LACEY LOWDOWN

Carmel College will be heading to the Schick Secondary Schools National Championships after all.

Carmel was disappointed to finish eighth at the Zone 1 Premierships tournament in Auckland last week and with only seven teams qualifying thought their bid for a trip to the major event on the Secondary Schools basketball calendar had been thwarted.

Carmel lost 90-60 to St Mary’s Ponsonby in the critical 7^th/8^th play-off game at North Shore Events Centre last Saturday. However they have since been thrown a lifeline with St Mary’s opting to withdraw from the National Championships.

Carmel’s qualifying campaign was thrown into disarray with the unavailability of a number of players. A total of six players missed all or part of the Premierships including influential Harbour U19 representative Millie Simpson.

Tayla Dalton had an outstanding tournament but even she only played in half of the games. Her scoring feats were well documented in a nice article in the Sunday Star Times last weekend. read story here

Carmel coach Gareth Teahan is pleased his team has the opportunity to appear on the national stage. “The team is delighted to attend Nationals. We will have a full strength squad available and hope to make a strong showing at the tournament.”

Carmel finished sixth in the Auckland Premier Grade in the recently completed season and will be hoping that first foray in top flight basketball for a number of years will stand them in good stead next month.

With the majority of players only in Year 11 2017 may just be a reconnaissance mission with bigger things anticipated in 2018 and 2019.

The other six girls teams that have qualified for Nationals from Zone 1 are Auckland Girls Grammar, Westlake Girls High, Mt Albert Grammar, Massey High, Rangitoto College and St Kentigern College.

The Schick National Championships will be held in Palmerston North from October 2^nd to 7th.

24 boys and 24 girls teams have qualified for the Schick AA Secondary Schools Nationals to be played in Palmerston North next month.

In addition12 teams from each gender will contest the Schick A Secondary Schools Tournament.

It has been confirmed that Zone 1 qualifiers St Mary’s College, Ponsonby have withdrawn  despite finishing seventh in the Girl’s Zone 1 qualifying tournament. It is yet to be established if they will be replaced by Carmel College, the eighth placed team in Zone 1.

Check out the qualifiers

Auckland Girls Grammar completed the double of Zone 1 Premierships and Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade titles after withstanding a spirited Westlake Girls High challenge to win 70-66 at NSEC on Saturday.

Grammar, benefitting from double figure contributions from Mele Latu and Elianna Tuaiti, appeared to be heading for a comfortable victory when they led 57-43 at the three-quarter mark.

However Westlake produced a string of baskets courtesy of Jess Moors and Emme Shearer to reel in the Grammar lead and when Shearer, who scored a game high 32 points, knocked down her fourth triple of the game the scores were tied at 59 points apiece with 4 minutes to play.

Rionne Papa restored the Grammar lead but a Moors And-1 play reversed the advantage with 2:05 to play.

The two teams exchanged free throws on the next couple of possessions before Papa scored again to open a three points margin (67-64) in favour of Grammar inside the final 60 seconds.

Jordyn Maddix, a key contributor for Lake, dragged the lead back to two but Grammar and Elianna Tuaiti in particular held their nerve.

There was plenty of support from south of the bridge and they were able to breathe a little easier and cheer a little louder as Tuaiti made crucial free throws to clinch a hard earned win.

Auckland Girls 70 – E Tuaiti 22, Latu 17, Papa 11, Skilton-Roberts 9, Hettig 9

Westlake 66 – Shearer 32, Moors 13, Maddix 12, Davidson 4

Mt Albert Grammar beat Massey High 97-61 to claim third spot and Rangitoto College claimed fifth place with a 67-51 win against St Kentigern College.

St Mary’s College Ponsonby clinched the seventh spot at Nationals after a convincing 90-60 win against Carmel College although there is some speculation that St Mary’s may opt out of the trip to Palmerston North next month. If that were the case Gareth Teahan’s charges may yet get an opportunity to perform on the national stage.

Rosmini College turned the tables on local rivals Rangitoto College to win the Schick Zone I Premierships Final 70-67 at NSEC on Saturday.

The result is a reversal of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier final and will give Rosmini number one seeding at the Schick National Championships in October.

The result of a closely fought encounter was in doubt until the final play of the game.

Rehana Maxwell-Topia was presented with a couple of free throws with 7 seconds remaining on the clock and his team ahead 68-67. The Rosmini forward chose an unorthodox method to seal the win missing both freebies but somehow emerging, after a scramble under the hoop, with the ball and passing to the ever reliable Marvin Williams-Dunn who after being fouled took the more conventional route and iced the game from the foul line.

Rosmini had made the early running, a couple of Williams-Dunn threes helping them to a 16-13 first quarter lead.

That lead was obliterated in the back end of the first half as a Dan Fotu fade away jumper took Rangitoto into a 28-27 lead. Caleb Langridge and Logan Anderson added points to stretch the margin to 36-31 at half-time.

Langridge extended the lead further before Kruz Perrott-Hunt unleashed a slashing drive sandwiched between a pair of threes to edge Rozza back into the lead.

Fotu nailed a triple but Maxwell-Topia responded to take Rosmini to a 54-49 three-quarter time lead.

Logan McIntosh scored from his own steal as Rangitoto mounted a 14-3 run and with Fotu, back to his best form after a long injury lay-off, Rangi were ahead 63-57 with 3:40 to play.

However Perrott-Hunt and Williams-Dunn led the Rosmini reply aided by a Terence Abdon corner three that trimmed the Rangi advantage to a single point (65-64) with a minute to play.

Two possessions later Perrott-Hunt created a steal and converted the lay-up himself to edge his team ahead. Another Rosmini possession and this time KP-H drew the foul and landed the resulting free-throws – 68-65 with 21 seconds to play.

Rangi, befitting National champions, weren’t finished as Harry Clarke pierced the defence to cut the lead back to one point with 8 seconds left.

Forced to foul they sent Maxwell-Topia to the foul line and but for his determination under the boards may have come up with a final possession and an opportunity to win the game.

Watching Texas Christian University head coach Jamie Dixon will have taken special note of Fotu’s performance, the Rangitoto powerhouse capping a fine tournament with a game high 28 points. He may also have jotted down the names of Rosmini guards Perrott-Hunt (21 points) and William-Dunn (24 points) for future reference.

Rangitoto 67 – Fotu 28, Langridge 12, Anderson 7, Clarke 7, McIntosh 6

Rosmini 70 –Williams-Dunn 24, Perrott-Hunt 21, Abdon 7, Heather 6, Maxwell-Topia 6

23 teams began the week hoping to secure a place at Nationals but in the end the cream rose to the top as six Auckland Premier teams and the Senior A champions prevailed.

The other five teams heading to Palmerston North from Zone 1 are Auckland Grammar that came from behind to beat Westlake 81-77 for third place.

Mt Albert Grammar finished fifth after cruising past St Peter’s College 86-52 and Kelston Boys secured the seventh and final spot defeating St Kentigern College 73-71 in a nail biter.

We conclude the four part preview of the Schick AA Secondary Schools Premierships that take place this week by taking a look at the Zone 4 hopefuls. The tournament will be played at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin over four days beginning Wednesday September 6^th.

Zone 4 Boys

Pool makeup will once again plays a major part in which teams have a very tough road to qualify for the Schick National Tournament and which ones have a chance to finish higher up the South Island ladder than they probably expected at the start of the year.

Pool A looks to be wide open, with the three Canterbury teams all placing near the bottom of the regular season table. Rangiora (7^th) will probably be the most likely team to make some noise here, as a quarter-final upset over Burnside saw them reach the semi-finals of the McDonald’s Thompson Trophy Competition. Noa Price is still relatively young, but along with Jack Exeter, will be the players to watch in this team. Christchurch Boys’ Kurt Feneon, and St. Bede’s Tom Hughes will help their teams be competitive in pool play, but will be hard pressed to pull their teams into the top six. Waitaki Boys will fancy their chances of a top two spot in the pool.

Pool B is a different story – Burnside has had some injury issues recently, but should be relatively healthy with the sharp shooting perimeter duo of Liam Reekie and John Quitiong spreading the offence for their point guard Isaiah Morris. Middleton Grange will be far tougher than their record would indicate – claiming the scalp of Christ’s College earlier in the year – and will have TCU commit and Tall-Blacks Trialist, Angus McWilliam available. Ashburton is no slouch either, with a good inside outside game in effect for Fletcher Arnold and Joshua Lowe. Papanui rounds out the Canterbury representation in this pool (Finalist in Division II), and will make use of the calm leadership of Ben Hussey to maximise Sam Archibald’s talents.

Canterbury Champions, Cashmere and Otago Boys High headline Pool C. Otago, perhaps the main threat to Cashmere’s top seeding in the section will be led by Taiaroa Porima Flavell.

Canterbury Finals MVP Connor McLaughlin will control the tempo for Ben Sheat’s extremely deep roster, with Louis Oskam being a likely starter for most other teams, usually coming off the bench for Tom Russ-Hofmans. The Shirley Boys’  have the potential to challenge for a spot at nationals, but will need to put together a run of consistent games to do so. Sean Kelly will run the Spartan offence, with a well-balanced roster of wings such as Saint Porter and Hamsa Shire, and bigs (Joel Jeffrey and Josh Thomson) capable of helping make sure of a win. St. Thomas has also struggled with consistency throughout the season, but have plenty of young players who have improved rapidly over the season. Izaac Beever will be the main determinant of how far this team goes. Kaiapoi is the final Canterbury entry in this pool, with Cameron Wilson being their player to watch.

Pool D’s Christ’s College (Finalist) will be many people’s pick as a team to win the Tournament outright, with Max De Geest being the premier perimeter shooting threat, while his namesake Max Darling can play above the rim, or outside with equal ease. St. Andrew’s (9^th) is also in this pool, but without a whole lot of experience surrounding the sweet shooting duo of Will Hollings and Sam Jenkins, they will need to catch fire in multiple games to qualify for nationals. Nelson College are perrenial threats and with top seeding in the group but third seeded Waimea led by Tyler Marsh may actually be a bigger threat to Christ’s aspirations.

In summary – 24 teams – 8 progress to the quarter-finals – Quarter final winners progress to semi’s and an automatic place at Nationals – the losing quarter final teams battle for last 2 spots at Nationals.

Pool A – Christchurch Boys, Rangiora, Waitaki, James Hargest, St Bede’s, Central Southland

Pool B – Kings, Burnside, Middleton Grange, Ashburton College, Papanui, Marlborough

Pool C – Cashmere, Otago, Nayland, Shirley, St Thomas, Kaipoi

Pool D – Nelson, Christ’s, Waimea, St Andrew’s, John McGlashan, Timaru

Zone 4 Girls

Zone 4 boasts the largest number of entries (16) in the Girl’s competition.

The Pool A draw has done nobody any favours with Canterbury champions Rangi Ruru expected to be the most likely to progress due to the full court dominance of Esra McGoldrick. St. Andrew’s had a tight semi-final loss to Rangi Ruru two weeks ago, and can use fellow Junior Tall-Fern Charlotte Whittaker to nullify McGoldrick’s production. Ashburton boasts Ashlee Strawbridge and Sophie Adams so would not be a surprise if they knocked out one of the higher seeds from progressing to the Quarter-Final round. James Hargest are seeded second in the pool but it will be something of a surprise if they make it out of pool play.

In Pool B beaten Canterbury finalists Christchurch Girls’ are favoured to make it through, with Sapphire Wairau able to draw defenders away from the rim, in order for Olivia McIntryre to do her work. Cashmere is considerably smaller in stature, but will utilise a similar gameplan, with Sammy Irvine and Emma Robinson outside, and Rachel Pullan on the interior.

Craighead Diocesan School, Timaru are seeded second and they will be looking to deny a Canterbury 0ne-two in the pool.

Likewise in Pool C Otago Girls High, with NZ U16 representative Hannah Matehaere at the helm will be looking to dent some Canterbury pride. Middleton Grange carry top seed in the group with the Wildcat duo of Lauryn Hippolite and Amiee Book, along with scoring machine Megan Ellis expected to lead the Gators effort. Tsubasa Nisbet and Paige Willman will provide the experience for a relatively young Burnside side that are capable of getting through if things fall their way, as proven in 2016.

2016 Junior Tall Fern will lead St Hilda’s as they do battle with three Canterbury teams in Pool D. Rangiora has the strongest pedigree of the three with Keneisha Bond leading the team. St. Margaret’s has plenty of height, and Enselina Pale a lot of skill around the basket, while Avonside’s fast-paced attack is led by Molly Cockburn.

In summary – 16 teams – 8 progress to the quarter-finals – Quarter final winners progress to semi’s and an automatic place at Nationals – the losing quarter final teams battle for last 2 spots at Nationals.

Pool A – Rangi Ruru, James Hargest, Ashburton, St Andrews

Pool B – Christchurch, Craighead, Cashmere, Columba

Pool C – Middleton Grange, Burnside, Otago, Timaru

Pool D – Rangiora, St Hilda’s, Avonside, St Margaret’s

In our third AA Secondary Schools Premierships preview we take a look at the Zone 3 contenders.

The tournament will be played in Palmerston North (September 6-9). The top six teams in each gender will qualify for the Schick National Championships in October.

Zone 3 Boys

Palmerston North Boys the runners-up in the outstanding 2016 National Final will almost certainly take top spot in Pool A – Junior Tall Black centre Callum McRae will lead their championship pursuit.

NZ U18 representative guard Joe Ahie will lead Onslow’s quest for second spot in the group and they should prove too strong for Upper Hutt College who are in something of a rebuilding phase and will take to the court with a fairly young side. The same can be said of St John’s College Hastings that is seeded third in this section.

Pool B looks a very open section with all five teams fancying their chances of a top two spot and a spot in the quarter-finals.

NZ U18 rep Oscar Robertson will head the New Plymouth Boys High effort. NPBH carry the top seed mantle but will take nothing for granted.

St Patrick’s Silverstream will call on brothers Eddie and Piripi Korent for some scoring punch likewise Hutt International will look to the scoring prowess of guard Kyle Owen. Tawa College were top four performers in Wellington Division 1 basketball this season alongside Hutt and will be hoping to cause an upset or two during the week.

Aotea College have played top eight basketball in Wellington this season but have struggled to put wins on the board and that trend may continue in Palmerston North. In contrast Tawa College have enjoyed a winning season, albeit in the Bill Eldred Cup (Division 1) but that taste of success could well stand them, and Hutt International, in good stead over the coming days.

In Pool C St Patrick’s College will be hoping their two point loss to Wellington College in the Wellington Schools Premier final is just a minor blip – certainly Donnie Joyce and Matt Brian will be looking to rectify matters on their behalf.

Rongotai team with Jaylin Trego-To’o in the backcourt look highly capable of a top two finish although Napier Boys High, fresh off a victory in the Hawkes Bay final will be thinking the same thing – Tyrese Davies was in sensational form in that one.

Rongotai have acquired Fijian guard Junior Waqabaca to bolster their already handy backcourt.

NZ Under 18 point guard Matt O’Connell will carry the load for Francis Douglas Memorial College.

In Pool D, the only pool with six teams, Hastings Boys will be smarting from their defeat against Napier – NZ 3×3 international Isaiah Jones will be leading their effort.

Wellington College will be buoyed by their Wellington Schools Championship success last week – Billy Tompkinson, Lelei Tautau and Sione Helu will be looking to maintain that momentum as they strive for top spot in the pool.

Scots College are seeded second in the group but with a very young group 2017 may not be their year although coach Troy McLean will have his troops, led by senior Harry Wall, ready for a tilt at a qualifying spot.

In summary – 21 teams – 8 progress to the quarter-finals – 4 winners of quarters move on to Nationals plus the top 2 teams from the 5-8 classification games.

Pool A – Palmerston North Boys, Onslow, St John’s Hastings, Upper Hutt, Hawera

Pool B – New Plymouth Boys, St Pat’s Silverstream, Tawa, Hutt International, Aotea

Pool C – St Pat’s Kilbirnie, Hutt Valley, Napier, Rongotai, Francis Douglas

Pool D – Hastings Boys, Scots, Fielding, Wellington, St Bernard’s, Freyberg

Zone 3 Girls

Wiser minds than mine pick Sacred Heart New Plymouth, St Mary’s College, Wellington and Hutt Valley as the top three finishers in the Girls competition.

It would be a brave man to bet against St Mary’s, with the NZ representative guard duo of Sariah Penese and Grace Hunter to call on, not topping Pool B

Sacred Heart will be paced by Caitlin O’Connell and will need to see off ‘The Bay’ threat from Napier and Hastings to progress directly to the semi-finals and an automatic Nationals berth.

New Zealand U18 swingman Leah Mafua will be at the heart of Hutt Valley’s quest to head Pool A. Chasing second spot will be New Plymouth, Palmerston North and Wellington College.

In summary – 10 teams – Top 2 teams in each pool progress to the semi-finals and automatic qualification for Nationals. The 3^rd and 4^th in each pool play classification games, the top 2 of the 4 teams move on to Nationals.

Pool A – New Plymouth, Hutt Valley, Wellington College, Palmerston North, Feilding

Pool B – St Mary’s Wellington, Napier, Hastings, Sacred Heart New Plymouth, Havelock North

Moving south the second preview of the AA Secondary Schools Premierships looks at the Zone 2 tournament to be played in Tauranga (September 5-8). The top five teams in each gender will qualify for the Schick National Championships in October.

Zone 2 Boys

Four pools of six will contest the Boy’s section and at first glance it would appear Pool D featuring top contenders Melville High, Hamilton Boys and Rotorua Boys is the strongest section. A seeding system that pitches arguably the two top teams in Hamilton in the same pool is perhaps somewhat flawed.

The young Rotorua team coached by Doug Courtney could well be the team to miss out with a couple of Hamilton powerhouse opponents standing in their way.

Hamilton Boys have legitimate height this year with Thomas Power and Max Stephens anchoring their frontcourt. Unbeaten Melville, led by Nikau Joyce, will also be favoured to progress.

In Pool A second seeded St Peter’s, Cambridge led by Issa Kunda should progress. Brendan Douglas and his John Paul College team mates will travel up from Rotorua optimistic that they can claim a top two spot in the pool ahead of Hillcrest High although St Paul’s Collegiate may also have a say in the outcome.

Tauranga Boys High and Mt Maunganui, the two best teams in the Bay of Plenty, will go head to head in Pool B. Standing in the way of a one-two for ‘The Bay’ are St John’s College. Mt Maunganui will be planning their campaign around NZ U17 representative Shalom Broughton while Josiah Albert and Jeremy McIntosh will carry much of the scoring load for Tauranga.

Te Awamutu College owes their top seeding in Pool C to the Tom Higgins affect in 2016. The NZ U18 international has moved north making Te A’s qualification problematic. Expect Fraser High to progress to the quarter-finals from this group but they may struggle to clinch a top five spot for Nationals.

Pool A – Hillcrest, St Peter’s, John Paul, Bethlehem, St Paul’s, Katikati

Pool B – St John’s, Tauranga, Western Heights, Mt Maunganui, Tauhara, Fairfield

Pool C – Te Awamutu, Fraser, Hauraki Plains, Trident, Whakatane, Papamoa

Pool D – Melville, Hamilton Boys, Rotorua, Cambridge, Otumoetai, Opotiki

In summary – 24 teams – 8 progress to the quarter-finals – 4 winners of quarters move on to Nationals plus the winner of 5-8 classification games.

Zone 2 Girls

The seeding for the Girls competition sees St Peter’s, Cambridge, Hamilton Girls, Melville High and Rotorua Girls heading their respective sections – it’s hard to argue with this.

St Peter’s, the defending National champions will have the talented duo of Charlisse Leger-Walker and Ella Bradley to call on. Tyler Wilkinson is now head coach at Melville and has Kaylee Smiler and the Ellis sisters Hayley and Jazmyn to lead their effort. Basketball New Zealand Hall of Famer Carlolyn Grey is in charge of the Hamilton Girls programme and will be expecting major contributions from Riva Walker-Pitman and Koha Lewis.

The vastly experienced Sue Pene will once again take charge of Rotorua and she will be anticipating Te Ao Leach and Pareunuora Pene to provide leadership for her team.

These teams occupy the top four spots in the Waikato Schools Premier Grade and it would be hard to argue against them grabbing four of the five spots available for Nationals.

Plenty of interest will surround the scrap for the fifth spot – the main contenders appear to be Tauranga College, Fraser High and Western Heights.

In summary – 13 teams – 8 progress to the quarter-finals – the 4 winners of the quarters move on to Nationals plus the winner of 5-8 classification games.

We begin a four-part preview of the AA Secondary Schools Premierships that take place next week by taking a look at the Zone 1 hopefuls. The tournament will be played at North Shore Events Centre over four days beginning Wednesday September 6^th.

The largest zone of the four (based on population) the northern zone is allocated seven qualifying spots at the Schick National Championships in October.

Zone 1 Boys

 The initial goal for all teams is to finish first or second in their pool. From there a top seven spot and a place at Nationals beckons.

 Rangitoto College, the back to back National Champions, are certain to progress from Pool A. The reigning champs are almost back to full strength and demonstrated in the Premier grade win last week that they have quality players in all arrears from point guard Harry Clarke to five men Zac Te Puni and Caleb Langridge.

St Peter’s, Avondale and Birkenhead appear to be fighting for the other quarter- final spot from this group. The Finlay Morris led St Peter’s will be buoyed by their recent Senior A title success but will be wary of the threat posed by Avondale and Birkenhead. Avondale guard Jaga Mete was a standout in the recent Senior A final and will be a menace to all opposition defences.

Auckland Grammar will have too much power for the other teams in Pool B with Tom Higgins, Anzac Rissetto and Samson Aruwa likely to dominate the frontcourt.

It is tricky to pick the second team that will progress to the last eight from this section. The experienced Max Shorter and Kyle Robb are hopeful of taking St Kent’s deep into the tournament. Northcote, led by Sam Hadley, will be keen to cause an upset as will Takapuna. Northland representatives Whangarei Boys High are the dark horses in this group and it will be interesting to see if they can upset some of their rivals from the big smoke.

Pool C appears to be a three horse race amongst the trio of Premier teams – Rosmini, Mt Albert and Macleans College.

Mt Albert, fired by Mandela Baledrokadroka have run into good form of late and may have too much firepower for Macleans who will rely a great deal on Alex Arthur and Blake van Uden.

Both teams will also be looking to upset Rosmini who will start section C as favourites. Rosmini may have lost the Premier final to Rangitoto last week but possess plenty of quality with the likes of U17 internationals Mitchell Dance and Marvin Williams-Dunn in their backcourt.

Westlake Boys look to have a clear path in Pool D – James Moors and Reuben Fitzgerald likely to rack up plenty of points in the early games.

Kelston Boys, the other Premier team in the group, may come under pressure from Massey and Pakuranga College. Matangi Prescott and Kale Lawson will need to be in top form to ensure Kelston do not miss out on a quarter-final spot.

In summary – 23 teams – 8 progress to the quarter-finals – 7 of the 8 move on to Nationals. Who will be left standing next Saturday?

Pool A – Rangitoto, St Peter’s, Avondale, Birkenhead, Kristin

Pool B – Auckland, Whangarei, Takapuna, Northcote, St Kentigern, Long Bay

Pool C – Rosmini, Mt Albert, Macleans, Mt Roskill, Manurewa, Onehunga

Pool D – Westlake, Kelston, Massey, Pakuranga, Orewa, Pukekohe

Zone 1 Girls

 The two best teams in Auckland this year, Auckland Grammar and Mt Albert Grammar are the top seeds in their respective pools and will progress. The two teams produced a compelling Auckland Premier final recently and it will be a shock if they are not opposing one another in the Qualifying Final next Saturday. MAGS will be hoping to make it fourth time lucky against their main rivals after Jada Manase and Jodeci Joseph took them to the brink of victory in that Premier final. On the other hand Mele Latu and skipper Karma Skilton-Roberts are keen to protect Auckland’s 15-1 record this season.

Pool A looks particularly tough with two good quality teams to miss out.

Massey paced by Shauna Povey will have too much quality for most other contenders and should come second in the group.

Rangitoto, with Bella Elgar to the fore should progress and Orewa, the fourth Premier team in the pool, will be hopeful Hannah Wentworth is in good scoring touch.

That leaves Birkenhead and St Mary’s Ponsonby and you ignore these two teams at your peril. Birkenhead have age group international Rashan Smith pivotal to their chances while St Mary’s with a posse of potential scorers, including Tyla Tevaga and the Kailahi-Fulu sisters Jazzmyne and Zaaliyah, will test every team. It’s the proverbial ‘Pool of Death’ and too tough to predict.

In Pool B Westlake, led by captain Keeley Tini, should finish second to AGGS.

St Kentigern College, with point guard Summer-Jean Motufoua at the helm look a strong proposition after successfully claiming the Senior A trophy last week. The third Premier team in the group Carmel College will be looking to claim the fourth spot – their chances will be enhanced if Tayla Dalton continues her rich scoring streak.

The top two teams in each pool will be guaranteed Schick Nationals berths as they will head straight into semi-final Premiership action. The 5-8 classification games will be a nervy affair, as one team will fall by the wayside.

Pool A – Mt Albert, Rangitoto, Massey, Orewa, Birkenhead, St Mary’s Ponsonby

Pool B – Auckland, Westlake, Epsom, St Kentigern, Carmel, Mt Roskill

In summary – 12 teams – Top 2 teams in each pool progress to the semi-finals and automatic qualification for Nationals – 3^rd and 4^th in each pool play classification games, 3 of the 4 teams move on to Nationals.

From James Lissaman

Cowles Stadium was packed from beginning to end in a shining example of the explosion in popularity basketball has experienced, with extra seating needing to be brought out for the two Division I finals in order to accommodate the interested spectators. DJ Justone once again came down and entertained the crowd during breaks in the action, and there was an awful lot of action on display!

Both the Whelan and Thompson Division II finals tipped off at 4pm, with a very loud group of supporters for each of the four schools coming in. In the Thompson Division II Final, a dream start for Papanui saw them race ahead of Hillmorton 13-0. Some exceptional defence from the Tigers was needed, as they managed to hold Papanui to only one point in the first five minutes of the second quarter, closing the gap to only three points. Papanui responded, moving ahead to be up comfortably 32-20 at the half. A massive third quarter for Hillmorton (18-8) gave all the fans what they wanted – plenty of drama heading into the fourth quarter! The tide had definitely turned here, Papanui’s Sam Archibald (13 points) was sent to the bench after picking up his fifth foul, and Ihaia Kendrew, who had struggled with his shot earlier, went on a tear, scoring 11 of his game high 23 points in the period. Mahonri Tauiliili-Pau started to flex his defensive muscle, turning steals into open court opportunities (18p), and Rhys Kershaw began hitting his patented short corner jumper (10p) whenever a half court set was needed for Hillmorton. Ben Hussey (16 points) fought to keep Papanui in the game, but every time he gave the ball up, the Hillmorton Defence stiffened and Hussey was only able to get five shot attempts up in the final quarter. An ecstatic Hillmorton, playing for long-time Assistant Coach Andrea Kendrew, pulled off the win this time, after only just falling short in 2016, 56-51.

St. Margaret’s and Avonside Girls’ met for the third time this year, after splitting their first two games, and knowing they would also face each other in the Southern Premiership in a week’s time. This game illustrated just how far the two teams had come under the expert coaching of Ashley Gayle and Pina Lissaman. The Lady Eagles had an early lead, but then went through a very long patch of scoring struggles, as St. Margaret’s went on a 20-0 run to close out the first quarter. Molly Cockburn and Bella Digby began the Avonside fight back (16p each). Cockburn picked up her fifth foul early in the fourth quarter, significantly reducing the scoring ability of the Avonside team. Megan Shannon came on and helped with 11p, but the superior size of St Margaret’s, especially Eniselina Pale (20p), kept them clear. Both teams could look at their performance from the free throw line (Avonside 13/40, St. Margaret’s 19/39) as what ended up being the difference between the teams, as St. Margaret’s finished off with a tough 65-56 win in Division II of the #McDsWT.

Division I of the Whelan Trophy featured a rematch of the 2016 finalists, as Rangi Ruru again faced Christchurch Girls’. Both teams started off quite nervy, with neither making it to double figures in the first ten minutes (5-9 in Girls’ High favour), and only managing 13 and 15 points by the time we hit half time. Christchurch Girls’ managed to keep their nose slightly ahead of Rangi Ruru in the third, as both teams began to score: Sapphire Wairau hitting two threes (9p) in the quarter, with Bailey Chamberlain (9p) and Alida Pohatu-Barnes scoring what looked to be the last five points of the quarter, before an Alex Bennett heave from half way dropped for CGHS. This sent both teams into the final quarter locked in a one-point game 34-35. This is when Esra McGoldrick (20p 17r) and Finals MVP Alice Sproat (9p 15r) went to work – sparking a 17-2 quarter which made this game look far more one-sided than it actually was. Rangi Ruru, going back to back after a 51-37 win.

The Thompson Trophy’s Division I final pitted the two pre-season favourites against each other, as well as the Canterbury Rams Head and Assistant Coaches (Mark Dickel and Ben Sheat respectively). A thrilling game unfolded, with the largest lead for Cashmere over the whole game being only five points, and Christ’s College’s seven. As you would expect in a game this tight, 14 ties or lead-changes occurred. Cashmere’s depth was tested early on as Tom Russ-Hofmans was forced to the bench after collecting three fouls in the first 12 minutes of the game. Mitch Mahon (8p 7r) and Nic Wenmoth (10p 8r 4s) the two players who stepped up, and battled hard against the daunting size advantage Christ’s College had.

Christ’s Max De Geest showed his class (16p) but was only given a few open looks from the three point line, while Maxwell Darling was almost unstoppable around the rim (9p 14r) – grabbing a Tom Crutchley miss to push Christ’s ahead 46-53 early in the fourth quarter. Sheat’s faith in his team paid off, with Ruben Stanley (11p) hitting two straight threes to quickly get the lead back for Cashmere. Darling answered the call for Christ’s, as a great spin move inside saw him clang a dunk home – tying the game at 60-60. Finals MVP Connor McLaughlin (19p 7a) had one more play up his sleeve – getting into the lane and finding Mahon for the go-ahead basket at the rim. Will Harrison (13p) had the chance to be the hero as the final seconds ticked down, but his shot bounced off the rim, handing Cashmere a thrilling 62-60 win in front of an absolutely ecstatic crowd!

Thompson DI Final:

Cashmere 62-60

Thompson DII Final:

Hillmorton 56-51 Papanui

Whelan DI Final:

Rangi Ruru 51-37 Christchurch Girls

Whelan DII Final:

St. Margaret’s 65-56 Avonside