26 February 2024
Northwood delivered a phenomenal performance to run away with the u19 title at the St John’s College Basketball Tournament on Sunday, while Hilton College stole the show in the u15 section, comfortably beating the hosts, St John’s, to land the title in their age group.
Northwood and the defending champions, St Charles College, were in semi-final action against St Alban’s College and King Edward VII (KES) respectively in the u19 tournament. Both contests were close. The Knights defeated St Alban’s 57-52, while KES held on for a 75-72 win over Saints.
The local side, KES, from just a kilometre down the road from St John’s, had cruised through all of their games until their semi-final clash with St Charles, but they, once again, had the necessary answers. Against the Knights, they had few.
Led by an outrageously good performance from tournament MVP Lusanda Hlongwane, Northwood dismantled the KES offence and hit them time and time again on the counterattack. The key to the Knights’ win was an outstanding defensive effort, which kept KES shooting from range, and when they missed Northwood cleaned up on the boards and attacked.
On the opposite end of the court, the Durban boys showed composure to find the open man time after time, and Hlongwane bossed the boards, gathering offensive rebounds, which were then turned into points.
In an astonishing performance, the Knights powered their way into a one-sided 49-19 half-time lead and then went on to a big 85-43 victory.
With their showing in Johannesburg, they firmly laid claim to being the number one team in the country.
At the conclusion of the event, besides the MVP, Hlongwane, Northwood also had Chadley Hargreaves named in the Tournament All-Star Team. They were joined by Taite Hendricks, of St Charles, Onea Bvumi, of St Alban’s, and Raymond Gordon, of KES.
u19 Results
Semifinals
King Edward VII 75-72 St Charles College
Northwood School 57-52 St Alban’s College
5-16
St Benedict’s College 58-51 Michaelhouse
ESCA Wanderers 35-33 Maritzburg College
Hilton College 34-37 St John’s College
St Stithians College 32-31 Pretoria Boys High
St David’s Marists Inanda 41-38 Michael Mount
Kearsney College 33-24 Sacred Heart College
3rd/4th
St Charles College 40-47 St Alban’s College
Final
Northwood School 85-43 King Edward VII
U15 Competition
In the u15 competition, Hilton College comfortably dealt with KES in the semi-finals, winning 33-24, while St John’s were pushed all the way by Michael Mount before emerging with a 48-46 victory.
The hosts had the advantage of home support in the final, but Hilton, the winners of the inaugural Michaelhouse u14 Basketball Tournament in 2023, had their number. Again, they won convincingly, this time by a 47-36 margin, to capture the prestigious title.
Hilton’s Litha Madinda was named the Tournament MVP. Joining him in the All-Star Team was his team-mate Jowi Cole, Michael Mount’s Reddy Riday, Hercil Nde, of KES, and Reza Creamer, of St John’s.
u15 Results
Semifinals
St John’s College 48-46 Michael Mount
Hilton College 33-24 King Edward VII
5-16
St Benedict’s College 54-46 St Stithians
Michaelhouse 29-49 Maritzburg College
Kearsney College 32-23 Sacred Heart College
Northwood School 24-32 Soweto Basketball Academy
Pretoria Boys High 32-38 Mangaung Knights
St Charles College 22-32 St Alban’s College
3rd/4th
Michael Mount 22-30 King Edward VII
Final
Hilton College 47-36 St John’s College
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