Dominican Convent outshined nine girls’ basketball teams in the City of Kings on Saturday (25 June 2016) to win the Petra Invitational Girls Basketball Tournament. The Tournament, which brought together U14, U16 and U20 basketball sides from Bulawayo, Harare, Marondera and Masvingo, was an exciting day of constant full length basketball games.
The tournament started with the ten first team sides divided into two pools of five, each playing three matches. The four winners of the pools proceeded to semi-final matches. In a tense final round game, Peterhouse edged out Arundel by one point to gain a place in the semi-finals. Bulawayo Convent then faced Peterhouse Girls in the semi, beating them convincingly 32-8. Jameson High, an Anglican mission school based in Tsholotsho, also showed real talent, beating Heritage 30-13 in another uneven semi-final match.
The final, pitching the two strong Matabeleland sides, was a thrilling late afternoon encounter, with all of the students participating in the tournament on the sidelines supporting not a particular team, but cheering enthusiastically for exciting basketball. Bulawayo Convent pulled it through with a 22-13 victory to secure the tournament cup.
SSN caught up with Convent Bulawayo’s Head Coach, Lerule “Lee” Smith, who was very pleased not only with her team, but also with the level of play exhibited: “The girls played very solid games from start to finish. This year the tournament was well organized and games were longer, giving coaches and teams time to plan and change tactics in a particular game. Basketball in general among ATS schools is improving and becoming more competitive.”
| School | Place |
|---|---|
| Dominican Convent Bulawayo | 1st |
| St James’ High School | 2nd |
| The Heritage School | 3rd |
| Peterhouse Girls | 4th |
| Arundel School | 5th |
| Kyle College | 6th |
| Dominican Convent Harare | 7th |
| Petra High School A | 8th |
| Eaglesvale High School | 9th |
| Petra High School B | 10th |