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Paris Lokotui has just completed a stellar year in three sports. On Friday she scored 19 points and nine rebounds as New Zealand defeated Thailand 80-52 in their quarter-final game to qualify for next year’s basketball U17 Women’s FIBA World Cup. Making this team and helping them finish fourth at the U17 Women’s Asian Championship in India, the Queen Margaret College, Wellington, Year 11 student on a Fuji Xerox scholarship completed her involvement this year in her third international team in as many different sports. The other two sports are netball and water polo. Paris (Ngai Tahu, Ngati Kuri, Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri, Tonga) has been involved in athletics, hockey, touch, volleyball, swimming, under water hockey, water polo, netball and basketball. Two years ago, in Year 9, to balance sports and school work, Paris decided to focus on water polo, netball and basketball and that decision has paid off.  Paris’s year got off to a great start with her being named in the Aotearoa Māori Netball International Secondary School team that competed against ten teams in the International U19 Schools Challenge in Fiji in May. Paris was part of the winning team which went undefeated throughout the rounds and beat the All Australia Netball Team 40-28 in the final. "It was amazing to play in the final and the atmosphere and support from within the team and from the crowd was amazing. I felt so proud to be on the court that day." In July this year Paris had a really busy month. Goal keeper Paris was a member of the NZ Water polo U16 team that competed in at the inaugural Sydney Water Polo Youth Festival and played against Australian state teams and Thailand. Paris was also in the Wellington U17 Netball team that won the New Zealand U17 National Championships in Counties- Manukau and made the tournament team. Paris then represented Wellington Basketball in the U17 National Championships and made the tournament team. Making the New Zealand U17 Women’s Basketball Team that competed in the just concluded FIBA Asia Cup in Bangalore was terrific reward for hard work.  Paris was proud to be part of the Queen Margaret College Senior A Basketball team that qualified for the Wellington Secondary School Basketball Premiership in 2018 for the first time ever.
Paris was equally proud to be part of the QMC Senior A Netball team that placed fourth at the Lower North Island Secondary School Netball tournament and qualified for the NZSS Netball Nationals in another first for the school. Paris made the LNISS tournament team but was unable to attend due to a clash with her NZ U17 basketball commitments. Paris has a strict training schedule and most days is either at the pool, gym or down at the basketball court. She is also focussed on making sure that she gets good grades and she is very grateful to Queen Margaret College for working with her to ensure that she keeps up with her school work when she is away. Paris says she loves everything about sports, the competiveness, the environment and the friendships she has made. Sports run in the family. Paris’ father Lua Lokotui is a professional rugby player recently retiring from International rugby with Tonga having played at the last two Rugby World Cups and representing Hawke’s Bay and Wellington in recent years 27/10/2017 NZ U17s make semis and qualify for World Cup Photo credit: FIBA. The Aon New Zealand Women’s U17 basketball team has made history by becoming the first junior-women’s national side to qualify for a basketball World Cup. The team beat Thailand 80-52 in their quarter-final of the FIBA Asian Championship overnight in Inida, securing one of the four qualifying spots for the 2018 FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Belarus next July. New Zealand meets Japan on Friday for a place in the final. New Zealand was drawn in ‘Group A’ alongside Australia (L 61-43), Korea (W 74-44) and Chinese Taipei (W 71-66). The Group A teams cross over with the Group B teams in the quarter-final match ups. Group B is made up of three times champions China, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong.  Sharne Pupuke-Robati was instrumental in giving New Zealand a 19-12 quarter time lead. The power forward was close to a double-double at the first break with 9 points and 10 rebounds. There was a more even spread of scoring in the second stanza as the Ferns extended their advantage to 37-21 at the interval. Tayla Dallton took her tally to nine points with Ella Bradley adding six. Wellington forward Paris Lokotui contributed a useful 5 points and 5 rebounds as the Kiwis dominated the rebound count 35-23. Coach Lori McDaniel called a timeout after a scrappy start to the second half and Pupuke-Robati responded in fine fashion scoring 7 straight points to extend the NZ advantage to 45-27. Tessa Talo-Tomokino added a pair of baskets and when Lokotui scored with a neat inside basket NZ led 57-35 at three-quarter time and had one hand on a World Cup ticket. After a Tayla Dalton steal and lay-up the Kiwi forwards dominated the final stanza without having to further call on Pupuke-Robati (16 points and 15 rebounds). Lokotui scored 9 points in the period to finish with an impressive 19 points and 9 rebounds with coach McDaniel describing her performance as, “Outstanding, we were very happy with the way she performed today.” Also impressive in the final quarter were Isabelle Cook (6 points and 9 rebounds) and Ella Bradley (10 points and 7 rebounds). Coach McDaniel was naturally delighted with the performance of her team and the achievement of reaching the World Cup. “The girls, the coaching staff and management have worked really hard and I think it shows that the game in NZ is on the rise. Our junior teams are performing really well.” Captain Leger-Walker was also pleased, “I think the girls really stepped up today, everyone got on the court and made a contribution,” she said. New Zealand will meet Japan in the semi- final of the Asian Championship on Friday and McDaniel is looking forward to that challenge. “We are delighted to have achieved our goal of reaching the World Cup but we are also excited to play Japan in the semi-final. Japan are a great team, very disciplined, and they execute well so they will be a true test.” New Zealand 80 – Lokotui 19p/9r, Pupuke-Robati 16p/15r, Dalton 11, Bradley 10p/7r, Cook 6p/9r, Leger-Walker 6, Talo-Tomokino 5, Paniora 3, Rogers 3, Samia 1 Thailand 52 – Phuekraksa 14, Sriharaksa 10  NZ Under 17 Women’s Team:
• Ella Bradley (Waikato Basketball Council) • Isabelle Cook (Taranaki Country Basketball Association) • Tayla Dalton (Harbour Basketball) • Charlisse Leger-Walker (Waikato Basketball Council) • Paris Lokotui (Wellington Basketball Association) • Jordyn Maddix (Harbour Basketball) • Helen Matthews (North Canterbury Basketball Association) • Kyra Paniora (Australia) • Sharne Pupuke-Robati (Auckland Counties Manukau) • Briarley Rogers (Tauranga City Basketball Association) • Rosalia Samia (Basketball Hawkes Bay) • Tessalonia Talo-Tomokino (Harbour Basketball) Staff: • Lori McDaniel – Head Coach • Jody Cameron – Assistant Coach • Gina Farmer – Assistant Coach • Ushma Shah – Manager • Tegan Tapara – Physiotherapist • Delwyn Whale – Head of Delegation  The New Zealand Under 17 Women’s basketball team is en route to India ahead of the 2017 FIBA U16* Women’s Asian Championship, starting this coming Sunday. The tournament doubles as the Under 17 Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifiers. The top four teams will qualify for that World Cup, which is to be played in Belarus next year. The team is: • Ella Bradley (Waikato Basketball Council) • Isabelle Cook (Taranaki Country Basketball Association) • Tayla Dalton (Harbour Basketball) • Charlisse Leger-Walker (Waikato Basketball Council) • Paris Lokotui (Wellington Basketball Association) • Jordyn Maddix (Harbour Basketball) • Helen Matthews (North Canterbury Basketball Association) • Kyra Paniora (Australia) • Sharne Pupuke-Robati (Auckland Counties Manukau) • Briarley Rogers (Tauranga City Basketball Association) • Rosalia Samia (Basketball Hawkes Bay) • Tessalonia Talo-Tomokino (Harbour Basketball) New Zealand has been drawn in ‘Group A’ alongside Australia, Korea and Chinese Taipei. New Zealand’s opening game will be a tough ask as they face off against Oceania rivals Australia in their opening game on Sunday 22 October at 11am local time (6:30pm NZT). Once Pool Play is completed, the Group A teams will cross over with the Pool B teams in the quarter-final match ups. Pool B is made up of three times champions China, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong. Tall Ferns trialist Charlisse Leger-Walker will lead New Zealand fresh off a 48 points MVP performance for St Peter’s School Cambridge in the Final of the Schick ‘AA’ Secondary Schools Championships. Leger-Walker has already had some overseas international experience this year, as she was a member of the New Zealand Under 18 team at the Oceania Championships in Guam back in July. The 16 year old guard led the Kiwi scoring at that tournament averaging 15.5 points per game. Schick AA Tournament Team members Ella Bradley and Sharne Pupuke-Robati are also in the twelve, as is Schick ‘A’ Tournament MVP Isabelle Cook from Opunake High School in Taranaki. Tauranga’s Briarley Rogers (Aquinas College) was also named in the Schick A Tournament Team alongside Cook.  Five of the team will be making their international debuts including Kyra Paniora from Queensland, the only overseas-based player in the squad, and Under 17 Aon Nationals MVP Tayla Dalton. Head Coach Lori McDaniel is excited about the challenge ahead. “Being the first New Zealand age group team to play in an Asia Championship is exciting in its own right. Then if you add in the factor of playing in India and the unknowns that creates, it provides added stimulus and intrigue. “We have prepared well prior to travelling, but the real work will commence when we arrive in Bangalore. We will have four days of acclimatization and training ahead of the opening game of the tournament against Australia. “By then we will have been together for over a week and the girls and coaching staff will be itching to play a game,” says Coach McDaniel. For more on the FIBA U16 Women’s Asia Cup, including information about livestreaming, games and times, go to the official FIBA website here:http://www.fiba.basketball/asia/u16women/2017 *Clarification: Please note that New Zealand’s and FIBA’s terminology are different – FIBA Under 16’s means 16 years and younger, which is the equivalent of New Zealand’s Under 17’s.   Christ’s College finished fourth at the AA National Secondary Schools basketball championships in Palmerston North recently. That placing is the best by a Canterbury school in the past two decades and a genuine surprise to many given Christ’s were 20th last year. Christ’s was beaten by eventual winners Rosmini College in overtime in the semi-finals. Christ’s sport has experienced a resurgence in many codes over the past two years and basketball’s rise has been the most dramatic. In 2016, led by captain and centre Hunter Aarts, and vice-captain William Harrison, Christ’s bounced back from 20 and 40 point thrashings to Cashmere High School during the season to beat them by three points in the third-fourth playoff at the South Island championships earning their first ever spot at Nationals. This year Cashmere would prove to be fierce rivals again, but one Christ’s eventually got the measure of. Christ’s lost the Thompson final 62-60 to Cashmere. Cashmere’s Connor McLaughlin had a big night with 19 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Max De Geest scored 16 points for Christ’s, but his side fell short. A few weeks later Christ’s meet Cashmere in the Zone 4 final and won 62-56. Christ’s and Cashmere were grouped together at Nationals and Christ’s prevailed in that meeting 79-68. Christ’s beat the Wellington and Taranaki champions and eliminated the winners of the Auckland regular season at Nationals. Their full results were: Pool Play: Cashmere High School, 79-68 Pool Play: Wellington College, 77-53 Pool Play: Kelston BHS, 95-75 Pool Play: New Plymouth BHS, 88-76 Pool Play: Palmerston North BHS, 47-50 Quarter Final: Auckland GS, 79-74 Semi Final: Rosmini College, 72-76 (OT) 3 v 4: Mount Albert Grammar School, 62-72  Max De Geest and Max Darling were selected for the tournament team. Darling is originally from Nelson College and has played both basketball and volleyball at an age group level for New Zealand. De Geest appeared for the Canterbury Rams this season and averaged 14 points a game for the New Zealand Under-18’s at the Oceania Championships earlier this year. Christ’s are being coached by former Tall Black and present Canterbury Rams mentor Mark Dickel. Interestingly Christ’s First XI is being coached by former Black Cap Peter Fulton and the First XV by former All Black captain Reuben Thorne. In rugby the First XV have been semi-finalists in the UC Championship for the past two years and this year beat Christchurch Boys’ High School for the first time since 2000. Additionally Christ’s won the Maadi Cup in 2016 and the Rankin Cup hockey title this year.   Photo credit: Dave Lintott Photography "I wasn't supposed to go," National Secondary Schools basketball MVP Mitchell Dance confesses of his pre-tournament status. "I tore ligaments in my left foot at regionals and had the prospect of a trip to Asia with a New Zealand team to consider. When the Asian trip was postponed the only way I could make it to Nationals was if my physio Chris Johns agreed to accompany me. I owe Chris a lot," Dance explains. On Saturday, Dance scored 26 points and collected 10 rebounds as Rosmini College beat defending champions Rangitoto College 87-79 in the National final at Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North. For Dance and Rosmini it was a sweet culmination to a season that hit a roadblock in the Auckland final against the same opposition.  "Losing the Auckland final was a bitter disappointment. That's a big game. There are a lot of bragging rights at stake and there were some hard lessons learned," Dance morns. Tougher defence and restricting the influence of Rangitoto ace Dan Fotu were perhaps the most urgent issues to address. Dance reveals the different approach taken in resolving these problems "We needed to shutdown Isaac Anderson and Dan Fotu. If those two catch fire Rangitoto are hard to stop. We rotated our defence to keep them guessing and tried to prevent Anderson from shooting threes," Dance says. "The strength of my game is my pump fake. I tried to drive hard and often at Fotu to get him into foul trouble. Dan had four fouls by the start of the third quarter," Dance continued. The third quarter was when the game dramatically turned in favour of Rosmini. Marvin Williams-Dunn hit two long range triples as Rosmini amassed a lead of 10 points. "Our plan was to hang with them for as long as we could. We knew if we could do that we would eventually catch a break. It was 46-45 at halftime and we could sense they were getting frustrated. Marvin catching fire and getting us a bit of a lead was big," Dance reflects. In the first quarter Rosmini's tallest player William Tuaputa-Heather was carried off the court with an ankle injury. Tuaputa-Heather had scored half of Rosmini's first 20 points. "William did an ankle and I wasn't sure if we would get him back at all. Once again Chris worked his magic and William was able to play a bit more. Losing Will permanently would have been huge." Rosmini's wayward free throw shooting could have been huge. Rosmini only enjoyed 16 successes from 36 attempts. "It was a problem all week to be honest, when all season it's been money. I think it was worse on the main court because of the pressure. We were lucky to get away with it." Rosmini breezed through pool play winning all five matches, the smallest margin of victory being 77-67 against Mount Albert Grammar School. Dance averaged over 20 points a game. The semi-final against Christ's College was troublesome and stretched into extra time.  "That was an ugly game. Our head space wasn't right and I didn't play well at all. Max De Geest and Max Darling were a handful. We didn't shut them down," Dance complains. Still Rosmini won and Dance concluded with special praise for Terence Abdon and the Rosmini parents. "All the parents accept for one family were at the tournament and that was amazing. We had a dinner together to celebrate on Saturday night and that was pretty special, Terence is our hustle man. He is the smallest guy on the team, but his energy is huge and captures what wee all about." Ominously Rosmini only losses three players from their 2017 roster and Dance will return fully fit in 2018. Thanks to our sponsors @scholrebates who love to see our next generation succeed. They know these sports events can be expensive and want to make sure you're claiming back your school and college donation so check them out at www.schoolrebates.co.nz   St Mary's College: 2017 Girls champions The National Secondary Schools AA Basketball Championships concluded at Arena Manawatu in Palmerston North today and new champions were anointed after two gripping finals. Reports of the two finals below and tournament teams. Girls Despite a herculean effort by Charlisse Leger-Walker, St Mary’s College, Wellington, are the new National Champions after beating St Peter’s Cambridge 68-62 in the final. Leger-Walker scored an incredible 48 points as she almost single-handedly won the game by herself. Such was her individual dominance it took 14 minutes until another teammate scored a solitary point, Alana Paewai hit a free throw. Combined, Leger-Walker’s teammates missed their first 10 shots from the field. St Mary’s more socialist approach was ultimately the telling difference in a fiercely competitive contest With 3.13 left, St Mary’s desperately snaffled three offensive rebounds and Renee Savai’inaea hit a three-pointer to extend their lead to 64-55, the largest of the match. Leger-Walker revived hopes of an improbable comeback when she scored the next seven points on the trot, including a long three to close the gap to 64-62. She also made a crucial defensive spoil to stop a certain St Mary’s bucket from a fast break. With 1.33 left a Leger-Walker jumper rattled in and out and Savai’inaea was able to convert a two and stretch the Catholics’ lead to 66-62. St Peter’s was forced to foul in order to stop the clock. Savai’inaea and Sariah Penese were able to hit free throws while the Waikato championships were astray in the last minute. The match was close throughout with St Mary’s leading 21-16 at quarter-time, 33-30 at halftime and 51-48 at three quarter time. St Mary’s did extend to 27-19 at one stage, but Ella Bradley caught fire briefly and scored six successive points to tighten proceedings again. St Mary’s defence was a pivotal factor in their triumph outrebounding St Peter’s 53-38. St. Peter’s only got one point from their bench. Savai’inaea (18 points), Terrelle Onesemo (13 points) and Grace Hunter (11 points) was proof of St Mary’s greater balance.   Rosmini College: 2017 Boys champions Boys Rosmini College have won the National title for the first time since 2011, defeating fellow North Shore rivals and defending champions Rangitoto College 87-79. The game changed early in the third quarter when Rangitoto ace Daniel Fotu incurred his fourth personal foul and was forced to sit out the remainder of the period. Rosmini was able to push ahead by ten points with Marvin Williams-Dunn nailing two long range triples. Rosmini was able to maintain the lead courtesy of energetic hustle on defence. Ironically little men Kruz Perrott-Hutt (who eventually fouled out) Williams-Dunn, Terence Abdon and Mitchell Dance were at the heart of the resistance. Fotu checked back into the game early in the fourth quarter and hit double digits in the period, but lacked support down the stretch, Rosmini was spared penalty for their awful free throwing shooting which included six consecutive misses and a final count of 16/36. The first-half was a top display of offense with Rangitoto leading 46-45 at the main interval. Rangitoto shoot 20/38 from the field and Rosmini 17-30. The largest lead gained by Rangitoto was 26-20 which was quickly erased by six straight Mitchell Dance points. William Tuaputa-Heather was in fine form initially for Rosmini scoring 10 of the first 20 points, but was he carried off the court at the end of the first quarter injured. He returned in the second-quarter with a heavily bandaged ankle, but was still lame and was spelled until halftime. Manfully Heather battled on and managed to contribute five further points. Dance showed why he was tournament MVP. In addition to scoring 26 points he collected 10 rebounds, six of which were offensive regathers. Williams-Dunn finished with 17 points for Rosmini. Fotu top scored for Rangitoto with 28. The next highest contributor was Logan McIntosh with 15.  Boys Tournament Team Tom Higgins Auckland Grammar Daniel Fotu Rangitoto Oscar Oswald – Palmerston North Max Darling – Christ’s Logan McIntosh – Rangitoto Mandela Baledrokadroka – MAGS Mitchell Dance – Rosmini – MVP Kruz Perrott-Hunt - Rosmini Peter Jenkins – Rosmini Max De Geest – Christ’s  Girls Tournament Team
Kaylee Smiler - Melville High School Grace Hunter – St Mary Wellington Charlisse Leger-Walker – St Peter’s - MVP Renee Savai’inaea - St Mary’s Leah Mafua - Hutt Valley High Mele Latu – Auckland Girls GS Koha Lewis Hamilton Girls Sariah Penese – St Mary’s Sharn Pupeke-Robati – MAGS Ella Bradley – St Peter’s  Photo Credit Dave Lintott The Boys and Girls semi-finalists have been found at the NZSS AA Basketball Championships in Palmerston North. Matt Twort watched today’s quarter-final match-ups between St Peter’s School and Westlake Girls’ High School (Girls) and and Rangitoto College and Palmerston North Boys’ High School (Boys) below. St Peter’s School v Westlake Girls’ High School St Peter’s Cambridge progressed to the semi-finals of the Basketball Secondary School Nationals on the girls ‘AA’ side of the draw, seeing off a resilient Westlake Girls High School side with a 65-58 win. Reigning tournament MVP Charlisse Leger-Walker was yet again the driving force behind SPC, finishing the match with an unofficial stat line of 42 points and 20 rebounds. Her speed, strength, shooting and interior defence was all too much for Westlake to handle as SPC grinded out the win.  Westlake’s Emme Shearer did her best to keep her side in the game, often popping up with pin-point passes and difficult finishes at the rim, but the New Zealand Under-16 rep’s efforts weren’t quite enough for Westlake. The writing was on the wall early for Westlake as Leger-Walker overcame a scrappy opening to the game to score two and-one baskets to put SPC in the driver’s seat. Westlake were reluctant to take outside shots and weren’t having much luck scoring on SPC’s rim protection, seeing SPC take a 20-9 lead at quarter time. A three-ball and another and-one to Leger-Walker opened proceedings in the second quarter to hand SPC a commanding lead, though the remainder of the half would be controlled by Shearer who did her best to bring Westlake back into the game, and that she did. Westlake pulled the score back to 28-24 in SPC’s favour, drawing Leger-Walker’s third foul in the process. But SPC coach and mother of Leger-Walker, Leanne Walker, rolled the dice by keeping her daughter in the game. The gamble paid off as Leger-Walker avoided picking up another foul, though the lead for her side was just 32-26 at the half. Leger-Walker began the second half as she did the first, scoring several points to extend SPC’s lead and found the ever-moving Ella Bradley on a couple of cuts to have SPC up 50-41 at the end of the third. It was going to be an uphill battle from there for Westlake to pick up the win but the combined efforts of Shearer and year 10 Jessica Moors ensured the game remained competitive throughout the fourth. Leger-Walker, though, proved too good as she pushed SPC into the semi-finals where they will face Auckland Girls Grammar School. The other girls semi-final will see Melville High School face off against St Mary’s, Wellington.  Girls QF results: SPC 65-58 Westlake GHS Melville High School 65-47 Hamilton Girls High School St Mary's 81-52 Hutt Valley High School Auckland Girls’ Grammar School 76-75 Mount Albert Grammar School Rangitoto College v Palmerston North Boys’ High School For the second year running, Rangitoto College have beaten Palmerston North Boys High School in the playoffs of the Basketball Secondary School Nationals. Last year it was in the grand final, though this time around the teams met in the quarter-final stage of the ‘AA’ draw but the same unfortunate fate was suffered by PNBHS, going down 65-54 to a plucky Rangitoto outfit. The match-up wasn’t as drama-filled as last year’s encounter, though it did feature a similarly amazing shot at the death of the game when back-up guard Ethan Mandeno drained a step-back three-pointer to all but seal the win for boys from the North Shore. Foul trouble would have been the issue dominating the coach’s minds for both teams across the match with PNHBS giant Callum McRae, along with Ranitoto’s Dan Fotu and Logan McIntosh, getting themselves into foul trouble throughout the second half. It was Rangitoto who showed they had the depth to overcome that foul trouble, with Mandeno and Logan Anderson picking up the scoring responsibilities that Fotu and McIntosh left behind. After very much a back-and-forth opening three quarters, Logan McIntosh re-entered the game and it was his hot end to the third and beginning to the fourth gave Rangitoto the edge they needed. Fellow Logan – Logan Anderson – decided to get in on the fun, erupting for his own mini-run which put Rangitoto up 56-44 midway through the final period. By then it was time for McRae to return to the court and he provided stability for PNBHS as he found his way to the free-throw line on several occasions. Rangitoto’s depth helped keep PNBHS at arm’s length, though, and it was the Mandeno three with less than a minute remaining that proved to be the dagger, sending Rangitoto through to tomorrow’s semi-final where they will meet Mt Albert Grammar School. The other boys AA semi-final will be between Christ’s College and Rosmini College. Boys QF results: Rangitoto 65-54 PNBHS Rosmini College 91-75 Rongotai College Mount Albert Grammar School 68-50 Westlake Boys’ High School Christ's College 79-74 Auckland Grammar School  5/10/2017 NZSS Basketball Quarter-finalists found Hang time for Cashmere High School against Kelston BHS in their pool match. Photo by Dave Lintott Photography. The quarter-final line ups have been resolved at the AA National Secondary Schools Basketball Championships in Palmerston North. The teams featured will surprise few, but one of last year’s boys finalists will not reach the decider in 2017 after Rangitoto College finished second in Pool D and as a consequence will face the top qualifier in Pool B, 2016 runners-up Palmerston North Boys’ High School. Boys Defending champions Rangitoto College were pipped by Auckland Grammar School 74-72. Grammar has beaten Rangitoto three times this season, but Rangitoto had won their last meeting in the semi-finals of the Auckland Premiership. Auckland Grammar, who topped the Auckland standings after the round-robin, headed Rangitoto College with five wins in Pool D. Palmerston North Boys’ High School was expected to make light work of Canterbury champions Christ’s College, especially with Christ’s missing key player Max de Geest. However Palmerston North trailed 47-45 with 90 seconds remaining, before prevailing 50-47 to top Pool B with five wins. Rosmini College topped Pool A with five wins defeating second-placed Mount Albert Grammar School 77-67 in their last group game, though MAGS once again proved difficult for a top opponent to foil holding the lead for much of the third quarter. Westlake Boys’ High School had the least hassle free route to the quarter-finals trouncing Rongotai College 76-56 in the Pool C decider. Rongotai are to be credited for making the top eight after crashing out in the semi-finals in Wellington.  Boys Quarter-Finals:
Girls The highlight of the quarter-final fixtures is a replay of the Auckland final between the two Grammar schools, Mount Albert and Auckland. Auckland Grammar started the day with a routine 79-47 victory against Massey High School, but came unstuck against Hamilton Girls’ High School 65-62. Auckland Grammar scored more points in the group overall, but Hamilton claim top spot by virtue of their win over Auckland. MAGS had no such dramas thrashing Hastings 91-52 to finish ahead of Melville High School who won four games. Zone 4 champions St Hilda’s Collegiate had to beat defending champions St Peter’s Cambridge to keep their quarter-final prospects alive, but fell short 74-70 in a genuinely exciting contest. St. Peter’s have won 21 matches in a row at the Nationals and will seek to preserve that unbeaten streak against Westlake Girls’ High School tomorrow who were second in Pool C behind Wellington and Zone III champions St Mary’s College. St Mary’s are in ominous form, beating Sacred Heart 107-59 and Westlake 84-61 today to move serenely into the play-offs.  Girls Quarter-Finals
Draws and Results For More Information Click Here: http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-5010-0-463577-0   Day one of the Schick Championships, New Zealand’s secondary schools national basketball championships, tipped-off today at Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North. The week-long event will bring over 850 students from 70 secondary schools, plus families and support staff, to the nine court venue. The Manawatu public will have a special opportunity to see some of New Zealand’s best emerging basketball talent on display, with a large number of New Zealand age-group representatives leading out their school teams… New Zealand age-group representatives at the Schick Championships Aon New Zealand Under 16 Team:
 Aon New Zealand Under 16 Select Team:
Aon New Zealand Under 16 Team:
Aon New Zealand Under 16 Select Team:
Aon New Zealand Under 17 Women Team:
3x3 Under 18 Women:
Aon New Zealand Under 18 Women Squad:
 Aon New Zealand Under 18 Men Squad:
Anchor Junior Tall Blacks:
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