Western News: June 18, 2019
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20 Tuesday <strong>June</strong> <strong>18</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Silver medal exceeds expectation<br />
• By Gordon Findlater<br />
JUST ONE team practice<br />
the night before leaving for<br />
Mongolia didn’t get in the way<br />
of Ashley Strawbridge and her<br />
New Zealand team winning<br />
silver at the FIBA Under <strong>18</strong> 3x3<br />
World Cup.<br />
The 17-year-old Rangi Ruru<br />
Girls’ School basketballer was<br />
part of the New Zealand team<br />
along with Sharne Pupuke-Robati,<br />
Tayla Dalton and Charlisse<br />
Leger-Walker who outdid expectations<br />
to reach the final of<br />
the tournament in Ulaanbaatar,<br />
Mongolia, before falling to the<br />
United States.<br />
“I’m still riding the high, it’s<br />
been really cool to have people<br />
at school ask about and be able<br />
to share the experience,” said<br />
Strawbridge.<br />
The team had next to no<br />
experience playing 3x3 basketball,<br />
but were selected on their<br />
strengths from the five-aside<br />
game which would translate<br />
well to the high intensity 3x3<br />
format.<br />
New Zealand, seeded 15th,<br />
went into the tournament<br />
with little expectation in the<br />
20-strong World Cup.<br />
However, they finished<br />
second in their pool with wins<br />
over Hungary (16-9), Russia<br />
(14-2) and Poland (21-4). Their<br />
only pool loss came against the<br />
United States 11-20.<br />
“The fact we got to the quarter<br />
ACCOMPLISHMENT: Ashley<br />
Strawbridge has returned<br />
from Mongolia with a silver<br />
medal from the FIBA Under<br />
<strong>18</strong> 3x3 World Cup <br />
finals was amazing in itself,”<br />
said Strawbridge.<br />
In the quarter-finals they<br />
SPORT<br />
defeated Japan 14-12 in an extremely<br />
tight match which went<br />
to overtime. The win set up a<br />
semi-final with No. 1 ranked<br />
China, which New Zealand<br />
swept aside 21-15 before going<br />
down to the United States 13-<br />
19 in a more than respectable<br />
performance.<br />
“When we first played them<br />
we were like: ‘Oh my god we’re<br />
playing America’,” said Strawbridge.<br />
“In the final we knew we had<br />
no pressure and all eyes were on<br />
them.”<br />
Strawbridge’s biggest contribution<br />
to the Kiwi effort came<br />
on the defensive end which saw<br />
her touted as one of the best<br />
defensive players at the tournament.<br />
She says the biggest challenge<br />
came against the United<br />
States.<br />
“They are just so quick, so it<br />
felt really good any time you<br />
could stay in front of them and<br />
stop them from scoring,” she<br />
said.<br />
Strawbridge will now<br />
turn her attention to<br />
representing New Zealand<br />
in the five-a-side game at the<br />
Oceania Championships in<br />
Noumea, New Caledonia, from<br />
August 19-24.<br />
Lawson establishes<br />
bowling team of Saints<br />
• By Gordon Findlater<br />
HORSE AND Jockey owner<br />
Gary Lawson will headline<br />
Christchurch’s new Bowls3Five<br />
team the Elmwood Saints.<br />
The Saints will take on seven<br />
other clubs from around New<br />
Zealand over eight weeks of<br />
competition in Auckland starting<br />
in October. The competition will<br />
be broadcast live on Sky Sport<br />
three nights a week.<br />
Last year Lawson was part of<br />
the Sky commentary team during<br />
the competition. However, with<br />
the competition expanding from<br />
six to eight teams and Sky signing<br />
up to broadcast it for another<br />
three, he’s now opted to put<br />
together a team of his own.<br />
“I went to the [Elmwood]<br />
committee and said I’d like to put<br />
a team together. They were right<br />
behind it, so we put our proposal<br />
together,” said Lawson.<br />
Joining Lawson will be Mandy<br />
Boyd, Jan Shirley, Steve Ditford,<br />
Lance Pascoe and Bev Morel –<br />
who is in her late 70s. Two further<br />
team members will be named<br />
before the competition begins.<br />
“It’s great for our sport having<br />
prime time TV three times a<br />
week. We can’t ask for much<br />
more, it’s what the game’s needed<br />
for a long time,” said Lawson.<br />
“The idea for us is to have a real<br />
good crack at the title.”<br />
Last year Canterbury rugby<br />
WESTERN NEWS<br />
NEW CHALLENGE: Publican<br />
and former bowling world<br />
champion Gary Lawson.<br />
icon Alex Wyllie was part of<br />
the Woodend Jets team with<br />
Na Katae and Jenny Anderson.<br />
However, the team went winless<br />
during the competition which<br />
saw them relegated.<br />
“The idea of the whole thing<br />
was to show people who don’t play<br />
bowls that it’s a game anyone can<br />
play . . . I think this year they’re<br />
trying to strengthen some of the<br />
sides to make them just a little<br />
more competitive,” said Lawson.<br />
The name Elmwood Saints<br />
was inspired by Elmwood Park<br />
Bowling Club’s amalgamation<br />
with St Albans-Merivale. Lawson<br />
hopes the club’s members and<br />
Christchurch people will rally<br />
behind the team.<br />
Lawson is currently in Australia<br />
where he will represent the<br />
Blackjacks at the Asia Pacific<br />
Championships on the Gold<br />
Coast from Tuesday to <strong>June</strong> 28.