Season 50 - Asia Tournament - Summary
Apologies for this long overdue post, I've just been caught up with things in real life, and the unstable website caused disruption.
Anyways, we started the season ranked 63 worldwide, with a scrimmage against an improved Thailand team. We lost by one point. Then we had begun our Asia Tournament quest to the hosts, Hong Kong who demolished us. We then won three competitive games consecutively, all of which were ranked higher than us at the time. They included South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. We then had a scrimmage against Bahamas which we won quite comfortably. Then, it was down to the last two first matches against Macau and Vietnam. They were both losses, however, I gambled and played for enthusiasm going into the second round of the tournament.
My goal for this season was to make it to the second round of the Asia Tournament for the second time consecutively. This was achieved and we begun with a hard fought win against Indonesia. Unfortunately, after this, we went on a four game losing streak, losing to (an impressive) Thailand, China, Australia and Hong Kong - all of which were ranked higher than us and have created a strong and sustainable U21 program.
We then ended the season with an U20 scrimmage against Malaysia where we had a strong fourth quarter, suggesting great things to come for the S51's team.
World Ranking Progression:
As stated above, we began the season with a world ranking of 63. Our consecutive wins against South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as a win against Indonesia saw us jump to an impressive ranking of 54 in the world. We then concluded the season with a world ranking of 55.
EDIT: As of September 12th, 3:10pm Auckland time, we are ranked 52 in the world and currently on the brink of breaking the top 50! :)
MVPs:
I have been thoroughly impressed with S50's team, as a number of players shone throughout the season. Our MVP for season 50, based on my votes is our captain, JOHN MAURICE with 15 votes.
Honourable mentions to the following players who closely missed out:
Co-captain Dwayne O'Meley with 13 votes.
Dhasaradakumaran Pushparaj with 13 votes.
George Jabano with 11 votes.
Brendan Saxby with 7 votes.
Myron Gupta with 7 votes.
Player Awards:
Most Points: John Maurice with 212 points.
Most Rebounds: Myron Gupta with 117 points.
Most Assists: Dwayne O'Meley with 68 assists.
Player Accomplishments:
John Maurice made his 38th appearance this season and across his U21 career. This makes him the second best in our nation's U21 history.
Dwayne O'Meley made his 37th appearance this season and across his U21 career. This currently makes equal third best in our nation's U21 history. He is also on target to break the nation's most appearances, as he does have another full season to look forward to.
John Maurce scored his 376th point this season and across his U21 career. This makes him equal eighth best in our nation's U21 history.
Dwayne O'Meley made his 132nd assist this season and across his U21 career. This makes him fouth best in our nation's U21 history.
Dwayne O'Meley's 68 assists this season makes him eighth best to make assists in a single season.
Conclusions:
Season 50 was a success for our nation. We were able to make the second round, but more importantly, we were able to develop a strong and sustainable U21 program. Our Season 51 team is looking great at the moment, with a number of players returning from Season 50. I would like to thank every manager involved, whether it was training players, giving assistance or helping to come up with tactics.
Last edited by Te-Ariki (NZ U21 Manager) at 09/11/2020 23:11:07