Basketball New Zealand

January 18, 2010

NZ Koru teams carry out their annual raid on the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup in Albury this week, starting today.

Basketball New Zealand’s development programme features 110 athletes, 11 coaches and eight managers, and for many, this will be their first experience of representing their country overseas.
New Zealand will field two teams in each of the U14 Boys and Girls, U16 Boys and Girls, and U18 Boys, with only one in the U18 Girls.

“Wins would be a good bonus,” says BBNZ player development manager Sue Pene. “The true measure of success will be the development of the players and the improvement of the coaches.
“This is a development programme. The talent is spread between the teams in each age group … all the teams are equal.”

The U14 teams are close to full strength, selected from the best Kiwi players of that age group, and the boys have been finalists the past two years. In the U16 and U18 categories, the aim is primarily to build player depth to feed the national junior team programme.

The NZ party arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday and has been acclimatizing in Albury, near the Victoria/New South Wales border since.

Conditions at this time of year are traditionally very hot … the day before the Kiwis’ arrival, temperatures peaked about 45 degrees Celsius, yet by yesterday, they had cooled to mid-20s and there was snow on nearby mountains.

Already fitness is an issue with some athletes reporting for duty either injured or out of shape.
“We have to impress on them how important it is come here fit,” says Pene.

Team lists and schedules for the NZ Koru teams at the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup are …

U14 Boys
NZ Koru
Doven Barlow (Waikato), Zach Buchegger (North Harbour), Wilfred Dickson (Hawke’s Bay) Isaac Letoa (Wellington), Blair Mackenzie (Otago), Nikau McCullough (Waikato), Toma Noguchi (Nelson), Ezra Simmons (Waikato), Paul Stephenson (New Plymouth), Mikaere Watene (Rotorua)
Coach – Alby Ellis
Manager – Pirihira Puata

NZ Kea
Jayden Bennett (Palmerston North), Sheaziah Compain (Waitakere), Geronimo Doyle (Waitakere), Mataeus Marsh (Hawke’s Bay), Aniwaniwa Kewene-Edwards (Otago), Delaney Puata-Chaney (Waitakere), Richard Rodger (Otago), Judson Seumanu (West Auckland), Liam Stanley-Tasi (Counties-Manukau), Haimona Tamati-Te Paki (Wanganui)
Coach – Jayson Johnson
Manager – Jackie Mackenzie

U14 Girls
NZ Koru
Roimata Blackburn (Wanganui), Reihana Dougherty (Canterbury), Samantha Eathorne (Hutt Valley), Cydney Ebeling (Western Bay of Plenty), Ella Maddix-Wikaira (Harbour), Maria Milani (Waitakere), Cori Pokotea (Hawke’s Bay), Tia Tuhakaraina (Eastern Southland), Moerangi Vercoe (Rotorua), Maia Wilson (Waitakere)
Coaches – Sue Pene
Managers – Mary Small

NZ Kea
Toni-Ann Cameron (Waikato), Matangiroa Flavell (Rotorua), Krystal Leger-Walker (Waikato), Katarina Mandic (North Harbour), Rachel Miller (Canterbury), Tessa Morrison (Mid Canterbury), Bella Shakes (North Harbour), Miah Small (Otago), Lyric Taurua-Wolfgramm (Waitakere), Laken Wairau (Canterbury),
Coach – Melanie Bennett
Managers – Caroline Upoko

U16 Boys
NZ Koru
Mitchell Clinton (Canterbury), Finn Delany (Nelson), Hunter Hawaikirangi (Waitakere), Kane Hodges (Hawke’s Bay), Marco Hofma (Hibiscus Coast), Ethan Horner (Otago), Tre Mauriohooho (Wellington), Jacob Nahora (Hawke’s Bay), Raymond Penny (Counties-Manukau), Lochlan Tangaroa (Marlborough)
Coaches – Shiv Narayan
Manager – Tepene Te Wharau

NZ Kea
Nico Buckrell (Hutt Valley), Aart Fahrenshon (Waitakere), Jaylen Gerrand (Hibiscus Coast), Mark Kelly (Western Bay of Plenty), Te Whati Kihi (Rotorua), Jonathan King (Palmerston North), Connor Lidstone (Canterbury), Alex Lloyd (Mid Canterbury), Joshua Peterson (Hutt Valley), Joshua Stempa (Mid Canterbury),
Coach – James Ballinger
Manager – Tepene Te Wharau

U16 Girls
NZ Koru
Aaliyah Ah Kiong (Hawke’s Bay), Natalie Baylis (Palmerston North), Stella Beck (Hutt Valley), Molli Daily (Buller), Kali Fraser (Otago), Polly Hill (Canterbury), Candace Moir (North Canterbury), Chevahn Morris (Waikato), Amorangi Ngata-Atkins (Waitakere), Anna Radovonich (Canterbury),
Coach – Tania Hunter
Manager – Ang Fraser

NZ Kea
Wuanyei Ah-Hing (Counties-Manukau), Briana Brockliss-Lodge (Waitakere), Gayle Broughton (Hawera), Esther Cheong (Hutt Valley), Chelsea Lumb (North Harbour), Dionne Martin (Lake Taupo), Carly McMillan (Buller), Laykin Paenga (Porirua), Roana Paterson (Counties-Manukau), Terina Wanoa (Canterbury)
Coach – Jimi Hills
Manager – Ang Fraser

U18 Boys
NZ Koru
James Aitken (Thames Valley), Alex Carew-Bourke (West Auckland), Lachlan Fenwick (Ney Plymouth), Jordy Jamieson (North Harbour), Terrence Lewis Jnr (Wellington), Sheldon McGuire (Hawke’s Bay), Peter Milani (Waitakere), Bejamin Nee-Nee (Counties Manukau), Hale Nepia-Su’a (Hawke’s Bay), Jack Stirling (Wellington),
Coaches – Sean Fuller
Manager – Wayne Rodgers

NZ Kea
Simon Bush (Marlborough), Dylan Edwards (Thames Valley), Kale Emery (North Harbour), Jesse Komene (Rotorua), Matt Loulanting (West Auckland), Jia Jia Meng (Counties Manukau), Jake Swindells (Otago), Jesse Te Tau (Otago), Nicholas Vickers (Rotorua), Jacob Walsh (Hawke’s Bay)
Coach – Dave Ruha
Manager – Wayne Rodgers

U18 Girls
Kimberley Goodearl (Hutt Valley), Sarah Hayman (North Canterbury), Lucy Heenan (Southland), Amelia Palmer (Waikato), Jaydene Poto (Counties Manukau), Pamela Purdie (Rotorua), Huriana Reid (NSW), Nina Reutlinger (North Harbour), Carissa Te Wharau (Waikato), Dayna Turnbull (Otago)
Coach – Sarah Dakers
Manager – Maryellen Bezzant

Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup

Monday, January 18

12.30pm
U14 Boys
NZ Koru v Vic Bushrangers
NZ Kea v Albury Wodonga

1pm
U14 Girls
NZ Koru v Vic Bushrangers
NZ Kea v Albury Wodonga

2.30pm
U18 Boys
NZ Koru v Vic Bushrangers
NZ Kea v Tasmania

3pm
U18 Girls
NZ Koru v SA Magpies

4.30pm
U16 Boys
NZ Koru v Vic Bushrangers
NZ Kea v Tasmania

5pm
U16 Girls
NZ Koru v Vic Bushrangers
NZ Kea v Tasmania

Tuesday, January 19

9am
U18 Girls
NZ Koru v Vic Goldminers

U18 Boys
NZ Koru v SA Magpies
NZ Kea v SA Sharks

11am
U14 Girls
NZ Koru v SA Magpies
NZ Kea v SA Sharks

U14 Boys
NZ Koru v SA Magpies
NZ Kea v SA Sharks

1pm
U16 Girls
NZ Koru v SA Magpies
NZ Kea v SA Sharks

U16 Boys
NZ Koru v SA Magpies
NZ Kea v SA Sharks

3pm
U18 Girls
NZ Koru v NSW Kookaburras

U18 Boys
NZ Koru v Vic Goldminers
NZ Kea v NSW Waratahs

5pm
U14 Girls
NZ Koru v NSW Kookaburras
NZ Kea v Vic Goldminers

U14 Boys
NZ Koru v NSW Kookaburras
NZ Kea v Vic Goldminers

Wednesday, January 20

9am
U16 Girls
NZ Koru v NSW Kookaburras
NZ Kea v Vic Goldminers

U16 Boys
NZ Koru v NSW Kookaburras
NZ Kea v Vic Goldminers

11am
U18 Girls
NZ Koru v Vic Bushrangers

U18 Boys
NZ Koru v NSW Kookaburras
NZ Kea v Vic Goldminers

1pm
U14 Girls
NZ Koru v Vic Goldminers
NZ Kea v NSW Waratahs

U14 Boys
NZ Koru v Vic Goldminers
NZ Kea v NSW Waratahs

3pm
U16 Girls
NZ Koru v Vic Goldminers
NZ Kea v NSW Waratahs

U16 Boys
NZ Koru v Vic Goldminers
NZ Kea v NSW Waratahs

Thursday, January 21

9am
U14 Girls
NZ Koru v WA Sandgropers
NZ Kea v NSW Kookaburras

U14 Boys
NZ Koru v WA Sandgropers
NZ Kea v NSW Kookaburras

11am
U16 Girls
NZ Koru v WA Sandgropers
NZ Kea v NSW Kookaburras

U16 Boys
NZ Koru v WA Sandgropers
NZ Kea v NSW Kookaburras

1pm
U18 Girls
NZ Koru v SA Sharks

U18 Boys
NZ Koru v Albury Wodonga
NZ Kea v NSW Kookaburras

Friday, January 22

11am
U18 Girls
NZ Koru v NSW Waratahs

5pm
U18 Girls
NZ Koru v Tasmania