Basketball New Zealand

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Harbour U17 Girls Champions

It began virtually from the start of the Oreo NZ U17 Championships Ö whenever Harbour or Canterbury girls played, the other had someone lurking in the stands, shadowing their rivals’ every move.

There was inevitability about their meeting for the title. After Harbourís buzzer-beating win in the 2006 final, destiny demanded a rematch Ö and destiny was not to be denied.

The intriguing game of cat and mouse throughout the week culminated in a result only slightly less exhilarating than 12 months earlier with Harbour again edging clear 56-53 to set up a sweep of U17 titles for the countryís biggest association.

ìAs we watched them through the tournament, we noticed they played a lot of zone defence, as do we,î observed victorious coach Angela Perrott-Hunt, who was co-coach of last yearís champions.

ìBut we also noticed, no matter what zone they played, they always left a hole on the free throw line. We wanted to expose that weakness.î

Harbour began the stronger, scoring the gameís first six points. Notably, their first two baskets came as centre Milika Nathan found her range from around the top of the key, precisely where Perrott-Hunt had pinpointed a chink in the armour.

ìMilly was hitting from there all the time, so we wanted to get it to her there as much as we could.î

By halfway through the opening period, though, Canterbury had made up lost ground and only Anna Laceyís trey in the closing seconds had the northerners ahead at the first break.

But the advantage swelled to double figures midway through the second period and although Harbour conceded ground through foul trouble, they were still 30-22 up at halftime. Nathan continued to prove a thorn in Canterburyís side with her mid-range shooting and found a willing ally around the basket in English-born Natasha Hall.

The third term was a stalemate, but early in the fourth Mikayla Blair hit a trey that put Harbour up by 13. Back came the Cantabs, with Hannah Mackay and Fran Edmondson striking from the arc and Caitlin Constable converting a three-point play in an 11-2 run that brought them within four.

When Mackay connected again with two minutes remaining, the margin was three Ö then two when Constable made one of two from the line with 40 seconds left.

But Nathan wheeled inside the key for what would prove the crucial basket. Mackay missed one and made one from the line, then missed the halfcourt prayer that would have sent the game into overtime.

If the free throw line proved an Achilles heel for the red-and-blacks defensively, it was just as crippling offensively. They shot only 7/23 (30%) FT for the game, while Harbour were awarded just five attempts from the stripe.

ìHalf our girls were back from last year and they knew Canterbury would be fired up for some pay back,î said Perrott-Hunt. ìWe were preparing for a rematch and knew if we won, it would be through our defence.î

For Canterbury coach Kennedy Hamilton, who had the helm for last yearís heartbreak, it was another case of so close, but so far. The result also ended the associationís hopes of a potential sweep of female age group titles, having already captured the national U21 and U19 crowns.

Meanwhile, Harbour boys had struggled to overcome champions Wellington in the semifinals and were similarly tested by dark horses Otago in the final.

The boys from the south rattled off a 17-4 run in the opening quarter to establish an edge they held for most of the game.

Whenever Harbour caught up, usually from long range through Scott Campbell, Otago had an answer, usually from big forward Sam King.

In fact, King had the better of highly rated Junior Tall Black Rob Loe through the early exchanges and racked up 16 points by halftime.

But while he struggled offensively, Loe stuck to his task defensively, blocking several shots and controlling the boards.

The turning point finally came early in the final period when Otago, still 61-58 up, quickly incurred four team fouls and Harbour began a procession to the free throw line.

With 40 seconds left, Liam Munday made one of two freebies to tie the scores. At the defensive end, Loe blocked Kingís baseline jumper and was fouled out of frustration when he regathered the rebound.

The infraction forced King’s early exit and sent Loe to the stripe for the go-ahead free throw. Campbell added two more free throws for good measure in the dying seconds and Otago guard Paratene McLeodís attempt to force overtime went the same way McKayís in the girlís finale.

Oreo NZ U17 Championships
Tauranga

Wednesday, July 11

Boys
9am
15/16th
Waikato Gold 75 (Ngarotata Bristowe 27, Alfonso Horomia 15) North Canterbury 68 (Sam Ermerins 15, Josh Haigh-ward 15, Julian Svoboda 13)

13/14th
Western BOP 90 (Michael Pakoti 33, Matt Fullerton 26, Adam Dunstan 13) Porirua 72 (Kyle Bevan 18, Hyrum Hippolite 13, Vince Rouru 10)

11/12th
Rotorua 77 (Te Warena Skerrett-White 30, Haimona Te Nahu 17) Palmerston North 76 (Tia Temata-Frost 24, Te Hemara Rauhihi 18, Te Pasu Thomas 15)

9/10th
Hawkes Bay 78 (Ezra Nikora 25, Sonny Tuaputa 22, David Te Au 12, Jamie Christensen 10) Nelson 59 (Chris Duthie 21, Chad Garrett 11)

7/8th
Harbour B 88 (Riccardo Tuimavave 22, Sherif Hassan 14, Tane Bennett 10) Auckland 69 (Jivarne Joseph 18, Jarom Fitsemanu 13)

5/6th
Canterbury 91 (David Hoekendjk 25, Matt McEwen 19, Ethan Rusbatch 15, Sam Evans 11, Keisuke Yahata 10) Waikato Black 69 (Hemi Joyce 27)

3/4th
Massey 93 (Duane Bailey 19, Kingston Abbott 19, Jordan Whitlock 15, Jason Goodwin 13) Wellington 76 (Winston Li 16, Jake Ashby 12, Scott Sharp 12, Anthony Li 10)

Final
Harbour 73 (Scott Campbell 21, Liam Munday 14, Jonathan Legge 14, Rob Loe 13) Otago 70 (Sam King 23, Paratene McLeod 14, Hayden Miller 10)

Tournament Team
Duane Bailey (Massey), Scott Campbell (Harbour), Sam Evans (Canterbury), Zac Fitzgerald (Harbour), Hemi Joyce (Waikato), Sam King (Otago), Rob Loe (Harbour), Paratene McLeod (Otago), Ezra Nikora (Hawkes Bay), Manu Telefoni (Wellington)

Most Valuable Player
Rob Loe (Harbour)

Girls
15/16th
Palmerston North 83 (Georgina Campbell 14, Freya Newton 14, Danielle Mackay 13, Michayla Hemopo 11, Trudy Fergus 11) Western BOP B 39 (T Rawhiri 18)

13/14th
Thames Valley 77 (Caitlin Wiseman 18, Stephanie Gleeson 13, Levi Knudsen 10, Stephanie Pollock 10) Whangarei 76 (Ashleigh Kahaki 16, Myone Cotton 10, Noella Murray 10)

11/12th
Rotorua 50 (Gabriella Adams 18, Johanna Bates 18) Western BOP 44 (Jade Nikora 12)

9/10th
Massey 67 (Mesha Blair 26, Adoniah Lewis 13, Bianca Harris 11) Waikato 54 (Bryony Wilson 14)

7/8th
Auckland 83 (Sulu Fitzpatrick 42, Latisha Gary 10) North Canterbury 75 (Gemma Hazeldine 33)

5/6th
New Plymouth 68 (Bella McCullum 22, Rosa Antunovic 10) Wellington 67 (Te Paea Selby Rickett 20, Shiana-Rose Harris 19, Latava Whippy 14)

3/4th
Hutt Valley 57 (Awhina Karawana 16, Milomilo Nanai 10) Nelson 53 (Shannon Perrot 13)

Final
Harbour 56 (Natasha Hall 16, Milika Nathan 15) Canterbury 53 (Caitlin Constable 16, Stacey Costain 14, Hannah Mackay 13)

Tournament Team
Mikayla Blair (Harbour), Fran Edmondson (Canterbury), Sulu Fitzpatrick (Auckland), Natasha Hall (Harbour), Gemma Hazeldine (North Canterbury), Awhina Karawana (Hutt Valley), Hannah Mackay (Canterbury), Milika Nathan (Harbour), Kirsty Thompson (Nelson), Latava Whippy (Wellington)

Most Valuable Player
Milika Nathan (Harbour)