Andy Milne from Dulwich College took 2 teams to France recently on an exchange visit.

The members of the Dulwich College U16 and U19 basketball teams have just returned from a successful weekend of sport in Paris.

The teams travelled by Eurostar early on Friday morning and were able to do a bit of sightseeing before playing the first of fixtures against our hosts, The American School of Paris (ASP). ASP have a strong basketball tradition and draw most of their players from American families.

The U16's won this first game, in an extremely close fought match. The score was 48 - 48 going into the last quarter and it was the cool headedness of Dominic Lyons at the free throw line that tilted the game in our favour. Ben Wynter top scored with 14 points, Will MacVicar added a further 11 points in the 56 - 51 victory.

Unfortunately the Senior team were unable to replicate this success and their first game against ASP was a bit of a one-sided affair. We were 53-15 down at the half and although we played a lot better in the second half we eventually lost this game 79 - 29.

The boys were billeted out to families that evening and returned, bleary eyed, the following morning for 2 more games each.

The re-match against ASP for the U16's was closer still. Again the teams were tied at the end of the third quarter, and again it was Will MacVicar (19 points) and player of the tour Dominic Lyons (15 points) that caused the most damage. Dulwich eventually won this game 41 - 40.

The Senior game was a closer affair than the previous evening, and despite a better performance from the Dulwich team we still lost 60 - 24. Captain Antoine Gittens-Jackson's 14 points was the best performance from a weary set of players.

The U16's were able to go unbeaten for the weekend when they beat an inexperienced team from The British School of Paris (BSP). Ben Wynter was top scorer again with 10 points and Chris Wavell added a further 8 points, his highest total this season.

The U19's gained their consolation victory over BSP in a comfortable fashion. In this 60 - 24 win Antoine Gittens-Jackson scored 20 points and Moyo Osinibi 9 points.

A return journey to London delayed by 3 hours didn't spoil the weekend. All boys behaved creditably both on and off of the court. In an e-mail the Sports Director from ASP said :

"It was a pleasure to have Dulwich College over. It's great to see such a nice and polite group of youngsters. Credit to you and the school. It was good to see everybody being supportive to one another regardless the
results. Please pass this on to the boys and also the compliments from our housing parents."

This trip was made possible in part by the generous donation from the Friends of Dulwich College and we extend our thanks to them!

Dulwich College wear HOSANA Teamwear, for more details view the Classic Teamwear Brochure