Great Scot - The Scotch Family Magazine - Issue 151 September 2017 GreatScot_Internal_Sept_2017_FA | Page 55

Well prepared for the
basketball season
ABOVE: THE 2017 BASKETBALL SQUAD MET GARY ABLETT WHILE TRAINING AT SOUTHPORT.
The 2017 1st Basketball Southport tour was a
resounding success, and served as the foundation
for another exciting APS season.
The group of 14 senior players arrived on the
Gold Coast full of excitement at the start of the
pre-season camp, and eager to learn and compete
against some of the best players in Queensland.
First up was a match against a select group,
and the Scotch boys did not disappoint as they
ran away with the game 65-43. The squad next
travelled to Brisbane to face a well-oiled Ashgrove
unit, who compete in the Associated Independent
Colleges competition. The first quarter ended in a
draw 18-18, but Scotch trailed 32-28 at half-time
and 41-39 at three-quarter time. Later in the game
Ashgrove still led 52-50 until Scotch nailed a clutch
three-pointer with 13 seconds left to play and
sealed a 54-52 victory.
By game three, Scotch was clicking on all
cylinders, as they led from start to finish over
gracious hosts Hillcrest Christian College. Scotch
used a dominant 31-7 third quarter to run away
to a comfortable 80-60 win. Scotch also played
an informal game against a Southern Basketball
League men’s team, and although the boys
showed signs of being competitive for moments in
“By game three, Scotch
was clicking on all
cylinders, as they led
from start to finish.”
the match, the skill, size and strength of the men
were too much to overcome.
In the final game of the series, Scotch had truly
exhausted their energy after all the training and the
games. Hillcrest Christian College jumped out to
an 18-point lead before Scotch fought back to take
a four-point lead. But our legs melted in the middle
of the fourth quarter and Hillcrest steadied for a
66-55 victory.
The three win, one loss record