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29/8/2016
Rosmini Rally Stuns Rangitoto “We always believed we could win,” Taine Wattie insists when recalling the dramatic comeback by Rosmini College to defeat Rangitoto College in the Auckland Premier Basketball final on Friday night.
Down 82-76 with 2:18 to play, Rosmini finished the game with a 12-2 run to triumph 88-84. William Heather connected with two hook shots either side of a Marvin Williams-Dunn And 1 play to propel Rosmini into an 83-82 lead with little over a minute to play. Rangitoto committed a shot clock violation on their next possession, and Kruz Perrott-Hunt capitalised on the error with a left-handed drive to make it 85-82. Dan Fotu scored a two to reduce the deficit to one but Williams-Dunn calmly converted a pair of free throws to put the game beyond the reach of Rangitoto. “It was a pretty incredible comeback. I think the crowd was a big part of it. Basically the whole school turned up which made it a very Rosmini crowd. We managed to get inside in the last two minutes and get some good looks,” Wattie reflects. Despite the lead alternating several times in the second-quarter, Rangitoto controlled much of the match. They started by scoring the first seven points, led by 10 points at three-quarter time and by as many as 16 points at one stage. “We call our captain Nathan Curran ‘hustle dream’. He is our head prefect and leads by example with his intensity. We played some great defence in the final quarter to get the win,” Wattie says. Wattie concedes he didn’t play his best game, but still contributed 14 points. Perrott-Hunt was the leading scorer with 18 points while Heather also scored 14 points. Junior Tall Black Sam Waardenburg was a beast for Rangitoto scoring 26 points and fetching 15 rebounds, Fotu managed 19 points. “Sam is a junior Tall Black and an opponent we really respect. He is hard to contain. We did well to stop him scoring in the last two minutes. Their captain was pretty shocked at the presentation,” Wattie explains. Rosmini have won 12 games in a row and only require a seventh place finish at next week’s regional’s to qualify for Nationals at the end of September. Rosmini last won the National title in 2011. Looking for USA Scholarships? Check out USA CONNECT Looking for $40000 University of Waikato Study Scholarships CLICK HERE Looking for Sport Exchange Opportunities to Australia CLICK HERE  A dominant display by centre Corey Le’aupepe has guided St. Patrick’s College, Wellington to an 80-66 win over Wellington College in the Pohlen Cup basketball final at the ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie tonight.
Le’aupepe, a runner up with Newlands last year, bagged 30 points and made a number of important defensive plays as Town powered to their 19th Wellington Championship and first since 2012. Le’aupepe proved tough to contain in the paint and was often triple teamed by Wellington which opened up other scoring options for Town. Initially Wellington was extremely competitive and led 20-17 after the first quarter. However a 9-0 run by Town at the start of the second-quarter swung the pendulum firmly in the Catholics direction. Town’s defense forced Wellington into long and hurried shots and they trailed 44-30 at halftime. Wellington halved the deficit to seven midway through the third quarter. Isaac Miller-Jose and William Tompkinson added some much needed hustle from the bench. At 50-42, Wellington’s Sione Helu was in the clear and went for a spectacular dunk. He missed and Town’s Dom Kafatolu executed a three-point play at the opposite end. Kafatolu nailed 3 three pointers in the match. The score at three-quarter time was 59-49 in favour of Town. With about four minutes left Town led 73-64 and committed a series of carless turnovers almost inviting Wellington back into the game. However two vital steals by Le’aupepe snuffed out any chance of a Wellington revival. Town stretched the final margin to 14 points. In the girls final St. Mary’s College defeated Hutt Valley High School 78-65. St. Mary’s went through the season unbeaten and have won the Wellington rugby, netball and basketball titles in 2016. St. Pats Town Top Scorers
Wellington College Top Scorers
Looking for USA Scholarships? Check out USA CONNECT Looking for $40000 University of Waikato Study Scholarships CLICK HERE Looking for Sport Exchange Opportunities to Australia CLICK HERE  The form of the Napier Boys’ High School basketball team suggested they wouldn’t win the Super 8 basketball tourney for the first time since 2006 at last week’s annual tournament in Palmerston North.
Napier hadn’t won any Super 8 code since a 2014 tennis triumph. Results in basketball against fierce local rivals Hastings Boys’ High School had been unfavourable for some time. Napier started badly when they dropped their opening pool match against Hamilton Boys’ High School (67-78). Jaxon MacFarlane shares his teams’ frustration. “We lost to Tauranga, Hamilton and most of the teams in pre-season and hadn’t beaten Hastings for ages. We knew we were better than what we had been playing. We had to show we wanted it more,” the power forward says. Gisborne Boys’ High School would suffer the Napier backlash flogged 85-47. MacFarlane indentified the victory as an important one. “Gisborne weren’t the strongest team, but we gained a lot of confidence from such a big win. We kept our intensity high for the whole game and played unselfishly which was awesome.” MacFarlane stands nearly two meters tall and is an exceptional talent who has represented the Hawks in the National Basketball league for the last two years averaging six or seven minutes per game, a hefty workload for a schoolboy rookie. MacFarlane had to step up in the final group game against Hastings Boys’ High School, a match that would determine who qualified for the semi-finals. “We had to get into the right mind space and bring the intensity for the Hastings game. We wanted it bad and it was a real tough game, but we played well to win,” MacFarlane says. The final score was 74-67 in favour of Napier. The semi-final against Tauranga Boys’ College was even closer. It was won 73-68. In the final Napier faced New Plymouth Boys’ High School who had won four of the last Super 8 titles. Napier found themselves in early trouble. “We were down by 15 points in the first quarter and it was really tough. We showed pure heart to fight back and take a 10 point lead. We knew if we could stay ahead of them by about 10 points we would win. New Plymouth are a dangerous team when they get on a roll. We played great defense,” MacFarlane recalls. Napier won 75-64, MacFarlane Cruz and Tyrese Davies were named in the tournament team with the former winning the MVP award. “Cruz and Tyrese are great players. Cruz is a real skilful finisher and has a great post game. Tyrese is a bit different. He is real strong on the dribble-drive and sets up a lot of our plays,” MacFarlane acclaims. Former Tall Fern Kirstin Daly-Taylor is the basketball director at Napier Boys’. The coaches of the premier team are brothers Damian and Dwayne Davies whose nephews Cruz, Tyrese. Jordon and Tylah Davies are all in the team. Damian and Dwayne played for Napier when they won the National title in 1992. Both are local policeman and have made a big difference to the fortunes of the team McFarlane believes. “They have brought greater discipline and togetherness. This team feels more like a brotherhood than a team,” McFarlane concludes. The central regional tournament determining which six teams qualify for the Nationals is staged at the end of August. Tournament Team Cruz Davies – Napier Boys’ High School Tyrese Davies – Napier Boys’ High School Jaxson MacFarlane – Napier Boys’ High School Baxter Fenwick – New Plymouth Boys’ High School Corbin Giddy – New Plymouth Boys’ High School Max Anderson – New Plymouth Boys’ High School Baleigh McDonnell – Tauranga Boys’ College Dylan Ryburn – Hamilton Boys’ High School Jack Henry – Palmerston North Boys’ High School Marcos Edwards – Hastings Boys’ High School Finals 7 v: 8 Rotorua v Gisborne, 53:61 5 v 6: Hastings v Palmerston North, 63:80 3 v 4: Tauranga v Hamilton, 84:76 1 v 2: Napier v New Plymouth, 75:64 Looking for USA Scholarships? Check out USA CONNECT Looking for $40000 University of Waikato Study Scholarships CLICK HERE Looking for Sport Exchange Opportunities to Australia CLICK HERE  Basketball is riding the crest of a wave in New Zealand at present. The success of the Breakers and Steven Adams in the NBA has seen both the popularity and quality of the code improve significantly.
Next week in Palmerston North the annual Super 8 tournament is staged. There are six genuine contenders for the title which is generally unusual. Marcos Edwards is captain of Hastings BHS who have featured in the last five finals and beat Rotorua BHS 73-64 in the 2015 decider. “It was very special to win that title with my brother. I came off the bench and got a few more minutes than I expected because we had four guys in foul trouble. I hope we can play that well again,” Edwards says. Hastings are pooled with Napier BHS, Gisborne BHS and Hamilton BHS. Hastings have only played a scrimmage with their local rivals Napier while Hamilton have improved and Gisborne are expected to struggle. “I learnt at last year’s National’s you can’t take any game for granted. You have be on in every game,” Edwards says. Hastings went on a North Island tour earlier this season where they played five games in 40 hours. Rotorua BHS were convincingly beaten, but matches against St. Pats Town, Te Awamutu College and Hamilton BHS were dropped in the last few seconds. Tauranga BC beat Hastings by 12 points. “That was trip was awesome learning. It showed what we needed to work on and also proved we were a lot better than what a lot of the boys thought we would be. We lost quite a few players last year,” Edwards says. Edwards is an age-group Hawke’s Bay rep who plays point and shooting guard. He believes Super 8 will be another litmus test for Hastings before heading to zone regional’s in late August. Hastings have to finish in the top six of that event to reach Nationals. “Palmerston North have three NZ reps including Callum McRae who is seven foot. New Plymouth have been in the final the last four years and Hamilton and Tauranga have really improved. It will be a tough tournament,” Edwards explains. The Super 8 tips of on Monday. The previous winners have been. 1998: Hastings BHS 1999: Hastings BHS 2000: Tauranga BC 2001: Napier BHS 2002: Hastings BHS 2003: Hamilton BHS 2004: Hastings BHS 2005: Napier BHS 2006: Napier BHS 2007: Palmerston North BHS 2008: Palmerston North BHS 2009: Tauranga BC 2010: New Plymouth BHS 2011: New Plymouth BHS 2012: New Plymouth BHS 2013: Hastings BHS 2014: New Plymouth BHS 2015: Hastings BHS  Aorere College Basketball Champions - Photo Credit https://www.facebook.com/aorerecollegesport/ Many students were off re-charging their batteries over the recent school holidays. Not Year 11 Aorere College sporting all-rounder Theresa Ngata.
In the first week of the holidays she was in Nelson with her North Harbour side at the NZ U19 Netball Championships, where the defender was selected as the youngest member of the U19 tournament team. Then it was a quick dash back home to Papatoetoe in Auckland to collect her passport and join school friend Meleitia Leilua and others for a trip overseas to Fort Lauderdale Florida, with the New Zealand Youth Women’s (NZ U16s) volleyball side to compete in the USA High Performance Volleyball Championships. She also plays basketball for the Aorere College Senior A side who are playing James Cook High School tonight in the final of the Counties Manukau Senior Girls competition, while her older brother Albert Ngata is captain of the school’s First XV rugby team that this weekend defends the Mealamu Cup against Otahuhu College. Back at school this week, College Sport Media caught up with Theresa about her sporting achievements. College Sport Media: Please tell us about your recent trip to Florida to play volleyball? Theresa Ngata: For 10 days I was lucky to represent my family, school and country in volleyball, a sport that I enjoy. Walking outside from the Florida airport for the first time was like walking into a sauna, it was so hot. This was not my first trip overseas playing for NZ. Last year, around the same time as this trip I had the chance to represent the NZ U16 basketball team. The expectation level of volleyball in USA is higher than the expectation level here in NZ. There were teams that my team and I had faced and had the potential to beat but the level of performance was faster and quite difficult to adjust to, but what really mattered each game is that we played for each other and obviously played at our best. Meeting girls from different states in the USA and also different nations was exciting because in the States I’m considered as short but here at home, I’m a giant. CSM: Who else from your school and from Auckland was on this tour? TN: Meleitia Leilua also from Aorere College and Tamara Otene from Westlake Girls’ High School were the two other girls from Auckland. CSM: The previous week you were in Nelson playing in the NZ U19 netball championships? TN: Yes, I represented the U19 North Harbour team. We played game-by-game and finished at the highest placing we could place which was fifth place. CSM: And you made the tournament team, was that a goal heading into the tournament? TN: Yes, because making the tournament team was a goal for me and my family, it was something I knew I had to work for and when the week was over I had felt like I had done my best to achieve it. I was kind of surprised - being the youngest one there meant I had to step up my game. CSM: Is Aorere College hoping to qualify for the top 16 for the NZSS netball tournament in Lower Hutt later this year? How did you go last year? TN: Yes my team and I are hoping to make top 16 and go well. Like every other team, we could’ve won some games and placed higher but knowing that it was our first time last year making A grade and finishing in the top 10, placing 10th out of 36 teams is pretty awesome I reckon. CSM: How did your Aorere College team go in the NZZ Volleyball Championships back in April? TN: We competed in division 1 and placed third, which is pretty good for our first year competing. The experience was so fun that we hope to compete again in the upcoming years. CSM: You’ve also previously played basketball to a high level? TN: When I first started playing Basketball in 2014 I represented Counties Manukau, the next year I played for the Auckland Counties Manukau U15 girls basketball team and from that same team I was invited to trial for the NZ U16 girls team. CSM: You’re still playing basketball for your school? TN: Yes. At the moment we have been going very well in our competition at the Otara Recreation Centre and we have made finals and playing James Cook High School this week. CSM: You’ve had to recently give representative basketball up to concentrate on the other sports? TN: Yes, late last year I had to give up representative basketball this year for volleyball and it was a difficult decision for me because it is a sport that I enjoy but it’s good to try new things. CSM: Do you or have you played other sports as well? TN: I have played Touch and also AFL CSM: Of the three court sports, netball, volleyball and basketball, how long have you been playing each? TN: I started playing netball when I was 9 years old and haven’t stopped playing since then so I have been playing for five and a half years. I’ve been playing Basketball for three and a half years and I’ve been playing Volleyball for four and a half years. CSM: When you’re not competing, what’s a typical week-day routine for you? TN: Usually I will have training everyday plus games during the week - but the only day I get to rest are Sundays. CSM: Who are the coaches and people that help you and support you? TN: A Shout out to the Aorere College Sport Department. And to my family who has been there right from the beginning and I am truly grateful to have such supportive and loving family. CSM: Speaking of family, your brothers are rugby players? TN: Both my brothers play rugby. Siope Ngata, who is currently studying at university and playing rugby for Papatoetoe. Albert Ngata is captain of the Aorere College First XV. I also have three younger brothers that play sports such as rugby and basketball. |
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