The Inanda Hoops Classic Challenge kicked off on Thursday at St David’s Marist Inanda, with King Edward VII School (KES), the defending champions, making an impressive start to their title defence.
KES, unbeaten in the 2025 tournament, opened their Pool E campaign with a 65-32 victory over Crawford International College (Sandton).
That convincing win proved to be an hors d’oeuvre before the main course, however, with KES charging to an astonishing 106-21 win over Grey High School in their second outing.
Grey High also fell to Jeppe High School for Boys, going down 27-59. Crawford recovered from their opening loss with a noteworthy 38-30 victory over Jeppe.
In Pool A, the hosts, St David’s, turned in a strong showing, beating The King’s School Linbro Park 43-35 and Kearsney College 64-47.
In an upset, St Andrew’s College handed Kearsney College a 32-26 loss. Kearsney put together a strong 2026, but transitioning to a stayers’ side comes with some challenges.
Historically, St Andrew’s College has found the going tough outside the Eastern Cape, but their performance against Kearsney was cause for optimism. In their following match, however, King’s Linbro downed St Andrew’s College 57-38.
In Pool B, St Benedict’s College, the winner of the Kearsney Independent Stayers’ Basketball Tournament (ISSBT) in September, cruised to a 73-39 victory over Sacred Heart College in their opening game. They won even more comfortably in their second outing, handing Hilton College a 74-34 loss.
Earlier, Hilton had defeated Parktown Boys’ High 54-32. Parktown bounced back with a 50-37 victory over Sacred Heart College.
St John’s College, contesting Pool C, powered to a 57-8 win over the Inanda Invitational team and subsequently defeated Michaelhouse 38-22. Michaelhouse evened their record at one win and one loss with a 47-34 victory over Pretoria Boys High.
In Pool D, St Stithians College, the 2024 Inanda Hoops champions, dominated St Dunstan’s College, racing to an impressive 86-14 win.
One of the expected title contenders, Maritzburg College, overcame Michael Mount Waldorf 55-28 in a tricky opener. The Red, Black, and White then all but ensured they would finish first in the pool with a 47-36 win over St Stithians.
Michael Mount picked up a 61-15 win over St Dunstan’s in their second game. RESULTS
Pool A
St David’s 43-35 King’s Linbro
St Andrew’s College 32-26 Kearsney College
King’s Linbro 57-38 St Andrew’s College
St David’s 64-47 Kearsney College
Pool B
Hilton College 54-32 Parktown Boys’ High
St Benedict’s 73-39 Sacred Heart
St Benedict’s 73-34 Hilton College
Parktown Boys’ High 50-37 Sacred Heart
Pool C
St John’s College 57-8 Inanda Invitational
Michaelhouse 47-34 Pretoria Boys High
St John’s College 38-22 Michaelhouse
Pool D
St Stithians 86-14 St Dunstan’s
Maritzburg College 55-28 Michael Mount
Maritzburg College 47-36 St Stithians College
Michael Mount 61-15 St Dunstan’s
Pool E
KES 65-32 Crawford International
Crawford International 38-30 Jeppe
KES 106-21 Grey High
Jeppe 59-27 Grey High
