{"id":90748,"date":"2026-02-20T11:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T09:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=90748"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T09:33:15","slug":"defending-champs-stunned-on-day-one-of-st-johns-basketball-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=90748","title":{"rendered":"Defending champs stunned on day one of St John&#8217;s Basketball Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_90804\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-90804\" style=\"width: 333px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-90804 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Inanda-vs-KES-333x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-90804\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">KES faced off against St David&#8217;s Marist Inanda in one of the most entertaining games of the day. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ActionpixSA\/\"><strong>Actionpix<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The first day of the <strong>St John&#8217;s College Basketball Tournament<\/strong> was nothing short of remarkable, featuring huge upsets, including a loss for the two-time defending champion, <strong>Northwood<\/strong>. While <em><strong>the Knights<\/strong><\/em> tasted defeat, some strong contenders caught the eye, including <strong>King Edward VII School (KES)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/live.supersportschools.com\/category\/606f65f91eea03755e56797c\/sub-category\/698af6afb7e8f2d3ceff9c1d\/\"><strong>Catch the LIVE Action on SuperSport Schools<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>u19 Category A<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The defending champions, Northwood, who won the annual St John&#8217;s College Basketball Tournament in both 202 and 2025, entered the tournament fresh off <a href=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/northwood-bounces-back-grey-high-claims-championship-glory\/\"><strong>a hard-fought win over Westville Boys&#8217; High<\/strong><\/a>. However, a recent loss to <strong>Durban High School (DHS)<\/strong>, their first at home since 2020, suggested they might not be quite the powerhouse they had been for the past two seasons.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, <strong>St Stithians College<\/strong> enhanced that narrative with a comfortable 48-35 win over the Durban school. Then, astonishingly, Northwood suffered a second defeat in the evening, going down 43-51 against <strong>The King&#8217;s School Linbro Park<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>All is not yet lost for the Knights, but they won&#8217;t be able to afford any more slip-ups in their quest for a third successive title.<\/p>\n<p>In other Group A matches, <em><strong>Saints<\/strong><\/em> followed up their win over Northwood with a 61-28 defeat of <strong>Falcon College<\/strong>. The Zimbabweans bounced back with a 53-22 victory over <strong>Curro Helderwyk<\/strong> in their next outing.\u00a0Earlier on Thursday, The King&#8217;s School Linbro Park downed <strong>Curro Helderwyk<\/strong> 62-32.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Basketball - St John&amp;apos;s College vs St George&amp;apos;s College - St John&amp;apos;s Tournament - 19 February 2026\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z0JrSsGN6As?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In Group B, <strong>St Benedict&#8217;s College <\/strong>made their case as a team to watch by scoring two tight victories. They opened with a 46-42 win over <strong>Hilton College<\/strong> and added a 45-41 victory over <strong>St Andrew&#8217;s College<\/strong> in the evening. The Makhanda school suffered another defeat, losing by 10 points to <strong>Jeppe High School for Boys<\/strong>, 47-57.<\/p>\n<p>Jeppe, similar to Bennies, added a second win, holding off <strong>Michael Mount Waldorf <\/strong>34-32<strong>. <\/strong>Michael Mount quickly got their challenge back on track with a solid 56-41 victory over Hilton College.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_90805\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-90805\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-90805\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Jeppe-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-90805\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeppe&#8217;s bench watches intently during their match against Michael Mount. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ActionpixSA\/\"><strong>Actionpix<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Group C, KES made it evident that they have their sights set on a run at the title. <a href=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/northwood-unstoppable-crowned-st-johns-basketball-tournament-champions\/\"><strong>They came close in 2024, losing to Northwood in the final<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>KES kicked off the day with a 39-29 win over <strong>Michaelhouse<\/strong>. That was the first of three wins for St John&#8217;s neighbours. They also beat Crawford College (Sandton) 52-30, and rounded off a strong opening day with a decisive 55-38 win over <strong>St David&#8217;s Marist Inanda.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pretoria Boys High School (PHBS)<\/strong>, also in Group C, impressed. They defeated St David&#8217;s 46-32 in the morning and added a 47-38 victory over Crawford College later in the day.<\/p>\n<p>St David&#8217;s, beaten by KES, picked up a win, beating Michaelhouse 46-35. Earlier this month, &#8216;<strong><em>House<\/em><\/strong> won 36-32 at St David&#8217;s, so that was a pleasing turnaround for the Sandton school.<\/p>\n<p>Group D stands out as one of the most intriguing and challenging groups of the tournament. <strong>St Charles College<\/strong>, the 2023 champion, is in the group alongside the tournament hosts, St John&#8217;s College, <strong>St Alban&#8217;s College, Parktown Boys&#8217; High<\/strong>, and Harare&#8217;s <strong>St George&#8217;s College.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>St Charles College has not been convincing thus far this season, while St Alban&#8217;s College is rebuilding after a disappointing 2025 and has shown significant improvement. <a href=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/northwood-retains-st-johns-basketball-tournament-title\/\"><strong>St John&#8217;s College, the runner-up to Northwood last year<\/strong><\/a>, has produced mixed results this season.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_90806\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-90806\" style=\"width: 333px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-90806\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/St-Johns-College-333x500.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-90806\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ActionpixSA\/\"><strong>Actionpix<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On Thursday, though, St Charles College got their challenge off to a winning start, outplaying Parktown Boys&#8217; High 53-40. Then, in the evening, they comfortably handled St John&#8217;s, recording a 63-46 win.<\/p>\n<p>The hosts were stretched in their opener, scoring a 46-43 win over St George&#8217;s College, but the Harare school returned to the court and chalked up a sharp 44-29 victory over Parktown.<\/p>\n<p>St Alban&#8217;s College, like St Charles, celebrated wins over St George&#8217;s College and Parktown Boys&#8217; High, beating the former 38-34 and the latter 47-36.<\/p>\n<p><strong>u19 Category B<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the 19 Category B competition, Group A started with <strong>Redhill School<\/strong> scoring a 59-50 victory over the <strong>YUT Basketball Academy<\/strong>. Later in the evening, Redhill continued their success by defeating Saheti, 43-40.\u00a0Saheti had earlier edged past <strong>Sacred Heart College<\/strong> 50-47.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Maritzburg College B<\/strong> picked up a 38-19 victory over the YUT Basketball Academy.<\/p>\n<p>In Group B, <strong>St Peter&#8217;s College<\/strong> scored a commanding 52-20 win over <strong>Alma Mater International School<\/strong> before handing <strong>St John&#8217;s College B <\/strong>a 40-34 loss.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lomagundi College<\/strong> won 44-34 against Alma Mater, and <strong>Crawford Lonehill<\/strong> secured a 39-25 victory over <strong>Lomagundi College<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>u19 Category A<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Group A<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>King&#8217;s Linbro 62-32 Curro Helderwyk<br \/>\nSt Stithians College 61-28 Falcon College<br \/>\nSt Stithians College 48-35 Northwood<br \/>\nFalcon College 53-22 Curro Helderwyk<br \/>\nKing&#8217;s Linbro 51-43 Northwood College<\/p>\n<p><strong>Group B<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>St Benedict&#8217;s College 46-42 Hilton College<br \/>\nJeppe 34-32 Michael Mount<br \/>\nSt Benedict&#8217;s College 31-29 Michael Mount<br \/>\nJeppe 57-48 St Andrew&#8217;s College<br \/>\nSt Benedict&#8217;s College 45-41 St Andrew&#8217;s College<br \/>\nMichael Mount 56-41 Hilton College<\/p>\n<p><strong>Group C<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>KES 39-29 Michaelhouse<br \/>\nPHBS 46-32 St David&#8217;s<br \/>\nKES 52-30 Crawford College (Sandton)<br \/>\nSt David&#8217;s 46-35 Michaelhouse<br \/>\nPHBS 47-38 Crawford College (Sandton)<br \/>\nKES 55-38 St David&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p><strong>Group D<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>St Charles College 53-40 Parktown Boys&#8217; High<br \/>\nSt Alban&#8217;s College 38-34 St George&#8217;s College 34<br \/>\nSt John&#8217;s College 46-43 St George&#8217;s College<br \/>\nSt Alban&#8217;s College 47-36 Parktown Boys&#8217; High<br \/>\nSt Charles College 63-46 St John&#8217;s College<br \/>\nSt George&#8217;s College 44-29 Parktown Boys&#8217; High<\/p>\n<p><strong>u19 Category B<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Group A<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Redhill 59-50 YUT Basketball Academy<br \/>\nSaheti 50-47 Sacred Heart College<br \/>\nMaritzburg College B 38-19 YUT Basketball Academy<br \/>\nRedhill 43-40 Saheti<\/p>\n<p><strong>Group B<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>St Peter&#8217;s College 52-20 Alma Mater<br \/>\nSt Peter&#8217;s College 40-34 St John&#8217;s College B<br \/>\nLomagundi College 44-34 Alma Mater<br \/>\nCrawford Lonehill 39-25 Lomagundi College<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first day of the St John&#8217;s College Basketball Tournament was nothing short of remarkable, featuring huge upsets, including a loss for the two-time defending champion, Northwood. While the Knights tasted defeat, some strong contenders caught the eye, including King Edward VII School (KES). Catch the LIVE Action on SuperSport Schools u19 Category A The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":90802,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/90802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}