Despite getting in to foul trouble, Fotu Hala was a standout for the Ashburton College senior boys basketball side in their Thomson Trophy clash against St Andrew’s College. Photo supplied.It has been a busy seven days for ballers in Mid Canterbury, with some mixed results across the board.

A tough night on the court was always going to be a possibility for the Ashburton College senior boys basketball side in their Thomson Trophy Clash with St Andrew’s College earlier this week, running the slick visiting side close, going down 92-79.

STAC came out strong on the defensive end early and managed to get an early lead.

However College were able to counter the defence as they found holes to score.

College played man to man with a lot of aggression and once they settled after a slow start they generally made life tough for the STAC team and managed to take a 23-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter STAC changed up their defensive shape and College struggled offensively as they couldn’t run their play with any efficiency whereas STAC managed to get the ball inside drawing fouls and going to the free throw line sinking nine points, giving them a 43-34 lead into the half.

College started the third quarter well and got on a roll, drawing the score close.

However STAC again managed to draw away, only for College to come back at them.

Quinn Ritchie managed to ignite having a great quarter knocking down four 3-pointers in a 16 point quarter.

Every time College came close STAC were just able to resettle themselves and they took out the 3rd quarter to lead 68-58.

The fourth quarter was geared up to be a cracker as once again the College boys pushed hard to break down the lead.

They got a roll and momentum was definitely theirs.

College were six points adrift when Ritchie came down the court and launched a 3-pointer which hit nothing but net, and what was better he was fouled in the act.

However, due to a subbing error, College had six players on the court and the three-pointer was cancelled and the foul removed, and a technical foul was given against College.

The momentum shifted and STAC extended their lead, and College were then forced to foul to try and get the ball back, however STAC were excellent from the free throw line and ran out 92-79 winners.

College again were led by Quinn Ritchie with 28 points (six  3 pointers) who was again was defensively excellent.

Fotu Hala with 17 points was strong on the drive and again pulled down a heap of rebounds, while his brother Pasi Hala worked really hard on the boards and scored 10 points and keeps getting better every game.

In the Whelan Trophy the senior girls side took another step forward in development, also taking on St Andrew’s College.

After a slow start in the first quarter, the College girls clawed bag the margin winning the second quarter 15-11 which flowed on to the end of the third, only trailing by six points.

However, through some basic errors, they quickly let 10 points slip and let the margin get away from them, eventually going down 53-68.

Scoring was balanced across the team, with top points shared by Julie Mushonga and Sophie Adams (12) and Tessa Thomson adding eight.

On Saturday in the Canterbury Division 1 competition, Mid Canterbury faced off against the Gators Green team.

A fast start from Mid Canterbury allowed them to unsettle the Gators who were left snapped at their heels as they poured on the points on the fast breaks.

Despite some indifferent finishing, Mid Canterbury took a 12-6 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

The second quarter started evenly, however three minutes in, things began to click for Mid Canterbury, as the defence again reaped rewards, allowing the fast break to come into play.

Within three minutes Gators Green was forced to call a timeout as Mid Canterbury had raced to a 30-13 lead.

The game followed a similar pattern from that point, with Mid Canterbury running out 84-36 winners.

Marc Juntilla was a standout in the dominant victory, scoring 36 points.

Fotu Hala scored 12 points and Pip Johnston scored 10, however both were instrumental of constantly finding Juntilla on the fast break.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 14 June 2019

Photos Jaime Pitt-MacKayAshburton College test their newspaper production skills out on Wednesday at the Ashburton College Careers Day.

The day allows a range of businesses and education providers to show off what they had to offer to Year 12 and 13 students.

Organisations like Lincoln University, University of Canterbury and EA Networks attended the event, handing out freebies and information to students.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay© The Ashburton Guardian - 13 June 2019

Mid Canterbury Combined’s Christian Thompson looks to the referee for confirmation of a try during his side’s loss to Roncalli College. Photo Heather MackenzieMid Canterbury Combined’s 15-10 loss to Roncalli College on the rugby field on Saturday could have been different, had a bit of luck been on their side.

The sixth round match of the Crusaders region’s secondary schools’ rugby competition – the UC Championship – against the Timaru side was one that the combination Ashburton College and Mount Hutt College side had targeted to win, and they came agonisingly close.

So coach Brent Middleton said to lose was disappointing, although it wasn’t a bad performance.

“In big parts of the game they did play well, but they did go to sleep at times, too,” Middleton said.

“It was close, but not close enough.”

He said it was a good game of rugby.

“It was very intense and very tight and I imagine, and from talking to a few spectators, that although the result didn’t go our way, it was a good game to watch,” Middleton said.

Roncalli were first on the board with a penalty, and that was followed by a good team try from the home side, which was finished off by Tom Middleton to give Mid Canterbury Combined a 5-3 lead.

But it was short-lived, with Roncalli scoring a try of their own to lead 10-5, before Christian Thompson got one back for Mid Canterbury just before half-time to make it 10-all at the break.

Both sides performed well in the second half, and Mid Canterbury put a lot of pressure on before the visitors pounced and took the lead with what Middleton called an opportunist try.

Mid Canterbury Combined created a lot of opportunities late in the game, and were unlucky not to score, with the bounce of the ball and a couple of dropped passes letting them down.

Middleton said his players possibly got a bit too excited late in the game, and went away from their game plan a little when they needed to show patience.

They’d take the performance and build on it though, and knew they’d need to step things up a notch against a strong St Thomas of Canterbury side this Saturday.

Mid Canterbury Combined sre again playing at home at the Ashburton College field this weekend, and Middleton said the visiting side will be one of the more physical teams they come up against.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 11 June 2019