U16 Basketball Tournament

St Stithians College Boys’ College was proud to play host to their prestigious Under 16 Basketball Tournament for the 2nd consecutive year this past weekend. Despite challenging weather conditions, the tournament went ahead as planned and made use of the indoor facilities as WITS on Friday the 15th February to ensure that all fixtures were played on their indoor facilities – offering the players not only tough opposition, but the challenge of playing on different surfaces. Saturday saw the tournament back at the host venue, St Stithians College Basketball Precinct and after a short delay in the morning, play got under way. Intermittent showers and finally torrential rain on Saturday afternoon meant that Saturday’s programme was incomplete, but sunny skies and an early start on Sunday put paid to any concerns and the tournament final was played a mere 30 minutes later than planned. 

The 24 participating teams meant that the tournament was dominated by close scoring games and tight finishes, making for great entertainment for the crowds that were drawn in to be a part of the action.  The teams that participated in the 2019 event included Clifton School, Enjabulweni School, International School of South Africa, Jeppe High School for Boys, Kearsney College, King Edward VII School, Maritzburg College, Maru-a-Pula School, Michaelhouse, Morris Isaacson High School, Pretoria Boys High School, Queen's College Boys' High School, Redhill School, St Alban's College, St Benedict's College Bedfordview, St David's Marist Inanda, St Peter's College, St John's College, St Stithians College, St. Charles College, Pietermaritzburg, St George's College, Usutu Forest School and Windhoek International School. It was a privilege to host so many cross-border teams and it was St George’s from Zimbabwe that clinched the Winner’s Trophy and Gold Medals from Kearsney College in a nail-biting final that was 44-43 at the final whistle. So it was St. George’s 1st, Kearsney College (2nd), Maru-A-Pula (3rd), St Benedict’s (4th), St Stithians College (5th) and Maritzburg College (6th).

St Stithians College was proud to host this tournament which offered some incredible basketball action over the weekend of the 15 - 17 February 2019. It is not hard to see why Basketball is one of the fastest-growing sports in South Africa, particularly at school level.