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Australian Myths & Legends Inc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                 AUSTRALIAN MYTHS & LEGENDS INC.

 

FAST BREAK NEWSLETTER

December 2009

 

 The final whistle for the end of the year is fast approaching and it is very likely that most of us are still trying to balance points scored against fouls committed in living the year 2009.

 

 Our Victorian break-up and Christmas dinner was held at the Marriott hotel in Melbourne and attended by approximately fifty members and families. It was pleasing to see that our lady players were there in numbers allowing many to meet other members whom they may have met if the Sydney Games were no so widely spread.

 

GOVERNOR OF VICTORIA

 

In 2008 the Governor of Victoria, David de Kretser (Des de Kretser’s brother) agreed to become patron of our club.  

All Myths and Legends members are invited to Government House Open Day on Australia Day 26th January 2010. If you are interested in grand colonial houses or history of this State you should take advantage of his invitation.

 

We won back the Governors’ Cup that was lost to Guam in 2008 by a result 2 to 1. The cup is sponsored by the governors of Victoria and Guam and is decided by results in divisions where both clubs compete at Masters Games competitions.

 

WORLD MASTERS GAMES SYDNEY 2009

 

These Games were the big event for the year. We took twenty four teams including six women’s teams to the tournament. Against the best in the world Myths & Legends won four Gold medals, three Silver and five Bronze. The women’s teams brought home two Gold and one silver medal which is a pretty good result for many who played in their first World Masters.

 

WOMEN’S OVER 55C Won Silver

This was a combination of 55, 60 & 65+ ABC teams, so the ladies were up against some tough competition. They managed to win 50% of their games which was enough to put them into the Gold medal play off. Unfortunately Queensland Cactus was too strong and we finished with Silver. This was a great effort as most of players only met for the 1st time either at Bankstown training on the Friday or on the game day. Susie Hargis injured her shoulder in the 1st game but continued to support the others tirelessly. Daphne Greig’s knee decided to swell up but she too soldiered on. It was a shame that all the games were played at Castle Hill which limited support from the other ladies playing in different age groups. Thanks to John Reilly for his coaching efforts.

 

WOMEN’S OVER 50C

Tragedy struck when we lost a tall player due to family commitments and our centre injured her shoulder a week before the games began. This left us with 6 players. An SOS went out and 3 ladies from the 55+ team came to the rescue. Special thanks to Daphne Greig, Nola Hayes & Jan Hutchinson. Many a time, they flew down the highway from Castle Hill to any one of the 3 venues we were playing at straight after playing their own game. Again, many of us had not met each other prior to the games and all in all had a great time both on and off the court. Thanks Watto for coaching and we will be aiming for a medal in the next games.

 

WOMEN’S OVER 45C Won Gold

These ladies are very proud of themselves going through the tournament undefeated with a few playing in 2 age groups. The competition was tough but they stood up to the challenge by winning the Gold Medal by the narrowest of margins. Luckily Jenni Adamson was successful at the foul line in the dying seconds of the game to put them in front by 1 point against Fading Sparks and Paul Traynor’s brilliant coaching strategies got them across the line. Celebrations went well into the night and I have a sneaking suspicion they are still going on. Great job!

 

WOMEN’S OVER 40C Red Won Gold

Another successful ladies team going through the tournament undefeated. This finely tuned team deserved their win as they trained tirelessly Sunday mornings at Williamstown and Caz Armitage arranged training Friday nights to work out plays.  The final see-sawed until the ladies stepped up a notch and beat Rusty Roos by 9 points. Sharon Francis was caught between a rock and a hard place when both her 40+ & 45+ team’s gold medal games clashed so was very excited when she found out

both were winners and proudly displayed 2 gold medals at the closing ceremony.

 

WOMEN’S OVER 40C Blue

This team battled fearlessly through the round robin to find they were playing off for a bronze medal. Only 4 of the ladies were in their right age group and the rest were playing in the 45+ as well so had to play 2 and sometimes 3 games a day and still managed to put their aches & pains aside to put in 100%. The Office Girls got the jump early and the game was looking a bit grim with a 27 point deficit at half time. But to the ladies credit they fought back and had the opposition worried by the end of the 3rd quarter. Unfortunately, the difference was too great in the end and they lost by 16. Great job ladies and again a big thank you to Paul Traynor for coaching.                                                                                (Sue Watson)

 

MENS OVER 55 C - Won Gold, (Going through tournament undefeated)
Round Robin Games

Teams in Over 55 C Division were fairly even which made for good close games The team's 3rd quarters proved to be the winner, with the pace of the 4 whippets (Brian Watson, Jim McGovern, Brad McKay & Rob Freak) allowing the team to overrun the opposition in the 4th quarters. Cliff Vandergert's outside shooting was outstanding and Ken Williams shot well until he got injured Howard Jacobs contributed with good inside penetration and rebounding, and assisting with some good outside shots. Bill Jeffs was solid in defense

Grand Final

was a tight, tense game all the way. Our normal avenues to goal did not work as well. Significant contributions from Bill Jeffs, Ian Farr, Howard Jacobs and Brad McKay got the team to the win when it counted. Only downside was Howard's calf injury with 1.45 mins to go in the game.
The team thanks Don Wilson for his coaching efforts; while we did not always follow his instructions, he made sure we stuck to the basics, which got the team to the gold in the end. For all, it was a great thrill and experience to win gold, and to quote Bill Jeffs "take in this moment, as it may never happen again."

   (Allan Watson)

MEN’S OVER 55 A Grade. Won Silver

Obviously going up against a “semi-pro” team like the 55 and over Chicago All-Stars for the gold medal was challenging, frustrating and exhilarating. By all reports their Windy City Mob lawyer/sponsor/player coach was able to provide his “recruits” luxury accommodation through Sheraton and complimentary airfare courtesy of Nike.

After we were thrashed by 70 points in our previous meeting, it was satisfying to stay even with them for most of the first half (especially as we were without Eddie P). Donnie Charuba was well on the way to an MVP performance beating the Chi-town boys down court and scoring on virtually every fast break. Unfortunately as he came back on defense, Don got tangled up with their big man who fell on him fracturing the “Rube’s” pelvis.  Led by Charlie Wise, La Salle University‘s hall of fame member, we scrapped and hustled the rest of the way but were clearly outmatched. We kept the margin to 20 and were pleased that everyone on the bench played a role in our silver medal performance. Kudos to coach Pete Lawler (who would have loved to have been on the floor) and team manager Michael Taylor who was a peerless organizer and transport captain. 

We had a ball and are all keen to re-group in Torino.                        (Dave Simpson)

 

MEN’S 0VER 60’S A GRADE Won Bronze
The competition was intense with 3 very strong teams from USA, the number one Canadian team and ourselves. We defeated a strong Columbia Sportswear in the bronze medal final; after narrowly losing to Chicago (we lead until 57 seconds to go in the 4th quarter) in the semi final. A great team effort.                                              (Ian Farr)            

 MENS OVER 60S C GRADE Won Bronze

Four teams only were represented in this C Grade competition with those from Canada and the USA in a class well above the best that could be offered by the two other teams - Myths and Legends Blue and Myths and Legends Red. None-the-less the Bronze medal playoff between the M & Ls Blue team and the M & Ls Red team was a keenly fought contest characterized by the best “arm wrestle” traditions of Myths and Legends intra club clashes. Sound defensive tactics, forgettable shooting and astute coaching strategies were to the fore throughout the game. The result was an exciting, low scoring, see-sawing contest with the Red team (consisting exclusively of Over 65 A Grade players) managing to “scrape home” by the narrow margin of just three points for a surprise win. (23 to 20)                                                                    Congratulations were due to all players and both coaches for their sportsmanship and competitiveness.                                                                                                             (Rob Strauch)

MEN’S OVER 65 A GRADE won Silver

After mixed success in the preliminary rounds the team played for Gold against East Bank Saloon which was a very efficient and high percentage shooting. East Bank won 65-42. Congratulations to all players for their endeavour over the tournament. Also a BIG thank you to Coach Ian Brown for his guidance and a lot of times his patience.

MEN’S OVER 65 B GRADE Won Gold

Loved the accreditation process for 4+ hours. NOT!!

Standard of basketball high for age group although some video footage I've seen suggests that Dulux may have faster drying paints than my fast break. Shame that lack of teams necessitated the amalgamation of A and B groups.

American East Bank Saloon (A Grade 60+) was skilled, practiced, big, hard, fair and pleasant though not necessarily all at once! Their supporters had a particularly annoying Native Indian call which greeted every one of their scores. We heard it a lot. Enjoyed the Games BUT will/can not play more than one age group again-EVER!!!                           (Alex Grandison)

 

MEN’S OVER 70 OPEN GRADE Won Bronze

 

This competition was added late to the Games program thanks to the efforts of members of our committee and was the first Over 70’s competition in World Masters Basketball. Our new recruits, Keith Lonnard and Frank Stratton joined the old guard of Dancis, de Kretser, Fahrenbacher, Hennig, Klein, Mason, Roberts and Wilson with new coach Ken Flannigan. Ken did his best to run a structured game but we ended up playing our usual gutter-ball of outside shooting and attempted rebounds. The hard men of Guam recruited a big man who played exceptionally well inside and with big Mike out of the game we could not hold him. The Gold Coast Blazers were generally too fit for us in the end. We honestly expected to play in the gold medal game, but we seemed to lack a certain balance and with four of our players unable to take the court we couldn’t hold the pace in the preliminary final and ended with bronze.                                                                              (Jim Klein)

 

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

-How about the de Kretser family’s performance at these Games!! Father Des, son Dale and daughter Sharon.  Two Gold medals, two bronze.

 

-Our usual social function, this time held at the Marriott where we stayed, was a great success thanks to the organizing abilities of Don Roberts and Jack Gibson. We catered for dinner for 150 people and were overwhelmed. We are sorry for those people who had to eat at the Irish Pub due to numbers exceeding our limit before the function started. Thanks again to Ian Wallace for the Sharp TV and sound system we raffled during the night and to talented Monty Pryor who entertained us. He is a born story-teller and didgeridoo player.

-Ralph says… You can buy “Gatorade” and other health drinks in powder form from the supermarket and mix your own at a fraction of the cost of the bottled stuff,

 

OTHER TOURNAMENTS
  GUAM  

 "The Guam Masters Basketball Assn. (GMBA) is hosting its 2nd Guam-Marianas Masters Basketball Games from May 8 to 16, 2010.The GMBA is inviting the Myths & Legends and Adelaide Basketball Club to participate in these Games. We have also sent invitations to Saipan, Palua, Chunk and local Filipino basketball clubs. There will be several women teams joining at the age groups 35+, 40+, 45+ and 50+. Your visit will be more memorable than the first, we promise"
 Those who went last year will remember the fantastic hospitality the Guam people provided.
 Please contact, Ian Farr, Jack Gibson, Trevor Davies, Jim Klein, John Reilly, Allan Watson or Sue Watson, ASAP, if you are interested in going in May 2010. (Note the cost of airfares & accommodation in 2008 was approx. $1500).

YARRAM MASTERS (13th & 14th February 2010)

A handicap tournament organised by a few members of our club to encourage basketball in the district. Members of the club are encouraged to support their efforts.

Accommodation is available at Forest Lodge farm. Adults $15 per night, children under 16- $10 pn, includes breakfast. A Social on Saturday night. Adult $15, child $10 including 2 course meal.

Team entries welcome but individuals can also be guaranteed 4 games. $25 per player.

Contact Paul on 51 841264 or Mandy on 51 825587 (AH).

Entries close Friday Feb.5th.

CLUB MEMBERSHIP

You will find attached a form for renewal of club membership for the year ended 30th June 2010. Would you please ensure that you complete and return it to John Reilly or your team manager (see below) as soon as possible? If you’re registered you are covered by insurance: not otherwise and you need to be a paid up member to play on our teams at Masters Games.

SUNDAY TRAINING – VENETO CLUB

Sunday training has finished for the year as the club is resurfacing the court. Training will recommence on Sunday 3 January from 9-11 am. From Sunday 10 January 2010 training will be from 9-12 noon.

WESTSIDE TRAINING

Sunday training has finished for the year and will resume on Sunday 17 January 2010 from 9-11 am.

TUESDAY NIGHT OVER 50’s

Everyone over 50 is welcome to

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