The challenges that come with organising and hosting an event as big as the recently concluded St John’s College Basketball Tournament are myriad, but the Johannesburg school, as always, successfully pulled off a sparkling four-day event.
That was achieved despite the hosts having to deal with heavy highveld rains on the opening day, which forced the organisers to scramble to arrange indoor venues.
And yet, despite Mother Nature’s challenge, the tournament was a success, with Northwood School retaining the u19 trophy by beating St John’s College in the final on Sunday.
“Hosting a tournament of this scale – which is 24 u19 teams, 24 u15 teams, and 16 u13 teams for this year – means that when you host an event like this that is held at an outdoor venue, the weather is always a big factor,” St John’s College’s Director of Basketball, Clemen Kock, told SuperSport School Plus in an exclusive interview.
“But with the resources that the school has put behind us, the support from the parents, as well as the understanding and working infrastructure of all the schools, we were able to work through and work around the challenges that the weather posed.”
Kock emphasised the importance of involving u13 boys in the festival. The goal was to infuse a passion for basketball in the youngsters and, thus, grow and preserve the sport in South Africa, he explained.
He also believes that the involvement of u13s puts pressure on other schools to take the sport more seriously by investing in its development.
“Tournaments such as this are a big beacon to a lot of young players and that’s one of the reasons why we merged our prep festival, which is our u13 division, as well as the u19 and u15 divisions,” he said.
“It gives boys who are 10 years old the understanding of what they can work on and what they can aspire to play and reach within our competition. That also puts pressure on a lot of schools to make investments in development within the entire process.”
Reaching the final this year, where they went down to a powerhouse Northwood side, proved that St John’s College has one of the best basketball programmes in the country.
Kock said its strength stems from the efforts put in by the coaches, players, and parents, both past and present.
“The 20th edition of the tournament reflects the foundation that has been laid by those before us,” he said.
“We have more than 450 boys that are participating in basketball within the school system, which means everybody who is part of St John’s College understands how important and how invested the school is in supporting basketball within the school.”
The 20th edition, despite facing huge obstacles, was a massive success. No doubt, the 21st edition, in 2026, will meet the same standards and likely even better them.
St John’s gave it their all, but Northwood scored an 11-point win in the final of the St John’s Basketball Tournament to lift the title for a second year in succession. Photo: St John’s College on Instagram.
There is something about certain teams that makes them almost unbeatable in big tournaments, the clutch gene.
In rugby, the Springboks carry that unbeatable aura in World Cups. In cricket, the Aussies exude the same aura in ICC events. It seems, in high school basketball, coach Kent VanderYacht‘s Northwood School occupies a similar space.
The Knights entered the St John’s College Basketball Tournament as the defending champions, thus making them a team that all others would target. However, when the dust had settled on Sunday afternoon, Northwood had gone back-to-back, beating the hosts, St John’s College, 53-42 in the title decider.
The Durban school led from the start of the final and imposed themselves on a nervous St John’s outfit. At the end of the first quarter, though, they held only a three-point lead.
Both defences stood strong in the second quarter, but Northwood ended it with an eight-point advantage, ahead 24-16 at the break.
With Siya Shabalala producing a clinical performance, pulling the strings, and dominating the game, the Knights were in front and looked unlikely to cede their lead.
In the third quarter, the Knights continued to pressure St John’s. All credit to the home team, though, they matched Northwood, with both sides adding nine points.
Coach VanderYacht’s team pressed hard for victory in the last quarter. St John’s, led by Bandile Nsele, Clemen Kock, and Sihle Ndlovu, fought to the end, adding 17 points, but Northwood one-upped them, improving their lot by 20 points to finish with a 53-42 victory and the title of champions of the St John’s College Basketball Tournament for a second year in succession.
Scoring
1st Quarter: St John’s College 12-15 Northwood School
2nd Quarter: St John’s College 16-24 Northwood School
3rd Quarter: St John’s College 25-33 Northwood School
4th Quarter: St John’s College 42-53 Northwood School
Earlier in the day, Jeppe, after going down to Northwood by 20 points in a group stage match, gave the Knights all they could handle, in the semi-finals but they eventually succumbed 40-45. St John’s handed Pretoria Boys High a 31-26 loss in the other semi-final.
The u15 final was contested by two KZN sides, with Maritzburg College pulling off a 15-point win over the defending champions, Hilton College.
FINAL RESULTS
u19: St John’s College 42-53 Northwood School
u15: Maritzburg College 57-42 Hilton College
Playoffs
23rd/24th – International School of South Africa 25-9 St Peter’s College
21st/22nd – St John’s College (Zim) 36-18 St Andrew’s College
19th/20th – Maritzburg College 19-9 Sacred Heart College
17th/18th – Falcon College (Zim) 22-23 S David’s Marist Inanda
15th/16th – American International School of Johannesburg 48-17 Alma Mater International School
13th/14th – St Charles College 28-43 St George’s College
11th/12th – Michael Mount 26-25 Parktown Boys’ High
9th/10th – King Edward VII 43-33 Hilton College
7th/8th – The King’s School Linbro 33-40 Park St Alban’s College
5th/6th – St Stithians College 24-25 St Benedict’s College
3rd/4th – Pretoria Boys High 31-26 Jeppe High School for Boys
1st/2nd – Northwood School 53-42 St John’s College
Final Standings
u15
1 Maritzburg College
2 Hilton College
3 The King’s School Linbro Park
4 King Edward VII School
5 St Stithians College
6 Kearsney College
7 St John’s College
8 Jeppe High School for Boys
9 St David’s Marist Inanda
10 Michael Mount Waldorf
11 St Benedict’s College
12 Mangaung Knights
13 Soweto Basketball Academy
14 Northwood School
15 Sacred Heart College
16 Pretoria Boys High
17 Saheti School
18 St Andrew’s College
19 St Alban’s College
20 St Charles College
21 Redhill School
22 St John’s College Invitational
23 Clifton College
24 St Peter’s College
u19
1 Northwood School
2 St John’s College
3 Pretoria Boys High
4 Jeppe High School for Boys
5 St Benedict’s College
6 St Stithians College
7 St Alban’s College
8 The King’s School Linbro Park
9 King Edward VII School
10 Hilton College
11 Michael Mount Waldorf
12 Parktown Boys’ High
13 St George’s College
14 St Charles College
15 American International School of Johannesburg
16 Alma Mater International School
17 St David’s Marist Inanda
18 Falcon College
19 Maritzburg College
20 Sacred Heart College
21 St John’s College (Harare)
22 St Andrew’s College
23 International School of South Africa
24 St Peter’s College
U19 Awards
Gold – Northwood School
Silver – St John’s College
Bronze – Pretoria Boys High School
U19 All-Star Team
Yanda Peter, St John’s College
Mitchell Igboegwe, Northwood School
Chris-Junior Okeke, Jeppe High School for Boys
Nehemiah Nii-Artee, Pretoria Boys High School
Ikechukwu Ejike, St Benedict’s College
U19 MVP
Sims Vacu, Northwood School
U15 Awards
Gold – Maritzburg College
Silver – Hilton College
Bronze – The King’s School, Linbro Park
U15 All-Star Team
Fynn Asamoah, Hilton College
Nkazimulo Dlamini, Maritzburg College
Langalethu Shabalala, King Edward VII School
Nathan Platt, The King’s High School, Linbro Park
Mbusi Keta, St Stithians College
The defending champions, Northwood, and the hosts, St John’s, got off to winning starts on Thursday at the St John’s College Basketball Tournament.
Recent Highveld rains threatened play on the opening day, but the organisers arranged to move matches to indoor venues, and games in the 20th edition of the event went ahead as scheduled.
All eyes were on coach Kent VanderYacht and his talented Northwood High School team, who had won the title in dominant stylelast year.
Johannesburg’s King Edward VII, 2024’s beaten finalists, will be aiming to take down the Knightsthis time around, but it’s going to take a top effort and high-level execution.
With it being the opening day of competition, there was plenty of nervous energy in the air as teams set out to make a statement in their first outings.
Northwood’s first challenge was a showdown with Jeppe High School for Boys. The Durban school quickly their dominance, working their way into a 13-point lead after 24 minutes of play.
Try as they might, Jeppe could not mount a comeback and the champions rolled to a comfortable 20-point win, triumphing 65-45.
In another Group D clash, Pretoria Boys High beat the International School of South Africa 40-25.
St John’s College eased to a 20-point win over St Andrew’s College in their Group A opener, while the 2023 champions, St Charles College, won by six over St George’s College, of Harare.
In Group B, KES was extended by the American International School of Johannesburg but came away with a 32-30 win. The King’s School Linbro Park also bagged a W, defeating St David’s Marist Inanda by nine points.
Hilton College got their campaign off to a winning start in Group C, taking down St Alban’s College 30-22, while Alma Mater International School recorded a five-point win over St Peter’s College.
Sacred Heart College had no problems with a St John’s Invitation team in their Pool E opener, while St Benedict’s College won 33-24 against Michael Mount Waldorf School.
In Group F, St Stithians handed Parktown Boys’ High a 26-19 loss, while Maritzburg College edged out Falcon College, of Harare, by a single point.
RESULTS
Group A
St John’s 43-23 St Andrew’s College
St Charles 32-26 St George’s College (Zim)
Group B
King’s School Linbro Park 32-23 St David’s Marist Inanda
King Edward VII 32-30 American International School of Johannesburg
Group C
Alma Mater International School 33-28 S Peter’s College
Hilton College 30-22 St Alban’s College
Group D
Jeppe 45-65 Northwood
International School of South Africa 25-40 Pretoria Boys High
Group E
Sacred Heart College 20-0 St John’s Invitation
Michael Mount 24-33 St Benedict’s College
Group F
Parktown Boys’ High 19-26 St Stithians
Maritzburg College 21-20 Falcon College (Zim)
Kearsney College’s Sipho Majiza carries the ball up the court during his team’s upset win over Maritzburg College on 15 February 2024. Photo: Hannah Shirley.
The fourth edition of the Jenny Orchard Invitational Tournament gets underway at Maritzburg College on Thursday. The 28-team tournament includes 16 teams in the A Division and 12 teams in the B Division teams.
Last year, the battle for the honours went to overtime, with the hosts, Maritzburg College, battling Northwood School for the title. The Knightshad beaten the Red, Black, and White in a pool match-up, but College rose to the occasion to claim the title.
The tournament features four teams in four groups in the A Division, while the B Division has six teams in two groups.
The action begins at noon, with the A Division’s matches taking place in the Alan Paton Memorial Hall at Maritzburg College. Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High‘s Community Centre hosts the B Division.
In Pool A, the home team, Maritzburg College, will be favoured to top the standings. They were dominant in KwaZulu-Natal until last weekend when they suffered a shock loss at Kearsney College.
However, in the Alan Paton Memorial Hall, they’ll be playing on a familiar court, cheered on by their enthusiastic supporters. Scoring points has not been an issue for College this season and captain Nkhanyiso Ngcobo sets a good example.
When College faced Michaelhouse, one of their pool opponents, earlier in the season, they romped to a 93-57 win, and while they wouldn’t be expected to win by 36 points again, they would be favoured over the Balgowan boys.
Wynberg Boys’ High, the winners of the B Division in 2024, has moved up to the A Division this year. How will they handle the adjustment? They’ll also be up against their fellow Cape Town school, Westerford.
It had been a season of moderate success for Kearsney College until last weekend when they scored a shocking 51-34 win over Maritzburg College, keeping their opponents scoreless in the final quarter while dropping 17 points. That makes Kearsney a dark horse contender.
They’ve beaten Michaelhouse and Glenwood this year but went down to Durban High School (DHS) and Northwood. However, with positive momentum on their side, they will pose a threat.
In Pool B, Northwood would be a clear favourite, if the Knights were not defending the St John’s Basketball Tournament titlein Johannesburg this weekend, too. That throws open the competition and the team to beat might be the Soweto Basketball Academy.
They placed fifth in 2024, winning four and losing two games. One of those was to the eventual runner-up, Northwood, in the quarterfinals, and the other was to Kearsney College in pool play. They reversed that result in the playoffs, going from a seven-point loss in their first meeting with Kearsney to a five-point win the second time around.
Saheti School, from Johannesburg, and Rondebosch Boys’ High, from Cape Town, are, perhaps, the outsiders. Saheti wasn’t part of the event last year, while ‘Bosch was competitive in most of their games but ended only 15th after a comfortable win over Bishops.
Westville Boys’ High will face a stiff challenge from DHS in Pool D. Westville is a well-drilled team that usually shoots the ball well. DHS, meanwhile, brings size and physicality, along with skill to the court.
Last year, Westville placed a disappointing 11th, but they’ve been one of the best teams in the country since the latter part of 2024, so they’ll be out to prove a point.
Elite Sporting and Cultural Academy (ESCA) Wanderers could upset the apple cart. They beat DHS in the playoff for ninth place last year, recording a 73-63 win.
SACS is a bit of an unknown. The leading basketball teams appear to be in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, but might they and their fellow Capetonians surprise? Last year, they were the best of the Western Cape teams at the Jenny Orchard Invitational, finishing in 11th place.
FIXTURES
A Division
Thursday, 20 February
Alan Paton 1
12:00 – Kearsney College vs Clifton College (Pool C, Game 1)
13:30 – Maritzburg College vs Michaelhouse A (Pool A, Game 3)
16:30 – Kingswood College vs Pinelands High School (Pool C, Game 5)
18:00 – Westerford vs Wynberg Boys’ High (Pool A, game 7)
Alan Paton 2
12:00 – Northwood School vs Soweto Basketball Academy (Pool B, Game 2)
13:30 – Westville Boys’ High vs Durban High School (Pool D, Game 4)
16:30 – Rondebosch Boys’ High vs Saheti School (Pool B, Game 6)
18:00 – SACS vs ESCA (Pool D, Game 8)
Thursday, 20 February
Alan Paton 1
12:00 – Kearsney College vs Clifton College (Pool C, Game 1)
13:30 – Maritzburg College vs Michaelhouse A (Pool A, Game 3)
16:30 – Kingswood College vs Pinelands High School (Pool C, Game 5)
18:00 – Westerford vs Wynberg Boys’ High (Pool A, game 7)
Alan Paton 2
12:00 – Northwood School vs Soweto Basketball Academy (Pool B, Game 2)
13:30 – Westville Boys’ High vs Durban High School (Pool D, Game 4)
16:30 – Rondebosch Boys’ High vs Saheti School (Pool B, Game 6)
18:00 – SACS vs ESCA (Pool D, Game 8)
Friday, 21 February
Alan Paton 1
08:00 – Westerford vs Michaelhouse A (Pool A, Game 9)
09:30 – Maritzburg College vs Wynberg Boys’ High (Pool A, Game 11)
11:00 – Clifton College vs Kingswood College (Pool C, Game 13)
14:00 – Kearsney College vs Pinelands High School (Pool C, Game 15)
15:30 – Wynberg Boys’ High vs Michaelhouse A (Pool A, Game 17)
17:00 – Kearsney College vs Kingswood College (Pool C, Game 19)
18:30 – Westerford vs Maritzburg College (Pool A, Game 21)
20:00 – Clifton College vs Pinelands High School (Pool C, Game 23)
Alan Paton 2
08:00 – Soweto Basketball Academy – Rondebosch Boys’ High (Pool B, Game 10)
09:30 – Northwood School vs Saheti School (Pool B, Game 12)
11:00 – Durban High School vs SACS (Pool D, game 14)
14:00 – Westville Boys’ High vs ESCA (Pool D, game 16)
15:30 – Soweto Basketball Academy vs Saheti School (Pool B, Game 18)
17:00 – Durban High School vs ESCA (Pool D, Game 22)
18:30 – Northwood vs Rondebosch Boys’ High (Pool B, Game 22)
20:00 – Westville vs SACS (Pool D, Game 24)
Saturday, 22 February
Alan Paton 1
08:00 – A3 vs C4 (9-16, Game 25)
09:30 – A4 vs C3 (9-16, Game 27)
11:00 – A1 vs C2 (Quarterfinals, Game 29)
12:30 – C1 vs A2 (Quarterfinals, Game 31)
15:00 – Loser 25 vs Loser 27 (13-16, Game 33)
16:30 – Winner 25 vs Winner 27 (9-12, Game 35)
18:00 – Winner 29 vs Winner 31 (Semi-final 1, Game 37)
19:30 – Winner 30 vs winner 32 (Semi-final 2, Game 39)
Alan Paton 2
08:00 – B3 vs B4 (9-16, Game 26)
09:30 – B4 vs D3 (9-16, Game 28)
11:00 – B1 vs D2 (Quarterfinals, Game 30)
12:30 – D1 vs B2 (Quarterfinals, Game 32)
15:00 – Loser 26 vs Loser 28 (13-16, Game 34)
16:30 – Winner 26 vs Winner 28 ((9-12, Game 36)
18:00 – Loser 29 vs Loser 31 (5-8, Game 38)
19:30 – Loser 30 vs Loser 32 (5-8, Game 40)
Sunday, 23 February
Alan Paton 1
08:00 – Winner 35 vs Winner 36 (9/10, Game 41)
09:30 – Winner 38 vs Winner 40 (5/6, Game 43)
11:00 – Winner 39 vs Winner 40 (Div B Final, Game 45)
12:30 – Winner 37 vs Winner 39 (Div A Final, Game 47)
Alan Paton 2
08:00 – Loser 35 vs Loser 36 (11/12, Game 42)
09:30 – Loser 38 vs Loser 40 (7/8, Game 44)
11:00 – Loser 37 vs Loser 39 (3/4, game 46)
Despite showers of rain all over Gauteng on the weekend, the Gauteng Development League (GDL) Top Eight competition lit up the province with four mouthwatering contests in the first action of the 2025 season.
At Balfour Park, last season’s league champions, Highlands Park, welcomed the School of Excellence, and, boy, were they subjected to a run for their money in a fixture that many expected coach Sifiso Mnguni’s “Lions of the North” to see out with relative ease.
Instead, the School of Excellence delivered an outstanding performance to remind not only Highlands Park but the whole Gauteng football fraternity that they remain a powerhouse when it comes to academy football in South Africa.
After a hard-fought 90 minutes, the sides were level at 1-1, which sent the contest to a penalty shootout. Highlands Park held their nerve to sneak a 5-4 victory from the spot and with that earned a place in the semi-finals of the competition.
At Clapham High, Mamelodi Sundowns and the University of Pretoria (Tuks), met in a highly anticipated Tshwane derby.
Coach Surprise Moriri’s Sundowns u19 side, despite finishing second in the 2024 GDL, had to endure some difficult spells during the season. On Saturday, though, they were on song and cruised to a 4-1 victory over Tuks.
Goals from Simphiwe Mlondo, Chuene Moabelo, Sechaba Gaseitsiwe, and Kgaogelo Monanyane ensure a smooth passage into the semifinals for the “Kabo Yellow“.
‘Downs displayed high-paced attacking football throughout the encounter and they were spot on with their defensive tactics, too, which proved to be too much for their Tshwane neighbours to handle.
SuperSport United ran out 2-0 winners over TS Galaxy 2-0 to advance, while, on Sunday, Kaizer Chiefs, under the guidance of coach David Mathebula, beat Jomo Cosmos 1-0.
RESULTS
Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 Jomo Cosmos
Highlands Park (5) 1-1 (4) School of Excellence
SuperSport United 2-0 TS Galaxy
Mamelodi Sundowns 4-1 Tuks
The Gauteng Development League (GDL), Africa’s largest development football competition, returns to the park, to our television screens, and the SuperSport Schools app, this weekend with the Top Eight knockout competition set for an explosive start on Saturday.
Having fought hard in the GDL for 10 months, last year, Highlands Park, Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, SuperSport United, TS Galaxy, Tuks, the School of Excellence, and Jomo Cosmos finished in the top eight in the league standings, in that order.
Their reward is an opportunity to play for the Top Eight trophy from 15 to 23 February.
SuperSport United is the defending champion. They beat their Pretoria rivals, Mamelodi Sundowns, 2-0 in last year’s final, courtesy of goals from Lucky Muthewi and Kabelo Selowa.
Coach Tumelo Ndaba‘s SuperSport u19 team will have to get past TS Galaxy at their home, Eskom Megawatt Park, on Sunday to reach next week’s semi-finals.
Mamelodi Sundowns, under coach Surprise Moriri, will lock horns with Tuks in another big showdown of Pretoria clubs at Clapham High School, in Queenswood, Pretoria. Coach David Mathebula‘s Kaizer Chiefs welcomes Jomo Cosmos at the Kaizer Chiefs Village on Saturday.
Highland Parks, the reigning and back-to-back league champions, will be focussed on making a good start to the season when they take on School of Excellence at Balfour Park on Saturday. With coach Sifiso Mnguni masterminding their challenge, the Lions of the Northwill fancy their chances.
Quarterfinals Fixtures
Saturday
Mamelodi Sundowns vs Tuks
Kaizer Chiefs vs Jomo Cosmos
Highlands Park vs School of Excellence
Pabatso Sithole directs a Kearsney attack against Glenwood at The SportZone. Photo: Hannah Shirley.
The second week of basketball action around the country stretched far and wide with schools from Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape in action.
In KZN, Kearsney College welcomed Glenwood High to The SportZone and dominated the visiting outfit from the jump ball.
The visitors struggled to score, and Kearsney took advantage of their lack of defence, scoring a consistent 20 points in the first two quarters, while holding the visitors to single points in each quarter, to take an imposing 40-13 lead into the break.
When the teams returned to the court after half-time, Kearsney ramped up their scoring, adding 30 points in the third quarter.
Glenwood managed to double their half-time score, but they were well out of the contest.
The clock was run in the fourth quarter to end the game quicker, which left Kearsney the handsome winner by an 87-30 margin.
Connor Grenfell (13), Lubanzi Mseleku (12), Lwandile Njapha (12), and Daniel Prinsloo (11) led from the front to see the hosts through to a big home win.
In a clash of top teams, Northwood, playing at home, emerged victorious over Westville, winning by a 71-64 scoreline.
Hilton College beat St Charles 69-64 in a tight clash, Durban High School saw off Michaelhouse 54-44, and Maritzburg College beat Clifton 78-34 as all the KZN winners won at home.
St Alban’s beat Jeppe 60-53, in a tight defensive battle, St Stithians recorded a narrow 34-29 victory over St David’s, while the clash between King Edward VII (KES) and Pretoria Boys High was also all about defence, with KES edging out PBHS 36-33.
In the Eastern Cape, down in the windy city of Gqeberha, Grey High hosted Queen’s College, B-Blessed, and Kingswood College. With the home-ground advantage, Grey High beat Queen’s College 24-13, while B-Blessed beat the boys from Komani 22-13 defeat.
Queen’s picked up one win, beating Kingswood College 21-12.
Weekend Basketball Results
Northwood 71-64 Westville
Hilton College 69-64 St Charles
Durban High School 54-44 Michaelhouse
Kearsney 85-22 Glenwood
Maritzburg College 78-34 Clifton College
St John’s 41-48 St Benedict’s
St Alban’s 60-53 Jeppe
St Stithians 34-29 St David’s
KES 36-33 Pretoria Boys High
Queen’s 13-24 Grey High
Queen’s 13-22 B-Blessed
Queen’s 21-12 Kingswood
The South African u17 National Team, known as “Amajimbos“, will participate in the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) u17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
They’ve joined the 2024 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) finalist Zambia and Angola as the representatives of the region.
South Africa’s inclusion was confirmed after CAF increased the number of participating nations in the continental showpiece from an initial 12 to 16 countries.
They had narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 15th edition of the Afcon after falling short to Zambia in the 2024 Cosafa u17 Championships semifinals, in December 2024. However, the new format opened the door for South Africa, who got the nod for the continental tournament as the third-best team at the Cosafa tournament.
The 2025 CAF u17 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Morocco from 30 March to 19 April. There is plenty at stake, with teams vying for one of 10 places for African nations at the 2025 Fifa u17 World Cup, which takes place in November, in Qatar.
While they’re in the Africa Cup of Nations, Amajimbos don’t yet know who they will face in Morocco. The draw is still to take place.
The first weekend of summer sports fixtures of 2025 included basketball teams taking to the court in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
After 16 days of rain in the Gauteng Province, it was a welcome opportunity for sports to light up the weekend, and Jeppe High School for Boys welcomed St John’s College for a full set of summer fixtures.
The cricket fields were packed, all-out water polo action was lighting up the pool, and basketball games had attracted their always-passionate supporters.
In the first team game, it was the St John’s College basketball team that emerged victorious in their first outing of the year, beating Jeppe 56-45.
The boys from Houghton dominated, winning 17 of the 19 matches, but the majority were closely contested.
In Kwazulu-Natal, Kearsney College welcomed Michaelhouse for the year’s opening fixtures on Saturday.
The hosts made full use of their home-ground advantage as they turned in a 64-59 overtime victory at the SportZone after leading 31-27 at halftime.
Pabatso Sithole led Kearsney’s scoring, with 18 points, while Funi Kanyongolo shone for Michaelhouse, dropping 26 points through the hoop.
Competition between the rivals was extremely close, with Kearsney winning 10 games and ‘House 11.
In Pietermaritzburg, Westville Boys’ High met Maritzburg College in a clash of elite teams. The Griffin, who had staked a strong claim to be the best side in South Africa in the last term of 2024, pulled off an eight-point win in the cauldron of the Alan Paton Memorial Hall and Multi-Purpose Centre to live up to that status.
Meanwhile, in Durban, Northwood, the winners of the St John’s Basketball Tournament in 2024, faced a stiff challenge from Durban High School (DHS). After going behind early, the visitors clawed their way back into the contest and led midway through the game. The Knights, though, battled their way back, created easier baskets for themselves, and came away with the win.
Hilton College won at Glenwood, and St Charles College overcame a half-time deficit to cruise to a big 21-point win over Clifton College.
Weekend Basketball Results
Kearsney College 64-59 Michaelhouse
Maritzburg College 54-62 Westville Boys’ High
Northwood School 62-53 Durban High School
Glenwood 30-41 Hilton College
Kearsney College 64-59 Michaelhouse
St Charles College 70-49 Clifton College
St John’s 56-45 Jeppe
With the 2024 Gauteng Development League (GDL) now in the history books, SuperSport Schools Plus explores the journeys of the teams that triumphed this season under the “Champions Series” banner.
This week, Ongama Gcwabe narrates the story of the u19 champions, Highlands Park, with the help of head coach Sifiso Mnguni.
Highlands Park constructed a unique journey this season. The fact that the team won back-to-back league titles might lead some to mistakenly think that “The ‘Lions of the North” were dominant throughout their two title-winning campaigns.
They were dominant in 2023, but coach Sifiso Mnguni and his charges had a much tougher path to the title of champions this year. They were nearly flawless last year, but it took a gritty, stubborn effort to repeat as the league winners.
Mnguni was struck with many unexpected challenges at the start of the year. One of the biggest was the loss of key players, which forced Mnguni to put together a plan B.
Early in the season, Highlands Park dropped some points while their rivals, Mamelodi Sundowns, were dominating the u19 division. Mnguni, though, finally found and settled on the right personnel, courtesy of a very efficient recruitment structure at Balfour Park.
“With the start, we lost a few points. We did not have the full team. We lost a few boys. One went to Cape Town, and the others were going to university. We did not start very well, so we needed to regroup,” Mnguni opened up in an exclusive interview with SuperSport Schools Plus.
“We were not so happy with the team and we needed to recruit new faces. So, the start was just difficult because we had to put the team together and put a structure together.”
With the new team lineup established, the next task for Mnguni was to build camaraderie and establish a strong culture. Most often, those elements are built when a team goes through tough times, and when Mnguni took his team to Cape Town for the Bayhill Premier Cup, they were met with stiff opposition.
Instead of fracturing, the Highlands Park boys gravitated towards one another, a feat that Mnguni described as the highlight of the season and the key element in their successful defence of the GDL title.
“When I look back, we went to the Bayhill tournament in Cape Town, and I thought this is a new team and the tournament might be difficult, but the boys showed us their true colours,” Mnguni said.
“The trip to Cape Town, I thought it brought us closer, it strengthened the bonds. We reached the semis of the Bayhill, which is a very difficult tournament.
“In that space, we had to learn a little bit more about each other and that prepared us for the things that we would have [to deal with] throughout the season.
“That trip brought us all together and I would say it was the moment that made us champions.”
With the team being fairly new, Mnguni had to change his tactics and tailor-make them for the 2024 class.
In the title-winning 2023 season, Highlands Park played with three defenders at the back. In 2024, Mnguni switched to four defenders in an attempt to strengthen what was a rather inexperienced defensive line.
Moreover, because of his side’s inexperience, Mnguni and his backroom staff had to find ways to accelerate the development of his players, to help them understand what was required of them at the u19 GDL level.
“I don’t think we did anything much different except that I feel we needed to work harder on the boys. Basically, we worked harder on the video analysis sessions and the corrections, and we were a little more aggressive in our approach in the video analysis room,” he revealed.
“I don’t think we were the most talented side but we were the hardest-working side in the GDL. You could see the [low] number of goals we conceded, the numbers reflect the amount of work we did in the background.
“Perhaps the only difference was that last year we played with three at the back, but this year we felt we were too vulnerable, so we opted to go with four at the back but still maintained the three-two build-up.”
The challenges that come with organising and hosting an event as big as the recently concluded St John’s College Basketball Tournament are myriad, but the Johannesburg school, as always, successfully pulled off a sparkling four-day event.
Despite showers of rain all over Gauteng on the weekend, the Gauteng Development League (GDL) Top Eight competition lit up the province with four mouthwatering contests in the first action of the 2025 season.
The Gauteng Development League (GDL), Africa’s largest development football competition, returns to the park, to our television screens, and the SuperSport Schools app, this weekend with the Top Eight knockout competition set for an explosive start on Saturday.
The South African u17 National Team, known as “Amajimbos“, will participate in the 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) u17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
With the 2024