NATIONAL volleyball rep and John Wesley College basketball coach Waisale Suka was a happy man after the performance of his charges in the last rounds of the Suva Secondary School Basketball competitions at Lambert Hall. They beat Marist Brothers High School, 29-22 after a tough battle. Suka, a Physical Education teacher, said he was very strict with the boys and made sure they were always present for training. "The boys are very committed to their training and being that this is the first time they are taking part in this competition it is very impressive to see how well they are doing," said Suka. The John Wesley side, captained by Benjamin Colata, is second on the points table with 13 points with Latter Day Saints College in the lead with 16. Colata was the top points scorer at yesterday's round of games with nine baskets. In the Under-15 grade, Marist whipped Gospel High School 28-6. There were many mistakes made by both sides ù being new to the sport. However, their efforts were commendable as they hustled their way through each other's defence. Rugby-style movements were on display along with volleyball-type passes, which caused an uproar. However, Gospel was no match for the lanky MBHS boys. Top-scorer for this grade was Paula Taitusi with seven baskets. The MBHS Under-17 team two played against International Secondary School in the last game with Marist winning 16-6. Topscorer and captain Iosefo Taliu led from the front as he slammed five baskets to gain the lead. MBHS coach Tevita Ratuyada was happy with his team's performance but said there was still a lot of room for improvement. Although both teams showed improvement, this year's secondary school basketball competition was awash with mistakes, missed attempts and numerous fouls. At one point the ball went the wrong way up the hoop, which caused much amusement. Basketball Fiji's development officer, Laisiasa Puamau, said this was a great improvement from the beginning of the competition and he looked forward to the Nationals in the second week of the school holidays.

Source: The Fiji Time Newspaper

Saturday 14th August 2010