LACEY LOWDOWN

The Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier competition opened on Friday and it was almost a case of who wasn’t playing as to who was. A number of leading players are attending a New Zealand Selection Camp and injuries seem to be aplenty meaning a number of teams were understrength for the opening round.

Firstly though a big shout out and best wishes to Avondale College head coach Doe Williams who is presently out of action recovering from surgery – get well coach!

In the interim Kevin Goodwin has taken the helm of the newly promoted team but his charges were unable to give Coach Doe a get well present going down 85-75 at home to Auckland Grammar School.

The scores were locked at 20 points apiece at quarter time as Connor Ngan and Preston Karatau demonstrated their scoring abilities. Grammar’s Isara Nua had 15 first half points as his team took a 42-39 lead into the break – Jaga Mete had a dozen for Avondale.

Ten points from the outstanding Teancum McCarthy highlighted an even third period but the lead only three in favour of Grammar (62-59) with ten minutes to play.

Mete scored 13 points in the final period for the hosts but a couple of threes from McCarthy and further scores from Nua and Ilasia Tela saw Grammar home.

Avondale 75 – J Mete 32, K Eteru 12, J Cullen 9, P Karatau 8

AGS 85 – I Nua 24, C Ngan 20, T McCarthy 19, I Tela 13

The last time Rangitoto College and Rosmini College squared off was at the Schick Secondary Schools National Final in Palmerston North last October. Remarkably only six players involved in that game took to the court when the two teams met at Rangitoto on Friday night. Even more surprising was the fact that Rangitoto had just one survivor from that 2017 Grand Final and that change of personnel told as Rosmini carved out a commanding 110-59 victory.

David Jovanovic scored the first point of the game but a brace of baskets from Kruz Perrott-Hunt and threes from Terence Abdon and Thomas Morgan sent Rosmini on a 16-0 run.

Ethan Mandeno, the only Rangi player to have played in last year’s national championship game, snapped the charge but Rosmini led 25-11 at quarter time.

Reihana Maxwell-Topia got the scoring underway in the second, another run (10-0) taking the Rozza lead over 20 points.

Mandeno and Tommy Te Puni broke the run but it was 38-15 in favour of the visitors at the mid-point of the quarter.

Composed young point guard Ethan Skelton chipped in with points for Rangitoto but the away support were in full voice at the interval with their team 50-24 to the good. Perrott-Hunt led all scorers at that stage with 17 points.

Joseph Hylton muscled his way to the basket for the first score of the second half before Perrott-Hunt and Mandeno exchanged threes – another three from Abdon (his third of the game) moved Rosmini out to 62-29.

Jovanovic scored a couple of nice inside baskets but so did Maxwell-Topia and Jason Mittef for the visitors.

A put back from Sean Murphy countered a Mandeno floater, the third concluding with consecutive baskets from Reimar Cruz and an 82-46 lead to Rosmini.

The final quarter was largely academic although to their credit Rangi, well beaten on the night, battled gamely until the end.

Rangitoto 59 – E Mandeno 25, E Skelton 14, D Jovanovic 7

Rosmini 110 – K Perrott-Hunt 31, R Maxwell-Topia 22, S Murphy 11, T Abdon 9, J Mittef 9

Thirty-one points from Max Shorter was not enough to get St Kentigern the win as they went down 102-86 in a high scoring encounter with Mt Albert Grammar School.

St Kentigern gave up 28 points in the first period as Saatan Tawera and Ryan Laumatia helped themselves to baskets.

Three triples from Tom Chester and one each from Zac Chan and Shorter highlighted a much improved showing in the second stanza from St Kent’s as they closed to within three points (48-45) at half time.

Mt Albert put their foot down again in the third frame logging 30 points with Rishon Royce and Laumatia doing most of the damage.

Twenty points ahead at the start of the final quarter, Chayse Pinono scored 12 points in the closing stages as Mt Albert cruised to an away win – St Kent’s left to rue a poor defensive effort in the opening quarter.

St Kentigern 86 – M Shorter 31, T Chester 18, Z Chan 11, L Kerr 8

MAGS 102 – C Pinono 27, R Laumatia 20, N Wilson 19, S Tawera 10, R Royce 9

St Peter’s College travelled to Westlake Boys for their first ever Premier Grade fixture but came away empty handed, beaten 69-51.

They made an understandably nervous start trailing 23-14 at quarter time – Josh Koiman scoring six points for Westlake.

Seven points from Oliver Arlove settled St Peters but threes from Dylan Wilkie and Alex Freeman helped Westlake to a 40-27 half-time lead.

Koiman scored another six points in the third as Westlake extended its lead to 58-42 at the three-quarter mark.

St Peter’s, led by captain Whititera Parata, battled gamely in the fourth but failed to make an impression on the Lake advantage.

Westlake 69 – J Koiman 16, D Wilkie 12, J Port 6, A Freeman 6

St Peter’s 51 – W Parata 15, P Leupolu 10, O Arlove 12

Prem Girls roundup will follow on Sunday.

The Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition begins on Friday but a number of boy’s teams will be down on fire power as a New Zealand Under 17 camp is being held in Rotorua at the weekend.

With the class of 2017 having moved on, the onus falls on a new crop of players to make their mark on the strongest high school basketball competition in the country.

The boy’s playing rosters have changed but the head coaching positions remain unaltered, which is rather unusual. This time last year Dave Mackay had moved to Auckland Grammar and rookie coaches Zac Fitzgerald (Westlake), Karl Buck (Kelston) and Matt Lacey (Rosmini) were dipping their toes into Premier basketball for the first time.

Kelston were relegated at the end of last season and replaced by Senior A League winners St Peter’s College. Junior Tall Blacks assistant coach Leyton Haddleton will take St Peter’s to Westlake hoping Luke Buckingham, Whititera Parata and Phoenix Leupolu can help his youthful side make a good showing on their Premier debut. Look out for Alex Freeman and Paora Winitana Jnr to make an early impression for Lake.

Also promoted are Avondale College who host Auckland Grammar. Avondale, coached by the experienced Doe Williams, recently won the play-off game against Macleans College who like Kelston will be looking for a bounce back season in Senior A. Grammar will be looking for Anzac Rissetto to build on the strong performances of 2017.

St Kentigern College, coached by Aaron Young, could be big movers this year having added Shalom Broughton to the mix. He will suit up alongside the likes of Max Shorter, Alex McNaughton and three-point specialist Zac Chan.

Visitors Mt Albert Grammar, coached by former Tall Black Daryl Cartwright, were one of the form teams in the country at the back end of last season. However they are a much changed outfit this season and will be anticipating guards Ryan Laumatia and Sataan Tawera can provide them with scoring punch.

The game of the round features Rangitoto College entertaining Rosmini College. Both teams will lineup vastly differently to the last time they met in the Schick Secondary Schools National Final back in October.

Injuries, the NZ camp and the departure of some outstanding seniors means the likes of Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Reihana Maxwell-Topia will feature strongly for Rosmini. Expect Ethan Mandeno and Jared Thornton to play extended minutes for Rangi.

Boys draw for Friday May 11, all games with a 7.30pm tip-off:

Rangitoto v Rosmini

Westlake v St Peter’s

St Kent’s v Mt Albert

Avondale v Auckland Grammar

St Kentigern College are back in the Girls Premier Grade competition after winning the Senior A competition last year. Second year coach Michael Aitken will lead St Kent’s as they entertain Mt Albert Grammar. Mt Albert’s Sharne Pupuke-Robati was one of a number of young players that appeared at the Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) in Tauranga last weekend. The power forward played for Auckland Dream alongside shooting guard Shauna Povey.

Povey will be a key player for Massey High who open against defending champions Auckland Grammar.

Promoted to the Premier Division for the first time are St Mary’s College Ponsonby who defeated Orewa College in the play-off game. A quirk in the fixtures sees Jody Cameron, last season’s Westlake coach, take St Mary’s to play her former charges in the opening game of the season. St Mary’s progress and that of forward Jazz Kailahi-Fulu will be followed with interest.

Bronwen Davidson will coach Westlake this season –  Jordyn Maddix and Mareta Davidson played for Harbour Breeze so should benefit from the playing time obtained at WBC.

Tayla Dalton was the second highest scorer for the Breeze in Tauranga averaging 12.7 points per outing across the three games and she will once again carry much of the scoring load for Carmel College at Rangitoto College. Rangitoto will have a more balanced offense with the likes of Bella Elgar, Kaitlin Burgess and Maania Spooner all capable of making contributions.

Girls draw for Friday May 11, all games with a 6.00pm start time:

Rangitoto v Carmel.

Westlake v St Mary’s, at Westlake Boys

St Kent’s v Mt Albert

Massey v Auckland Grammar

Following the conclusion of the Schick National Championships at the weekend it appears that the Secondary Schools power-base shows little signs of shifting – at least in the Boys’ competition.

Not only did the Boys’ National title remain in Auckland for the third straight year, and the 10th occasion in the past 14 years, the City of Sails schools occupied five of the top eight spots.

The story was similar in 2016 with six schools, Auckland Grammar, Rangitoto, Rosmini, Westlake, Mt Albert and Kelston cementing top nine finishes.

Kelston fell to 21^st this year but all three podium places last week were taken by Auckland schools with Rosmini champions, Rangitoto runners-up and Mt Albert a highly creditable third after finishing fifth at the Zone 1 Premierships. It is believed that third place is the best ever finish by Mt Albert.

There is a ray of hope for the schools further south as a number of the Auckland schools were heavily laced with Year 13 boys this year and may not be as powerful next year.

Rongotai College from the capital, Cashmere High from Christchurch and Hamilton Boys High amongst others will be licking their lips at the prospect of turning over teams from Zone 1 in 2018.

2017 Boys’ Schick Championships ‘AA’ Competition Final Team Placing’s

1st Rosmini College

2nd Rangitoto College

3rd Mt Albert Grammar

4th Christ’s College

5th Palmerston North Boys High School

6th Auckland Grammar School

7th Westlake Boys’ High School

8th Rongotai College

9th Hamilton Boys’ High School

10th Middleton Grange

11th Hastings Boys’ High School

12th Napier Boys’ High School

13th Cashmere High School

14th Burnside High School

15th St John’s College Hamilton

16th Wellington College

17th Shirley Boys’ High School

18th Fraser High School

19th Waimea College

20th Melville High School

21st Kelston Boys’ High School

22nd New Plymouth Boys’ High School

23rd St Peter’s Cambridge

24th St Peter’s Auckland

The picture is not quite so clear-cut in the Girls’ arena although there is little doubt the balance is in favour of the Waikato region despite St Mary’s victory on Saturday. Waikato had won three of the previous five titles and prior to the double by Hutt Valley in 2011 and 2010 Church College had been the dominant force.

This year the Waikato schools occupied 3 of the top 8 places (three in the top six to be precise). Auckland matched that with three and Wellington two.

Last year Waikato boasted St Peter’s as champions and also had Hamilton and Melville again in the top eight. Mt Albert, Westlake and Auckland Grammar, as they were this year were in the top echelon with New Plymouth and Waimea rounding out the eight.

St Peter’s look likely major contenders for at least two more years, as the prolific Charlisse Leger-Walker is only a Year 11 student. St Mary’s, unbeaten in 2017, only lose a couple of players as do Westlake, Massey and Mt Albert.

Challenges will also come from the likes of Hutt Valley and St Andrew’s College but for now the Girl’s from ‘Mooloo Country’ rule the roost.

2017 Girls’ Schick Championships ‘AA’ Competition Final Team Placings:

 1st St Mary’s College, Wellington

2nd St Peter’s Cambridge

3rd Auckland Girls’ Grammar School

4th Melville High School

5th Mt Albert Grammar School

6th Hamilton Girls’ High School

7th Hutt Valley High School

8th Westlake Girls’ High School

9th Massey High School

10th St Hilda’s Collegiate

11th Middleton Grange

12th Palmerston North Girls’ High School

13th Rotorua Girls’ High School

14th Hastings Girls’ High School

15th Rangi Ruru

16th St Andrew’s College

17th Western Heights High School

18th Sacred Heart Girls’ College, New Plymouth

19th Rangitoto College

20th Ashburton College

21st New Plymouth Girls’ High School

22nd Christchurch Girls’ High School

23rd Napier Girls’ High School

24th Carmel College

A fantastic festival of Secondary Schools basketball has concluded.

Read my wrap on the Girls’ and Boy’s Finals here

Can Rosmini College and St Mary’s, Wellington prevent Rangitoto and St Peter’s Cambridge retaining its National titles?

read more

Day 4 saw the Girls and Boys ‘A’ Champions crowned and the ‘AA’ semi-finalists sorted.

Features of the ‘AA’ Boys quarter-finals were the elimination of multiple championship winners Westlake Boys and last year’s finalist Palmerston North.

In the ‘AA’ Girls tournament there were local derby wins for St Mary’s, Melville and Auckland Grammar.

read full report

The big guns advanced to the quarter-finals in the AA competition although Auckland Grammar beating Rangitoto was definately an upset. The result sets up a mouth watering quarter-final between the 2016 finalists Palmerston North and Rangitoto.

The feature of the Girls AA quarter-finals is that three local derbies have been created after a day of fluctuating fortunes.

Thursday is Grand Finals Day for the A tournament – see who won the semi-finals below.

AA Championships – Boys

Pool A: Rosmini Coll 5-0, Mt Albert GS 4-1, Napier Boys 3-2, John’s Coll 2-3, Fraser High 1-4, St Peter’s Coll 0-5

Despite trailing at the mid point of the third quarter Rosmini had enough composure to overcome Mt Albert Grammar 77-67 in the game that decided the top two finish in the pool. Rosmini held a 3-0 record over their Auckland rivals this season entering the contest but for long spells, particularly in the first half, Mt Albert held the upper hand.

St John’s edged Fraser 90-88 in the battle for Hamilton bragging rights.

Pool B: Palmerston North BHS 5-0, Christ’s Coll 4-1, Cashmere High 3-2, Wellington Coll 2-3, New Plymouth BHS 1-4, Kelston BHS 0-5

Shooting guard Max de Geest was absent from the Christ’s College lineup for the top of the pool clash with Palmerston North but despite the set back the Cantabrians gave the 2016 finalists a mighty scare. Such a fright that they led 47-45 with 90 seconds to play before Palmy prevailed 50-47.

Earlier in the day Palmy beat Wellington 83-66 and the Zone 4 champs Christ’s accounted for New Plymouth 88-76. Cashmere finished third in the pool after beating New Plymouth 89-79.

Pool C: Westlake BHS 5-0, Rongotai Coll 4-1, Hastings BHS 3-2, Burnside High 2-3, Shirley BHS 1-4, St Peter’s Cambridge 0-5,

Westlake comfortably beat Burnside 83-60 and Rongotai dealt with St Peter’s, Cambridge in the morning games 102-68.

The much anticipated match up between the two top seeds in the pool ended up being dominated by Westlake. The 2014 champions led from start to finish eventually prevailing 76-56.

Pool D: Auckland Grammar 5-0, Rangitoto Coll 4-1, Hamilton BHS 3-2, Middleton Grange 2-3, Melville High 1-4, Waimea Coll 0-5

Auckland Grammar beat Middleton Grange 81-69 to set up a showdown with Rangitoto College to decide the Pool D winners, Rangi cruising past Melville 97-60 in the morning games.

In a pulsating finish Rangi managed to turn the ball over three times in the final 60 seconds to go from 72-67 ahead to lose 7-72 – the first defeat at the Schick National Champs for Rangi since 2014.

 Quarter-Final draw

Rosmini v Rongotai

Auckland Grammar v Christ’s

Westlake v Mt Albert

Palmerston North v Rangitoto

 AA Championship – Girls

Pool A: St Peter’s Cambridge 5-0, Hutt Valley HS 3-2, St Hilda’s Coll 3-2, Palmerston North GHS 3-2, Western Heights HS 1-4, Napier GHS 0-5,

St Peter’s retained its unbeaten status but only just as they hung on desperately to beat St Hilda’s 74-70. It was a plucky display by the Zone 4 champions who pushed the reigning champions all the way but have to contend themselves with playing off for places 9-16 despite finishing

Hutt Valley progress with St Peter’s to the quarter-finals despite losing 83-73 on Day 3. Three teams finished with a 3-2 record but it was Hutt that advanced on count back.

Pool B: Hamilton GHS 4-1, Auckland Grammar 4-1, Middleton Grange 3-2, Massey 2-3, Christchurch Girls HS 1-4, Ashburton Coll 1-4

Auckland Grammar maintained its position at the top of the pool with a solid 79-47 victory against Auckland rivals Massey but came unstuck in the late game going down 65-62 to Hamilton Girls.

The win sets up a quarter-final encounter with Melville for Hamilton while Auckland will have to face local rivals Mt Albert.

Pool C: St Mary’s Coll 5-0, Westlake Girls HS 3-2, Rotorua Girls HS 3-2, Rangi Ruru 3-2, Sacred Heart New Plymouth 1-4, Carmel Coll 0-5

As forecast yesterday the Westlake v Rotorua game proved to be a cracker. Westlake needed to win by 15+ to edge Rotorua and Rangi Ruru out of a quarter final appearance. The Zone 1 runners-up did just that building on a 20-6 start to win 66-50.

St Mary’s were untroubled beating Sacred Heart 107-59 and Westlake 84-61 to move serenely into the play-offs.

Pool D: Mt Albert GS 5-0, Melville HS 4-1, Hastings Girls HS 2-3, St Andrew’s Coll 2-3, New Plymouth Girls HS 1-4, Rangitoto College 1-4

Mt Albert accounted for Hastings 91-52 and Melville beat New Plymouth 79-55 to set up a showdown to decide the top two places in the pool.

It was a tight encounter but Mt Albert maintained its perfect record with a 68-57 victory.

Quarter-Final Draw

St Peter’s v Westlake

Mt Albert v Auckland Grammar

St Mary’s v Hutt Valley

Hamilton Girls v Melville

A Championship – Boys

The A Boys Final will see Canterbury representatives Hillmorton High take on Stratford.

 In the televised semi-final Nga Taiatea Wharekura took on Hillmorton and trailed 35-29 at half-time, 59-42 at the three-quarter mark before eventually falling 74-62.

In the other game Stratford, a losing semi-finalist last year, was too good for Te Aroha winning 82-63.

A Championship – Girls

The A Girls Final will feature local side Manukura and defending champions Opunake High.

Opunake took care of business in the first semi beating Te Kura Kokiri with Manukura overturning Te Aroha 59-54 in the later game.

There were few upsets on Day 2 of the 2017 Schick Secondary Schools National Championships but there is plenty still to play for ahead of Day 3.

The defending champions in both the AA Boys and Girls competitions, Rangitoto College and St Peter’s Cambridge remain unbeaten.

The A Championship is moving to the sharp end of proceedings with semi-final action scheduled for Wednesday.

AA Championships – Boys

Pool A: Rosmini Coll 4-0, Mt Albert GS 4-0, Napier Boys 2-2, Fraser High 1-3, St John’s Coll 1-3, St Peter’s Coll 0-4

Fraser High gave Rosmini College a run for their money before losing 111-94 and Mt Albert were pushed all the way by Napier Boys before prevailing 72-64 in the morning games. Fraser were then defeated 95-76 by Mt Albert in the late game and Rosmini also moved to 4-0 with a resounding 110-53 win against Auckland rivals St Peter’s.

Mt Albert and Rosmini will squabble over top spot in the pool at 12.30pm on Wednesday.

Pool B: Palmerston North BHS 3-0, Christ’s Coll 3-0, Wellington Coll 1-2, New Plymouth BHS 1-2, Cashmere High 1-2, Kelston BHS 0-3

Palmerston North kept their championship claims on track with a 100-37 demolition of New Plymouth Boys High and Christ’s College did the same beating Kelston Boys 95-75. Both teams appear on track to make the quarters with their match up set down for 4pm on Wednesday.

Pool C: Rongotai Coll 3-0, Westlake BHS 3-0, Burnside High 2-1, Hastings BHS 1-2, St Peter’s Cambridge 0-3, Shirley BHS 0-3

Rongotai won a cracker against Hastings 78-76 in the key round four match to keep its campaign on track and Westlake held off St Peter’s Cambridge winning 99-81

The pair remain unbeaten and both look set to for top eight action – they lock horns on Wednesday afternoon.

The game of round 2 in Pool C saw Burnside High edge St Peters, Cambridge 85-83.

Pool D: Rangitoto Coll 3-0, Auckland Grammar 3-0, Middleton Grange 2-1, Hamilton BHS 1-2, Melville High 0-3, Waimea Coll 0-3

Auckland Grammar were given a fright by Hamilton Boys before eventually prevailing 71-68 and Middleton Grange accounted for Melville 74-71 in the morning games.

In the afternoon Auckland coped more comfortably with Melville (76-55) while Rangitoto also remained unbeaten. The back to back champions beat Hamilton Boys 101-69 to rack up 100+ points for the third straight game.

AA Championship – Girls

Pool A: St Peter’s Cambridge 4-0, Hutt Valley HS 3-1, St Hilda’s Coll 3-1, Palmerston North GHS 2-2 Napier GHS 0-4, Western Heights HS 0-4

The game of the day featured defending AA Shick National Champions St Peter’s, Cambridge and Zone 3 Runners-up Hutt Valley. Twitter correspondent described the game as one of the best games to date as St Peters overturned a 12 points half time deficit to win 84-75.

Barring an upset in the final round of games on Wednesday afternoon both teams will feature in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Pool B: Auckland Girls GS 3-0, Hamilton GHS, 2-1 Massey HS 2-1, Christchurch Girls HS 1-2, Middleton Grange 1-2, Ashburton Coll 0-3

Wednesday will be the moving day in Pool B with two rounds of games to be played. In theory all but Ashburton are vying for the top two spots in a very competitive section.

Auckland Grammar remains unbeaten after beating Christchurch Girls 76-53. After two losses on Day 1 Middleton Grange moved back into contention with a vital 65-60 win against the previously unbeaten Massey High.

Pool C: St Mary’s Coll 3-0, Westlake Girls HS 2-1, Rotorua Girls HS 2-1, Sacred Heart New Plymouth 1-2, Rangi Ruru 1-2, Carmel Coll 0-3

Teams in Pool C also had just the one game on Day2. Rangi Ruru couldn’t repeat the exciting victory gained against Westlake on Day 1 as they were downed 70-48 by Rotorua Girls High.

The other winners were pool favourites St Marys over Carmel (106-53) and Westlake beating Sacred Heart, New Plymouth 61-43.

Rotorua v Westlake on Wednesday morning should be a cracker.

Pool D: Mt Albert GS 3-0, Melville HS 3-0, Hastings Girls HS 1-2, Rangitoto College 1-2, St Andrew’s Coll 1-2, New Plymouth Girls HS 0-3.

Melville High won the key match up with Hastings 72-63 in the morning game.

Mt Albert Grammar continued on its merry way thumping Zone 1 rivals Rangitoto 100-45 and New Plymouth 105-57.

Melville are also unbeaten after wins against St Andrews (95-49) and critically Hastings 72-63.

A Championship – Boys

Pool A: Hillmorton High 4-0, Te Aroha Coll 3-1, St Kevin’s Coll 2-2, Otaki Coll 1-3, Catholic Cathedral Coll 0-4

The key game of the day was the Hillmorton v Te Aroha match up with both teams boasting a 3-0 record and semi-final bound. Hillmorton proved too strong for the team from the Waikato winning 83-65.

Pool B: Stratford HS 4-0, Manukura 3-1, Nga Taiatea Wharekura 2-2, Greymouth HS 2-2, Onewhero Area School 1-3, Te Kuiti HS 0-4

Stratford and Manukura will meet each other in the final pool game on Wednesday morning with the top two spots still up for grabs. Stratford solidified its top ranking with wins against Onewhero and Nga Taiatea Wharekura although that was a close one 78-74. If Stratford defeat Manukura a three way tie for second place could arise with count back coming in to play.

A Championship – Girls

Pool A: Te Aroha Coll 4-0, Opunake HS 3-1, Buller HS 2-2, Te Wharekura o Mauao 1-2, Aquinas Coll 0-4

Te Aroha College head directly to the semi-final after wins over Aquinas and Te Wharekura o Mauao on Day 2.

Defending champions Opunake High and Buller will cross over to play in the preliminary semi-finals on Wednesday morning.

Pool B: Te Kura Kokiri 4-0, Manukura 3-1, Stratford HS 2-2, Ellesmere Coll 1-3, Hillmorton HS 0-4

 Te Kura Kokiri head directly to Wednesday’s semi-final with a perfect 4-0 record after beating Stratford and Ellesmere. Manukura defeated Stratford 74-35 in the late game on Tuesday however both teams will suit for preliminary semi-final games on Wednesday morning.

Here is a look at the winners and losers on Day 1 of the 2017 Schick Secondary Schools National Championships.

The defending champions in both the AA Boys and Girls competitions made solid starts. Rangitoto College defeated Middleton Grange 104-46 and St Peter’s Cambridge proved far too strong for Palmerston North Girls High winning 86-50 and later defeated Western Heights High 102-68.

AA Championships – Boys

Pool A: Rosmini Coll 2-0, Mt Albert GS 2-0, St Peter’s Coll 0-2, Fraser High 1-1, St John’s Coll 0-2, Napier Boys 1-1

Rosmini College and Mt Albert Grammar took a firm grip of Pool A with both teams comfortably winning their opening two games. The only minor surprise was the defeat of the third seeded Fraser High at the hands of Napier Boys High, 92-88.

Pool B: Palmerston North BHS 2-0, Christ’s Coll 2-0, Wellington Coll 1-1, New Plymouth BHS 1-1, Cashmere High 0-2, Kelston BHS 0-2

Christ’s College beat Cashmere 79-68 in a critical opening round game in Pool B. The teams had shared the silverware down south with Cashmere winning the Canterbury title but Christ’s claiming the Zone 4 Premiership trophy, however it was Christ’s that prevailed in this one.

Christ’s followed that with a 77-53 win against Wellington College while Cashmere appear to be eliminated from the quarter-finals after being downed by Palmerston North Boys 80-52. The win was the second in the day for the 2016 beaten finalists as they smacked Kelston Boys 94-43 in the morning round.

Pool C: Rongotai Coll 1-0, Westlake BHS 1-0, Hastings BHS 1-0, St Peter’s Cambridge 0-1, Shirley BHS 0-1, Burnside High 0-1

Westlake were dealt a severe blow in the week before the tournament with captain James Moors sustaining a broken hand in a training game. In their only game on Day 1 Westlake defeated Shirley High 76-65. There were also wins for Rongotai and Hastings Boys High.

Pool D: Rangitoto Coll 1-0, Auckland Grammar 1-0, Hamilton BHS 1-0, Melville High 0-1, Waimea Coll 0-1, Middleton Grange 0-1

There were comfortable first up wins for the top three seeds in this pool – the narrowest margin being 25 points as Hamilton Boys won the Waikato derby 74-49 against Melville – the result a repeat of the Zone 2 Premiership Final and the margin almost identical.

AA Championship – Girls

Pool A: St Peter’s Cambridge 2-0, St Hilda’s Coll 1-1, Hutt Valley HS 2-0, Napier GHS 0-2, Western Heights HS 0-2, Palmerston North GHS 1-1

As expected St Peter’s made a solid start in defence of their title with big wins over Palmy North and Western Heights. They were joined on a brace of wins by Hutt Valley High who gained a crucial 76-57 win against Zone 4 champions St Hilda’s College and also defeated Napier Girls High.

Pool B: Auckland Girls GS 2-0, Hamilton GHS, 1-1 Massey HS 2-0, Christchurch Girls HS 1-1, Middleton Grange 0-2, Ashburton Coll 0-2

Pool B was the most competitive group on Day I with Massey High defeating Zone 4 Premiership runners-up Christchurch Girls High 63-61. In another tight affair Hamilton Girls prevailed 75-70 against Middleton Grange but fell 54-51 to Massey in the late game.

Zone 1 champions Auckland Girls Grammar made it two from two with victories against Middleton Grange and Ashburton. In yet another close encounter Christchurch Girls High beat Ashburton 66-65 in a Canterbury derby.

Pool C: Westlake Girls HS 1-1, St Mary’s Coll 2-0, Rotorua Girls HS 1-1, Sacred Heart New Plymouth 1-1, Rangi Ruru 1-1, Carmel Coll 0-2

St Mary’s College Wellington, the Zone 4 Premiership champions made a statement of intent hammering Rangi Ruru 61-30. They followed that with an 85-60 defeat of Rotorua Girls High.

Rangi Ruru recovered well and downed Westlake 75-68 after being down 68-67 with 30 seconds to play in the late game – the Canterbury champions kept its quarter-finals chances alive with the win.

Pool D Mt Albert GS 1-0, Melville HS 1-0, Hastings Girls HS 1-0, New Plymouth Girls HS 0-1, Rangitoto College 0-1, St Andrew’s Coll 0-1

There were few dramas in this pool with the top three seeds each winning their only game on Day 1. The tightest fixture saw Hastings Girls High defeat New Plymouth Girls High 64-59.

A Championship – Boys

Pool A: Hillmorton High 2-0, Te Aroha Coll 2-0, Catholic Cathedral Coll 0-2, Otaki Coll 0-2, St Kevin’s Coll 1-1

Hillmorton High, the South Island Premiership champions, made a strong start to its campaign with resounding wins against Otaki College and St Kevin’s College.

St Kevin’s, the 2016 Schick A Champions bounced back later in the day beating Catholic Cathedral College 88-56.

Te Aroha joined Hillmorton on two wins with success against Cathedral and Otaki.

Pool B: Stratford HS 2-0, Manukura 1-1, Nga Taiatea Wharekura 1-1, Onewhero Area School 0-1, Greymouth HS 1-1, Te Kuiti HS 0-2

Manukura, the 2016 beaten finalists dropped its opening game to Greymouth 88-81. Stratford finished third last year and look set to emerge as a top four challenger after completing Day 1 as the only unbeaten team in Pool B.

Manukura bounced back in the later game defeating Nga Taiatea Wharekura 83-61.

A Championship – Girls

Pool A: Opunake HS 1-1, Te Wharekura o Mauao 1-1, Buller HS 1-1, Aquinas Coll 0-2, Te Aroha Coll 2-0

Defending champions Opunake High were beaten 67-59 by Te Aroha in the opening game of the A Championships. Te Aroha followed that with a nail biter against Buller High winning 60-58. Opunake got its title defence back on track later in the day defeating Aquinas College 74-46. Buller put the disappointment of a narrow defeat behind them to beat Te Wharekura o Mauao 82-42 in the late game.

Pool B: Stratford HS 2-0, Manukura 1-1, Te Kura Kokiri 2-0, Ellesmere Coll 0-2, Hillmorton HS 0-2

Stratford High was beaten semi-finalists last year and aiming to go one better in 2017 began its campaign with big wins against Ellesmere College and Hillmorton High. The game of the day in Pool A saw Te Kura Kokiri grab its second win of the day with a 61-60 defeat of Hillmorton.