Catz jump highest en-route to semis
New players look on as Catz net another two points on their way to a covincing 38-26 victory
Cuppers Basketball
St Catz.....................................................38
New..........................................................26
Facing a balanced New College team, St Catherine’s captain Justin Puleo knew that his team had to get out to a fast start. The home side did not disappoint, as St Catz jumped out to a big lead and held on to it to advance to the semi-fi nals of men’s Basketball Cuppers, 38-26. Catz dominated the entire fi rst half from the opening tip. Though Jesse King would not score the fi rst points of the game until nearly fi ve minutes in, St Catz held possession for much of the opening minutes.
Guard Jorge Espinosa paced the squad down court with great effi ciency. Effective ball movement frustrated the New College defense, leaving open shots all over the court. King’s basket would open the fl oodgates for the St Catz offense, led by Justin Puleo. Puleo would score 11 of his team’s 19 fi rst half points—and 8 straight at one point. He simply could not be contained down low by the overwhelmed New forwards.
Thanks in great part to the stellar rebounding efforts of Alex Anslow, New was able to stem the tide on few occasions in the fi rst half. Jeremy Mardon led the offensive charge for the visitors, scoring all fi ve of the team’s points on limited opportunities. Mardon contributed mightily on the defensive end, working to contain a well-practiced St Catz offense.
Despite their overwhelming possession advantage, St Catz emerged from the half up only 19-5 The offensive juggernaut of St Catz began to slow in the second half, grateful for the lead they had built. The frame was much more even, as New outscored the home side 21-19. Alex Anslow had the hot hand, scoring all nine of his points in the second half, dropping two three-pointers in the mix. Mardon added seven to his fi rst-half total, leading New with 12 on the day.
With ten minutes to go, New found their touch from behind the arch, hitting three three-pointers in fi ve trips down court. A St Catz timeout, however, defl ated any thoughts of a New comeback. For their part, St Catz were solid in defence of their lead. They missed few opportunities to score, led by the sure hand of Jorge Espinosa. Espinosa fi nished with nine points and will prove tough to handle for the opposing guards as the tournament goes along.
Showing great awareness on both ends of the fl oor, he steadied the ship for his team when New’s offense began to kick in. Justin Puleo proved dominant once again in the second half, fi nishing with a game-high 19 points despite the valiant defensive efforts of Majdy Fawzy for New. Ben Schrier contributed four points for Catz, and two a-piece from Ed Towardy and Mathias Rufi no rounded out the afternoon.
New’s comeback efforts fell short, as they simply could not contain the offensive machine of St Catz. A fl at fi rst half proved New’s undoing, and St Catz advances to the semifi nals on the back of a 38-26 victory. On the form they are showing at the moment it would be diffi cult to see a team who could stop them progressing to the final.
8th Jun 2006