Westlake Boys Premier Basketball vs Mount Albert Grammar School
Last Friday night the Westlake Boys Premier Basketball team played its most hard fought game of the season so far against a very spirited MAGS team.
The first half was an extremely low scoring affair from both sides, with each team playing very hard on the defensive end. The Westlake Boys were moving the ball well on the offensive end, getting some quality shots, but they would just not fall. Westlake also picked up too many fouls in the first half, which meant that MAGS was able to pick up easy points at the freethrow line. After a very slow offensive start from both sides, MAGS held a 4 point lead going into the halftime break (27 – 31).
The third quarter seemed like a completely different game, as Westlake came out positive and ready to take charge of the game. Behind some great defence and rebounding by the big men James Moors and Thabo Manyere, the team were able to quickly get into transition offense which proved the difference in the quarter. MAGS could not seem to run with Westlake in the quarter and this lead to easy baskets inside the paint or forcing MAGS into fouling. Early in the quarter all the guards, especially Captain Isaac Letoa, starting taking the ball aggressively to the hoop.
Once MAGS was over the foul limit, about halfway through the quarter, Reuben Fitzgerald took over the game with smart, aggressive offense. Once the rebound had been secured Reuben took the ball and pushed it at the MAGS defence, creating great shots from himself and others or forcing the opposition to foul him. He managed his own 10 point run during the quarter, in which he shot very well from both the floor and the freethrow line (9 of 11 for the game). The great offensive onslaught in the quarter and some very affective defence from Westlake held MAGS to 8 points in the quarter, whilst pouring in 22 themselves. At the end of the third quarter Westlake lead 49 – 39.
Westlake started the final quarter off as it had finished the third, pushing the lead out to 17 points. Through the middle of the quarter MAGS made a tiny run back at Westlake, but the boys played smart basketball to maintain their lead and win a very hard fought game against a good MAGS team, 69 – 53 the final score.
All the boys played well as a team and thoroughly deserved the win. Reuben Fitzgerald had a great all round game, playing some fantastic defence on their top player and offensively scoring 17 points with some great shooting. James Moors pulled down 14 big rebounds, to go with 10 points. Isaac Letoa led the team well on the floor and led the scoring with 25 points.
Other Basketball News
Westlake Boys Premier Basketball Captain, Isaac Letoa, has been selected for the U18 New Zealand 3×3 Basketball Team. Isaac, along with three other New Zealand players will travel to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, later this week for the World Championships. The New Zealand team will defend last year’s world title with Westlaker Matt Freeman a key member of the world championship winning team.