Basketball gets its afternoon in the sun

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KNYSNA SPORT NEWS - Hornlee basketball fanatics were treated to action galore on 22 June when the community sports centre played host to the official Oyster Festival tournament.

The day's outlook was rather gloomy in the early hours of the morning when the typical Knysna winter-morning rain swept through and left the courts with more puddles than players. This couldn't deter the die-hard basketball players however, as – despite a good few towns pulling their teams from the tournament – a majority of those who entered pitched up to take on the elements as well as each other.

The clubs came from towns all over the Western Cape to take part in the tournament which consisted of two categories – U18s and seniors.

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According to tournament organiser Deswin Talmaggies, the morning rain wasn't a match for the determined teams who had their eyes set on the prize, while expressing slight dismay at those who pulled out of the tournament. "Some of the teams even played through the rain, so it was sad to hear that some towns had decided to not send their teams based on the weather this morning," Talmaggies said.

The teams who did brave the elements had their perseverance rewarded when Knysna's weather switched its mood once again as the skies began to clear in the early afternoon with the sun coming out and drying the courts. Just because the weather only began to warm up in the afternoon, didn't mean the action would be far from scintillating with a few heated contests satisfying the crowd's cravings for excitement.

Knysna's very own basketball club Rim Dreams was right in the thick of things when it came to the top teams at the tournament, with the only club that was able to match up to their senior side being Bridgeston Basketball Club. Rim Dreams were able to clinch third place in the U18 division with Bridgeston taking first, while in the senior division Rim Dreams had to settle for second as Bridgeston claimed first prize once again.

Abongile Mlilwana jumps up to score a two-pointer.