21 November 2022
The 2022 basketball season concluded on Saturday, 19 November, with a juicy showdown between Saint Charles and Michaelhouse, as two of South Africa’s best took to the court at Saint Charles with designs on victory.
When they met earlier in the season at the Kearsney Stayers Tournament, Saint Charles had withstood a robust challenge from Michaelhouse, coming away with a win to continue their unbeaten run, which had reached 24 ahead of the showdown in Pietermaritzburg on the weekend.
Apart from winning the Stayers Tournament, Saints had also won the Saint John’s College Tournament, the country’s most prestigious event. In the last season unaffected by Covid-19, 2019-2020, it was the boys from Balgowan who had achieved that illustrious feat. There was, therefore, plenty on the line: for Saint Charles, it was about preserving a long winning record, while, for Michaelhouse, it was an opportunity knock off the Pietermaritzburg school, who had usurped them at the top of the game.
Adrenaline-pumping energy
All things considered, a very tight contest was expected, and the energy from both sets of fans was testament to that. Both schools’ supporters were loud, proud, rhythmic and entertaining on the side-lines, and the indoor centre magnified the electric, ear-splitting vibe as the beating of the drums sent the adrenaline spiking.
In the warm-ups, Michaelhouse hustled about, excited, nervous and aching to unleash their bottled-up energy onto the court. In marked contrast, Saint Charles were quieter, less demonstrative, but very focused on the task at hand. When the whistle sounded to get the contest underway, it was that focus which served the hosts well.
They settled faster than Michaelhouse, their zone defence well-structured and difficult to penetrate. The visitors, meanwhile, opted to attack Saints higher up the court with a press when they were on the defensive, but the home team’s approach delivered better returns.
“We can control our energy, and we really need to. If we don’t, that’s when we lose focus and miss shots, miss lay-ups. When we convert our energy into focus, that’s when we’re really dangerous,” Saints’ skipper and Head Boy, Luke Hubble, said after the game about his side’s calm, incisive demeanour.
Smooth transitions
The hosts were able to transition with speed from defence to offence, opening up some simple scoring opportunities, which they sank to keep the scoreboard ticking. Michaelhouse, on the other hand, were made to work harder for every basket. Testament to this was the fact that they were on a good number of occasions called for shot clock violations.
Saints’ goal, every game, said Hubble, was to keep the opposition to under 40 points. For that to happen, a well-constructed, tigerish defence was needed, and, in the season-ender, it was up to the task.
Michaelhouse, for their part, played with fire and spirit, wonderfully backed by their travelling supporters, but a good attitude and wholehearted effort was simply not enough on this occasion against a well-drilled, cohesive Saint Charles outfit, which did justice to its status as South Africa’s best in 2022.
Michaelhouse produced some fantastic splash plays, but, too often, Saint Charles responded quickly with a more direct, simpler, but very effective attack, to pull back the points.
First quarter
After the first quarter, they were well in control of the contest, leading 23-8. Saints were producing some scintillating all-round basketball, with Storm Gilchrist, the son of local basketball legend, Craig, dominating the contest at centre. He was an immense presence on the boards, read the game like a children’s book, and challenged Michaelhouse with his ability to score with both hands.
“Last year, our tallest guy in our team was six-foot-two. We had to play tough defence, but now, having Storm, who is six-foot-eight, we can feed him in the post every time,” Hubble commented.
“We’re not a one-man team, but it definitely helps having that physical presence there, especially on rebounds.”
Michaelhouse had few answers for the Saint Charles’ zone defence, and by half-time the Pietermaritzburg school led 39-16, having extended their advantage in the second stanza by a further eight points to 23.
Fresh defensive approach
Credit to Michaelhouse, after the break they returned to the court full of hustle and bustle, determined to take the game to Saints. The home side, though, had not sat on their laurels. They had decided to change up their defence and ask some different questions of the Balgowan lads.
“We switched to our 22-press, which is a full-court press, and we wanted to disrupt them even more,” Hubble explained.
With Saints utilising a high press, the game became somewhat frenetic at times, but some things remained the same, to their advantage. Michaelhouse, still, had to fight a lot harder for shot opportunities and points, and all too often, when it went right for ‘House and they scored, Saint Charles replied with points of their own in double-quick time.
Saints’ day
Unlike in the first half, due to the high risk, high reward nature of the high press by Saint Charles, Michaelhouse were able to drain some points in transition, but it was clearly going to be Saints’ day, something which was underlined when Michaelhouse dropped a three-pointer, only for Saints to respond mere seconds later with a three-pointer of their own. They were dialled in, had answers to every question asked by the feisty visitors and were able to pose some of their own that Michaelhouse had issues answering.
The third quarter belonged to the hosts by a margin of 24 points to 14, moving them ever further ahead to a 63-30 advantage. With one quarter to play, there was no coming back for Michaelhouse.
It became a little scrappy and chaotic in the final quarter – maybe the pace and all-out effort both teams had thrown into the contest had begun to tell – but, once again, Saint Charles picked up more points than Michaelhouse. This time around it was only nine points to six, but that took them to an impressive winning margin of 72-36, doubling up their strong opposition.
Talent and heart
It takes two to tango and, although they were well beaten on the day, it took the talent and heart of Michaelhouse to draw the best out of Saint Charles. Against a lesser team, Saints might have won by a greater margin, but their level of performance would likely have been lower. Well beaten they might have been, but Michaelhouse brought a lot to the clash.
Saints’ skipper Luke Hubble suggested that during his team’s long unbeaten run this win rated right at, or very near to, the top in terms of an all-round performance. When tested by a serious challenger, Saints had met that challenge with extraordinary calm and sharp execution to record a top-notch win.
“It’s been about putting in the work and the effort”
Referencing their journey as a team, he said: “At under-15 level, we went up to the Saint John’s tournament, and we made the round 16, where we got knocked out. We did have Storm. But we’ve known we could be good. It’s been about putting in the work and the effort, and getting better.”
Covid-19 was an obstacle that they worked through together, and that team-oriented work ethic, along with superb support, has proved to be a winning recipe.
Hubble concluded: “We have our Saint Charles’ boys and the parents and the families. We don’t always have the biggest student section, but they bring the vibe and the energy. That really is what we need to carry our effort.”
SAINT CHARLES’ UNBEATEN RUN
Saint Charles 24-20 Jeppe Boys’ High
Saint Charles 24-14 Michael Mount
Saint Charles 28-22 Michaelhouse
Saint Charles 30-21 Saint Benedict’s
Saint Charles 21-17 Northwood School
Saint Charles 72-42 DHS
Saint Charles 77-64 Kearsney College
Saint Charles 80-54 Maritzburg College
Saint Charles 61-16 DHS
Saint Charles 61-36 Westville Boys’ High
Saint Charles 63-30 Northwood School
Saint Charles 65-60 Kearsney College
Saint Charles 49-37 Saint Stithians College
Saint Charles 66-43 Michael Mount
Saint Charles 82-26 Heritage School (Zim)
Saint Charles 44-18 Peaceplayers International
Saint Charles 77-22 Saint Peter’s College
Saint Charles 54-35 Saint Alban’s College
Saint Charles 50-28 Saint Stithians College
Saint Charles 54-38 Saint Benedict’s College
Saint Charles 65-56 Hilton College
Saint Charles 102-31 Westville Boys’ High
Saint Charles 63-40 Maritzburg College
Saint Charles 91-24 Clifton School
Saint Charles 72-36 Michaelhouse
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