Haris Memorial Tournament 2016 – Day 1 Recap

The 11th annual Haris Memorial Tournament tipped off on Tuesday night, with England, Worcester, Derby and Manchester all registering wins.

England Under-18s vs Sligo All Stars
England Under-18s faced little resistance in their opening preparation game of the 2016-17 campaign, with a 131-41 rout of Irish squad Sligo All Stars.

England jumped out to a 37-8 first quarter lead, using their length and athleticism to pressure the ball and forcing Sligo turnovers in the backcourt. Dunks were aplenty, as England had seven players in double digits, led by Romario Spence and Kayne Henry-McCalla with 18 points each.

“First game with the team always carries some uncertainty,” said new England Under-18 Head Coach Alan Keane.

“The game gave us an opportunity to show us where we are technically more so than tactically and what are the habits and instincts of our players. We saw some things we like and need to nurture but more so we have been able to identify key areas for development.”

Reginald ‘Ify’ Chuks had 17, Zion Tordoff had all of his 16 in the first half, whilst big man Josh Ogundele added 14.

Caleb Fuller and Eisley Swaine finished with 13 and 12 points respectively, as England return to action on Wednesday afternoon against Derby.

Oisin O’Reilly led the way for Sligo with 15, whilst Lee Sherlock had 7 and Jamie Callaghan 6.

Worcester Academy vs City of Edinburgh
Worcester Academy got an 84-75 win over City of Edinburgh to open up their tournament.

The game remained competitive from start to finish, with Edinburgh in striking distance throughout.

Great team effort in a 84-75 win in our 1st game of the @HarisTournament The Hilltoppers had 6 players score 9+ points. #WABasketball #HST

— Worcester Basketball (@WA_VBB) December 27, 2016

Worcester were led by Paul Durkee who had 18 points, Mitch Doherty with 17, whilst Quest Harris and Jordan McAllister added 15 and 14 respectively.

Edinburgh were led by 20 from A Ferguson, 15 from R Armour and Kyle Jimenez, whilst Konrad Kantorski added 12.

Ireland Under-18s vs Derby Trailblazers
England Under-18 Brian Amabilino-Perez (pictured, above) had the top individual output on opening day with 37 points to lead Derby past Ireland Under-18s, 101-86.

Amabilino-Perez poured in 18 points in the opening period, barely missing, as he showed his calibre against the Irish National Team squad. And though Derby were in control the vast majority of the game, a last gasp charge from Ireland in the final minutes roused the crowd as they got it to single digits, forcing Derby to bring back their starts to seal the game.

Leyton Elliott-Sewell added 24 for Derby, whilst Ireland had four players in double figures; Sean Jenkins 22, Mark Gilleran 16, and Oisin O’Reilly and Adam Drummond with 10 points each.

 

It’s @derbyblazers taking command against @BballIrl at the @HarisTournament pic.twitter.com/hgl6bqTzLl

— Manchester Magic (@Mcr_Magic) December 27, 2016

Manchester Magic vs Nova School
Kaiyem Cleary knocked down five threes to finish with 22 points and lead Manchester past Nova, 73-65.

Cleary had two spectacular dunks in the early stages to set the tone for Manchester, who led by as many as 17, but like Ireland on the opposite court, Nova rallied in the fourth and had all the momentum for a while, before Magic were able to close it out.

Josh Pearce and Michael Anumba added 14 each for Manchester, whilst Nova were led by J Fernández Carrilo’s 15 points. F Ortega Fernández added 13 and L.J.J. Lehtinen 10 for Nova.

Schedule for Day 2

Wednesday 28th December 2016
11:00am Court 1 – Manchester vs Worcester; Court 3 – Nova vs Edinburgh
1:00pm Court 1 – England vs Derby; Court 3 – Ireland vs Sligo
4:00pm Court 1 – Worcester vs Nova; Court 3 – Manchester vs Edinburgh
6:00pm Court 1 – England vs Ireland; Court 3 – Derby vs Sligo

Notes

• England starters: Pierce Maslen, Micah Savery-Richards, Kayne Henry-McCalla, Zion Tordoff, Josh Ogundele
• From the initial Haris England U18 squad that was announced there are some changes; Solent big man Ashley Barrett-Briggs was absent on opening day, whilst Reading’s David Obediah was present and suited up.
• Even whilst missing a number of likely key players for next summer’s Euros – this England squad is one of the longest and most athletic I’ve seen in recent years.
• Worth bearing in mind both Derby’s Brian Amabilino-Perez and Manchester Magic’s Kaiyem Cleary – two of the top individual performers on Day 1 – are still in the England Under-18 squad, just not playing for them in this tournament.
• Worcester Academy are not as strong as previous US Prep teams that have visited the tournament, but also are still very young. A quick look at the team’s New England Recruiting Report page, shows only two of their key players are Seniors, with the vast majority being Class of 2019 of younger.
• City of Edinburgh are featuring a number of Scots who play for other club sides now, including Kyle Jimenez (Charnwood), Konrad Kantorski (Myerscough) and Findlay Wood (London Greenhouse Pioneers).
• More to come – follow @Hoopsfix on Twitter for live updates over the course of the tournament, along with @HarisTournament.