GBL games roundup for 17/08/2008
University of Pretoria vs. University of Johannesburg – GBL men
UJ are very inconsistent of late and their team composition is also changing with every game with new faces added to the roster. The one feature of their team that remains dominant is the presence of Thabo Letsebe (UJ 15) who seems like he is carrying his team’s hopes on his shoulders. They came into this game on the back of the shock defeat at the hands of TUT last week and were looking to make amends at the LC de Villiers indoor stadium.
Tuks on the other hand are on a losing streak of note and can’t seem to find the game to break it. They started this game hoping to banish the USSA 2008 demons where they were demolished by UJ 103 – 35; and having added the non students to their squad along with the return of Shane Bamuza they had a side capable of holding their own, so we thought…
The first quarter, UJ started with a zone defence which allow Tuks to keep up with them although they were always trailing by 1 or 2 baskets. Towards the end of the 1st Quarter, UJ switched to a full court man to man defense and Tuks couldn’t handle the pressure and just kept making turnover after turnover and the gap between the two teams ballooned very quickly.
UJ were capitalising on the basic mistakes made by the Tuks team and scoring easy baskets (3 vs. 1, or 2 vs. 1 situations most of the time). And with Thabo Letsebe pulling the strings with his inside outside game, Thabang Glass (UJ 4) was doing his thing on the low post with some beautiful spin moves that bamboozled the Tuks defence. At half time the score was 45 – 29 to UJ.
Tuks were unstructured and couldn’t beat the press all game which is surprising considering they have played UJ three times already so you would think that they would have figured it out by now. They were made to look like beginners on the court and despite the efforts of Shane Bamuza (Tuks 14), Tebogo Mphafudi (Tuks 10) and their coach Danny Malothane to rally the troops; they were missing lay-ups on the fast break, sleeping on defense and didn’t know how to pass the ball; all of which didn’t help their cause. UJ always had a threat inside and outside especially with the hot shooting from their guards. This was an easy game for UJ despite having a full team on the injury list. Final score: Tuks 54 – UJ 93
Dragons vs. Vaal University of Technology – GBL men
When you looked at the GBL schedule, this was supposed to be a close game or at least an entertaining one. Alas it wasn’t to be; VUT came, saw and conquered while the young Dragons team capitulated as soon as the 1st basket was scored.
VUT came out with their usual in your face man to man defense that induced mistakes from the Dragons side. VUT ran fast break after fast break through their capable guards, Nhlanhla Dlamini (VUT 7), Vusi Radebe (VUT 6) and Tsepo Matsie (VUT 12). When the break wasn’t on they relied on their hot shooting from the perimeter. VUT have been reduced in size of late and Philani Biyela (VUT 5) found himself playing in the post position during the game which he handled well.
Dragons were held scoreless for long periods during the game and they looked scared or awestruck. But when they managed to settle down, they started scoring some quality baskets through their posts (Dragons 15) while their guard (Dragons 11) had some good moment but those were few and far during the game to make any inroads to the VUT scoreline. Final score: Dragons 45 – 86 VUT
Panthers (CUT) vs. University of Johannesburg 2nd – GBL men
Sometimes you raise your game to the standard of the opposition you are facing and this is what happened with this very impressive second unit of the University of Johannesburg. They came out with no fear and with an amazing point guard controlling the game they managed to keep up with their more illustrious opponents from the Free State. Nkuleng Gumede (UJ 10) is one to keep an eye on for the future, he looks like an amazing prospect; he ran the show for the team from the point guard position and kept finding his teammates with some amazing passes. He also managed to score some 3 pointers from down town. He showed good qualities to become a good point guard, vision, passing, teamwork, shooting, leadership and patience…
Panthers have good players in all positions but might have underestimated their opponents or lowered their standards. There was no team work, and at one stage it looked as if everyone wanted to hug the limelight with posts going coast to coast on several occasions. There was some good play from the posts when they set the play and passed it around, in particular their 2 towers Prince and Thomas were no match for their much smaller opponents. The usually flamboyant Vusi Sithole (Panthers 7) was conspicuous in his absence and only had a few moments of brilliance in the game, including a failed dunk on the fast break.
Considering that Panthers trashed Tuks 1st by 30 points last week, the UJ 2nd unit can be very proud that they managed to hold them to a 32 point margin but Panthers have to learn to play with the same intensity whoever they play. Final score: Panthers 62 – UJ 2nd 30
In other games…
University of Witwatersrand vs. Chariotters – GBL ladies
Wits ladies finally ended their losing streak with their first win of the season; they were always in control of this game. They looked fitter than the Chariotters ladies who didn’t have a bench to call upon. Wits controlled the boards through their posts (Wits 13 and Wits 7) and had quick guards (Wits 11 and Wits 8) who drove to the hoop with good effect. Chariotters looked like a one man team, relying on the skill of their guard (Chariotters 13) who looked a bit tired from the heavy workload. Wits found ways through the leaking zone defense and Chariotters couldn’t match the threat posed at the post with good defense. Final score: Wits 41 – Chariotters 29
University of Pretoria 2nd vs. University of Witwatersrand 2nd – GBL men
Tuks 2nd team started like a house on fire, but as the game wore on they ran out of steam and ideas. They made too many turnovers that eventually cost them the game. Wits 13 had a good game at the small forward position and had a free pass to the Tuks key in the 2nd half which caused a lot of problems for the home team. In the post, it was an interesting battle between the opposing number 11 Wesley Dippering (Tuks 11) and Long (Wits 11) but in the end; Wesley had 4 turnovers in a row while Long started finding the baskets easily. If Tuks want to compete they will have to take care of the ball better in their next games. Final score: Tuks 2nd51 – 54 Wits 2nd
University of Pretoria 2nd vs. University of Johannesburg 2nd – GBL ladies
Tuks 2nd team ran away with this one and UJ 2nd team didn’t have any answer to this test. Tuks played some very good defense and built their game around it. They starved the UJ ladies of any quality balls and ran them ragged. Thato Legodi (Tuks-10) and Julia (Tuks-8 ) were combining well both on defense and offense which led to some easy baskets for their teammates. When their teammates were not available for the pass, they took it upon themselves with accurate shooting from mid range. UJ managed to keep up with Tuks until about half time and then the baskets dried up and they could only control the defense side of things. Final score: Tuks 2nd 67 – 27 UJ 2nd
University of Witwatersrand vs. Bees – GBL ladies
This is a game that Wits should have won on the back of some good basketball in the 1st half, during which they led 27 – 21 at half time. But Bees were getting away with some aggressive play at crucial stages in the game that Wits crumbled in the last quarter.
Wits point guards had good games throughout, especially their number 10 and 8 who were shooting well. But Bees were matching them in that department through the play of Modiegi Mokoka (Bees 10) and Bees 5 and they had a bit more in the post by controlling the rebounds both on defense and offense. That was the eventual difference and the game ended in favour of Bees. The less said about the referring the better, if it was a boxing match I would understand but they were making some dodgy calls throughout the game for both sides. Final score: Wits 55 – 50 Bees.
University of Witwatersrand vs. Blizzards – GBL men
This was the battle between the structured and the unstructured. Wits had a coach, Blizzards didn’t; Wits were young, Blizzards had experience edged on their face. In the end experience triumphed but it was close and Wits will be kicking themselves for not putting this game away when they had the opportunity with a few minutes left. As usual, their post (Wits 15) kept them in the game with some good play all over the court but it wasn’t enough as they succumbed to defeat by 3 points. Final score: Wits 51 – 48 Blizzards
University of Johannesburg vs. Tshwane University of Technology – GBL ladies
TUT strengthened their side but it didn’t matter as UJ steamrolled them. I guess the UJ girls deserved the rewards they got after making easy work of their opponents. Final score: UJ 76 – TUT 20
Tshwane University of Technology vs. Vaal University of Technology Alumni – GBL men
After defeating UJ last week, you would have expected TUT to make easy work of the golden oldies plying their trade for VUT alumni. But without the presence of Neo Mothiba and Fumani Marhanele, the youngsters from TUT were upstaged by the more experienced VUT Alumni in what can be considered an upset. Final score: TUT 69 – VUT Alumni 74
I wish all games were a bit more exciting like last weekend but you can’t have close games every weekend….
ciao,V