The College Sport Auckland Basketball Championship Semi-Finals were held on Friday 16 August at Eventfinda Stadium. In the Senior A Boys grade, Long Bay College had an incredible finish to win their semi-final against Northcote College by just one point. Northcote was the top qualifier for the semi-final with Long Bay fourth. Both teams had beaten each other in their two previous meetings going into the semi-final. It was close throughout the match with Long Bay holding a 20-18 lead at quarter-time and then at half time when Northcote led…
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Rosmini College student Taine Murray named in Tall Blacks squad
NZ Herald: Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare has made a surprise selection in his 14-man squad, naming schoolboy guard Taine Murray. Murray impressed during the team’s recent camp in Auckland and Henare said the 17-year-old simply worked his way into the 14. “He has a composure beyond his years and is going to develop into a very good player, but already at 17 has shown that he feels at home at this level,” Henare said. The 14-man squad was chosen from a shortlist of 20 and will go on to…
Read MoreBoucher thriving in big games
College Sport Media: “We love it. It’s a great feeling to play in front of a big crowd. It’s about bragging rights in Takapuna. If we lose, the whole school suffers,” Jayden Boucher responds when asked about the increasing hype surrounding the Rosmini College basketball fixture against Westlake Boys’ High School. This Friday, the two North Harbour powerhouses will clash in front of a crowd of more than a thousand at Eventfinda Stadium. With only three rounds remaining in the College Sport Auckland Premier Season, both schools are in desperate…
Read MoreMaama brothers share basketball
Times: Like many young men in New Zealand, Josiah and Sione Maama grew up believing that the only sport worth playing was rugby. In fact, the two former Pakuranga College students came across basketball purely by chance. As Josiah recalls, “One day, in Year 9, rugby training got cancelled as it was hailing so I went into the basketball gym to find shelter until my mum picked me up. To kill time I watched the basketball trials. Coach Reg Matenga thought I was a trialist and put me on the…
Read MoreTalented Kiwi basketballers increasingly thriving in US system
1 NEWS: Like our junior footballers, a new young wave of basketballers is leading the charge, as a pathway to America now becomes clearer. There’s over 100 young Kiwi men and women on lucrative scholarships with top US universities, and a lot more to follow, as booming basketball numbers and college educations combine. One of those is six-foot-10 former Westlake Boys’ High School student Yanni Wetzell, from Auckland’s North Shore. He has one year left in the American college system, studying for a master’s in business and playing ball for…
Read MoreDalton’s many paths merge towards US basketball
Newsroom: For someone who is just 17, Tayla Dalton has already travelled many roads. They’ve led to elite netball courts, surf-lifesaving beaches and gymnasiums. The teenager has taken many steps in many different guises. Some have been tinged with sadness following the sudden loss of her mother, former Silver Fern Tania Dalton, in early 2017. As head girl of North Shore’s Carmel College, Dalton is a leader among her peers. In her role at the Tania Dalton Foundation, she’s likened herself to a receptionist, helping to coordinate interviews for scholarship…
Read MoreBasketball the big mover in School Sport NZ Census
School Sport NZ: While the top 10 sports in terms of students representing their school remains unchanged from 2017, the School Sport NZ Census released last week shows that Basketball continued its growth in the sector to now be the second most popular sport in our secondary schools. Up by just over 800 students (3%) from 2017, the 2018 School Sport NZ Census recorded 26,481 students as pulling on their school Basketball colours, just behind Netball 27,139 (-5%) with Rugby in 3rd spot on 25,317. Badminton also continued its trend…
Read MoreKruz Perrott-Hunt commits to Div 1 Basketball Scholarship in US
Basketball New Zealand: Kruz Perrott-Hunt has become the latest young Kiwi to secure an NCAA Division I University basketball scholarship. In the same week he was named in the Tall Blacks squad for the next FIBA World Cup Qualifying window, the Rosmini College guard has committed to the University of South Dakota (USD) under the tutorage of Head Coach Todd Lee. The Coyotes play in the Summit League Conference and also have Brad Davidson on their coaching staff. Davidson will be well known to basketball fans that follow the Australian…
Read MoreAon NZ U15 Basketball teams named for Oceania Champs
Basketball New Zealand has named the Aon New Zealand Girls basketball team to compete in the FIBA Oceania U15 Championships in December this year, to be held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. This comes after a selection camp held over Labour Weekend. Head Coach of the girls’ team, Natalie Visger, says it was tough to narrow the team to 12 players. “This was a very prepared group coming into camp, super switched-on and competitive. Girls in New Zealand are starting to choose basketball earlier and it showed at camp…
Read MoreSchick Championships tip off Monday
Basketball New Zealand: The Schick Championships (the Secondary Schools National Basketball Championships) tip off on Monday at the Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North. The pools are set and the draw is out, with some intriguing match-ups in both the A* and AA* competitions, that will be any basketball fan’s delight if they get down to the Schick Champs early next week. With 268 games featuring 69 teams and over 800 players, the 50 years-old Schick National Championships promises to be another memorable basketball festival. AA Tournament – Boys The…
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