Palmerston North BHS on Fire as Basketball Zone Comps wrap up

Palmerston North BHS and Wellington College at the qualifiers in Palmerston North Photo Credit - Dave Lintott

The qualifiers for the National Secondary Schools’ AA Basketball Championships in Palmerston North in October have been found with the conclusion of the four zone tournaments this week.

In the Zone 1 boys’ final, Rosmini College reversed their defeat to Rangitoto College in the Auckland final as did Canterbury runners up Christ’s College in the Zone 4 decider.

As expected, Hamilton Boys’ High School and Palmerston North Boys’ High School prevailed in their respective zones. 

---

In the girls competition the Auckland, Waikato and Wellington champions triumphed in Zones 1-3 respectively while St Hilda’s College gained bragging rights in Zone 4.

College Sport Media watched Palmerston North Boys’ High School defeat Rongotai College 100-71 in the boys Zone 3 final.

Initially Rongotai was competitive holding Palmerston North to 34-26. However Palmerston North embarked on a 14-2 run midway through the second quarter to lead 48-30 at halftime. 

Palmerston North increased their defensive intensity and Rongotai was restricted to just seven points in the first half of the third period. 

Seven-foot giant Callum MacRae then went to work with two enormous slam dunks, one of which required repairs to the hoop, and a spectacular block as Palmerston North extended their advantage to 69-43.

MacRae was a beast on the defensive boards and top scored with 24 points, but he is an unselfish player. Palmerston North have multiple shooting threats and when point guard Oscar Oswald caught fire late the Wellington challengers were really in trouble, though they did achieve above expectation making the final here as they were only fourth in Wellington.

Boys Zone Final Results

Zone 1: Rosmini College: 70 v Rangitoto College: 67
Zone 2: Hamilton Boys’ High School: 75 v Melville High School: 46
Zone 3: Palmerston North Boys’ High School: 100 v Rongotai College: 71
Zone 4: Christ’s College: 62 v Cashmere High School: 56

​Girls Zone Final Results

Zone 1: Auckland Girls’ Grammar: 70 v Westlake Girls’ High School: 67
Zone 2: St Peter’s Cambridge: 72 v Melville High School: 55
Zone 3: St Mary’s College: 70 v Hutt Valley High School: 52
Zone 4: St Hilda’s College: 58 v Christchurch Girls’ High School: 43

For All National Qualifiers go here:
http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-5010-0-0-0 
​