School sports: Gray and Winning shine in Australia

BASKETBALL: Congratulations to Malcolm Winning (James Gillespie’s High School) and Gregor Gray (North Berwick High School), the two Scots in Team GB that won a bronze medal at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney.

It certainly wasn’t normal conditions for the Britons, with soaring temperatures bringing the final day of competition to a halt before the organisers hastily arranged a change of venue.

“We are all delighted with the bronze medal,” said Gregor. “We came here looking to prove what we could do in basketball and we have done that. Hopefully by us doing well we can encourage more people to get into the sport and we can continue to raise the profile of basketball in the UK.”

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In a team event in Barcelona, the Scottish Under-15 squad produced some fine performances against Spanish opposition but finally finished eighth

“It was good to see the team outside a training environment and learn what the players are capable of in a competitive situation,” said Scottish coach, Russell Kesson.

“Players had to endure a lot of full court pressure over their four games and, overall, it was an enjoyable experience for the squad.”

Assistant coach Alan MacDonald added: “We faced a really high level of competition that really opened the players’ eyes to European basketball. With limited preparation time, players played hard in every game and definitely learned a lot.”