Henare Debuts in Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam

Paul Henare made his long awaited debut for the Block City Brawlers as they took on the Youthtown Clique in the feature game in round five of the Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam. Henare missed the earlier rounds due to Breakers commitments but despite lacking a bit of pace compared to his Tall Blacks days his court savvy and leadership will be a big help to the Brawlers. Thanks to the scoring ability of Houston O’Riley and Alonzo Burton the Brawlers kept pace with the Clique in the first half, trailing just Continue reading

Breakers v Wollongong Hawks Preview

The SKY CITY Breakers begin their 2013-2014 NBL campaign at home to the Wollongong Hawks on Thursday night at Vector Arena. Games against the Gordie McLeod coached Hawks are usually tight affairs and this encounter is unlikely to be any different. Continue reading

Harbour Schools Dominate but Where to From Here?

Congratulations to Westlake Boys High School on retaining the Secondary Schools National Title. I doubt that the top three places (Rangitoto College finished second and Rosmini third) have ever before been occupied by schools from the same local association /catchment area.  Continue reading

NBL Dream Team

The NBL Dream Team competition is up and running. If you are interested in joining the Low Down League register via the NBL website and use 91730 to log a place in the league http://dreamteam.nbl.com.au

Lindsay Tait Returns From Injury

Lindsay Tait made his long awaited return from injury last night in the fourth round of the Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam.

Tait, sidelined with a hand injury since the closing stages Continue reading

The Breakers, Brian Goorjian and Whispers

Dongguan Leopards coach Brian Goorjian brought up an interesting stat at a press conference in Auckland on Friday. To emphasise how big a deal basketball is in China he stated that there are more registered basketball players in China than there are people in America – wow!  Continue reading

Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam Round Three

A stormy night in Auckland was the back drop to round three of the Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam at Youthtown on Tuesday night. One man who enjoyed the evening was Alonzo Burton who rained in 30 points as his Block City Brawlers made it three wins from three outings, putting The Birdmen to flight (sorry about the pun) 91-73. Burton converted Continue reading

NZ Under 17 Men All Set For Melbourne

The Under 17 New Zealand Men’s team enjoyed some solid training runs and practice games on Auckland’s North Shore at the weekend, prior to their departure for the upcoming FIBA Oceania Championships.  Three hit outs against the North Harbour Under 23’s (plus guests) helped head coach Seth Weakley and his assistant Dave Mackay iron out a few flaws and implement some game strategies.

The team heads for Melbourne on Tuesday, the three game series against Australia to be played on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The winners of the series will progress to the 2014 Under 17 World Championships being staged in the Middle East for the first time – Dubai to host the tournament next August. Continue reading

Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam Round 2 Update

Week two of the Mexicali Fresh Summer Jam began with the two winning teams from last week facing off. The first half was notable for a double digit scoring effort by Duane Bailey for Youthtown Clique and a similar effort by Alonzo Burton for The Block City Brawlers, the Clique ahead 54-46 at the break. Guards Jonathan Southey (Clique) and Kael Tarawa (Brawlers) were having a ding-dong battle, providing an interesting side show as both teams fought for ascendancy. Carl Buck converted Continue reading

Will New Zealand NBL players head to Australia?

At the request of FIBA Oceania, Basketball Australia has changed its player eligibility rules now allowing New Zealanders (and Pacific Island nationals) to play in any Australian leagues without restrictions. This is a significant announcement but one that appears to have attracted zero media comment in New Zealand.

2012 Harbour Heat Coach Alex Stojkovic outlines his thoughts on the announcement and the affect it may have on the landscape of New Zealand Basketball Continue reading