St Peter’s School, Cambridge finished fifth, and Rosmini College sixth, at the ISF World Schools Basketball Championship in Greece after contrasting results on the final day of action.
St Peter’s saw off the challenge of Chile winning 50-42 on the back of 17 points from Ella Bradley and ten points from Charlisse Leger-Walker – a couple of baskets from Waiata Jennings late in the fourth helping seal the victory. Tall Fern guard Leger-Walker was named to the Tournament All-Star Five after guiding the team to six victories in seven games – their only loss a quarter-final defeat against Greece.
Rosmini couldn’t quite emulate the effort of St Peter’s as they were run down 71-70 by Greece in an exciting climax to their campaign. Rosmini led by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter but, hampered by the loss of Reihana Maxwell-Topia due to a first half injury, couldn’t quite hold off the fast finishing hosts.
28 points from Taine Murray and 14 points from Sean Murphy (the pair made four triples apiece) were the main contributors for Rosmini. A Jayden Boucher basket gave the visitors a one point buffer in the final seconds but a couple of foul calls later Greece were able to claim the lead from the foul line and deny Rosmini who had a game winning attempt rim out on the buzzer.
Both St Peter’s and Rosmini can reflect on successful tournaments representing their schools and New Zealand with distinction at a World Championship event.
Israel claimed the Boy’s gold medal beating Greece 79-78 in the final and Finland beat Turkey 70-60 to top the podium in the Girl’s Final.
LACEY LOWDOWN 