); 20:00 – SACS vs Maritzburg (23)
APH 2
08:00 – Rondebosch vs St Charles (10); 09:30 – Clifton vs St John’s (12); 11:00 – Soweto vs Kearsney (14); 12:30 – LUNCH; 14:00 – Hilton vs Bishops (16); 15:30 – Clifton vs Rondebosch (18); 17:00 – St John’s vs St Charles (20); 18:30 – Bishops vs Kearsney (22); 20:00 – Hilton vs Soweto (24)
Saturday
APH 1
08:00 – A3 vs B4 (25) – playoffs 9-16; 09:30 – C3 vd D4 (27) – playoffs 9-16; 11:30 – A1 vs B2 (29) – QF; 13:00 – BREAK; 13:30 – D1 vs C2 (31) – QF; 15:00 – L25 vs L27; 16:30 – W25 vs W27 (35); 18:00 – W29 vs W31 (35) – SF; 19:30 – L29 vs L31 – playoffs 5-8(39)
APH 2
08:00 – B3 vs A4 (26) – playoffs 9-16; 09:30 – D3 vs C4 (28) – playoffs 9-16; 11:30 – B1 vs A2 (30) – QF; 13:00 – BREAK; 13:30 – C1 vs D2 (32) – QF; 15:00 – L26 v L28; 16:30 – W26 vs W28 (36); 18:00 – W30 vs W32 (38) – SF; 19:30 – L30 vs L32 – playoffs 5-8 (40)
Sunday
APH 1
08:00 – W35 vs W36 – 9th/10th (41); 09:30 – W39 vs W40 – 5th/6th (43); 11:10 – Div B Final (45); 12:30 – W41 vs W42 – Div A Final (49)
APH 2
08:00 – L35 vs L36 (42) – 11th/12th; 09:30 – L39 vs L40 (44) – 7th/8th; 11:00 – L37 v L38 (46) – 3rd/4th
B Division
Thursday
GHS 1
16:00 – St Benedict’s vs Maritzburg B (1)
GHS 2
16:00 – Alexandra vs Wynberg (2)
Friday
GHS 1
08:00 – UFS vs Queen’s (3); 09:30 – Treverton vs Maritzburg B (5); 11:00 – UFS vs St Benedict’s (7); 12:30 – LUNCH; 14:00 – Treverton vs Queen’s (9); 15:30 – Maritzburg B vs UFS (11); 17:00 – St Benedict’s vs Treverton; 18:30 – Queen’s vs Maritzburg B (15)
GHS 2
08:00 – Maru-a-Pula vs Invitational (4); 09:30 – Alexandra vs Enjabulweni (6); 11:00 – Maru-a-Pula vs Wynberg (8); 12:30 – LUNCH; 14:00 – Enjabulweni vs Invitational (10); 15:30 – Alexandra vs Maru-a-Pula (12); 17:00 – Wynberg vs Invitational (14); 18:30 Enjabulweni vs Maru-a-Pula (16)
Saturday
GHS 1
08:00 – UFS vs Treverton (17); 09:30 – Queen’s vs St Benedict’s (19); 11:30 – A1 vs B4 – QF; 12:30 – BREAK; 13:00 – A2 vs B3 (23); 14:30 – W21 vs W22 – SF (25); 16:00 – W23 vs W24 – SF (27)
GHS 2
08:00 – Alexandra vs Invitational (18); 09:30 – Enjabulweni vs Wynberg (20); 11:00 – B2 vs A3 – QF; 12:30 – BREAK; 13:00 – B1 vs A4 – QF; 14:30 – L21 vs L22 – playoff 5-8; 16:00 – L23 vs L24 – playoff 5-8
Sunday
GHS 1
08:00 – A5 vs B5 (29) – 9th/10th; 09:30 – L25 vs L27 (31); 11:00 – W33 vs W34 (47) – Div A 13th/14th;
GHS 2
08:00 – L26 vs L28 (30) – 7th/8th; 09:30 – W26 vs 28 (32) – 5th/6th; 11:00 – L33 vs L34 (48) – Div A 15th/16th
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