Basketball New Zealand

Westlake BHS centre Rob Loe (Dave Litnott)

Westlake BHS centre Rob Loe capped a year to remember with a display that finally showed him to be a man playing among boys at the Furnware NZ “AA” Secondary Schools Championships at Palmerston North.

A star for the Junior Tall Blacks at the FIBA U19 World Championships for Men, then a Tall Black at the age of 17, he reigned supreme as the North Harbour students convincingly beat Fraser HS 76-53 in the final.

Snatching an early double-figure advantage, they never really allowed last year’s runners-up back in the game with Loe dominating at both ends of the court through a full range of skills, compiling 14 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks, four assists and two steals.

“He was a terrific part of our press break as well and one of the things that has really impressed the college coaches out here scouting him is his ball-handling ability,” observed coach Mark Jackson.

Loe (2.10m) showed that experience under pressure to hit the first two jumpers of the game. When Luka Kablar banked in two points and Loe was fouled in the act of shooting, they were 10-2 up and Fraser coach Jeff Green was forced to stem the flow with a timeout.

“We knew we had some talented big guys, so we tried not to get into an up-and-down game at 100km/h and bring their guards into play,” explained Jackson. “I think we did a pretty good job of controlling tempo.”

When Jonathan Legge converted a layup soon after, the margin was in double figures (13-2) … but it was never going to be that easy.

Dyson King-Hawea hit a trey and a hook shot over Loe, then Daniel Green also connected from afar, before Loe responded with a steal and layup.

After a quarter, Westlake still enjoyed a 20-14 lead.

The injection of Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson provided just the spark Westlake needed to stretch the gap back out, hitting the offensive boards hard and scoring four successive baskets from close range.

While Scott Campbell was also making his presence felt with a pair of three-pointers, Loe was closing the door on Fraser’s forays to the basket down the other. As his team entered the locker room 38-25 at halftime, the giant was on pace for a triple double with seven points (3/4 FG), eight rebounds and five blocks.

He opened the second half with a monster dunk, but King-Hawea replied with his fourth trey of the game and when Ezra Nikora hit a floater over Loe, Fraser were only eight behind.

A three-point play from Hohipa-Wilson ended the run and when Mitch Richmond hit a ridiculous spinning layup in the lane, the margin was back out to 15.

Fraser tried to take on their opponents physically and Westlake, who went just 2/10 FT in the first half, had still not found a consistent range from the line. Once again, they let the Hamiltonians creep back within single figures when Ben King lobbed one in from the arc.

With a quarter remaining, Westlake still clung to a 54-43 advantage.

Campbell hit a fall-away basket in the lane and then Loe hit Richmond with a fullcourt pass from a defensive rebound that extended the margin back to 15.

It became two more when Loe, in the low post, again hit Richmond cutting through the lane.

The horse had bolted on Fraser.

“We really concentrated on our team game … getting everyone playing the way we needed them to as a team,” said Jackson. “The boys played well and did what we wanted them to.”

Richmond emerged as Westlake’s leading scorer with 17 points (7/8 FG), while King-Hawea accumulated a game-high 19 points (5/13 3pt).

Loe was later named MVP of the tournament, joining Richmond and Hohipa-Wilson in the tournament team. He now faces a choice of US colleges scrambling for his services next year.

“Obviously, this is not as high an honour as the world championships or the Tall Blacks, but it still means a lot to me,” he said.

“I’ve played my whole life with some of these guys and I’ll miss them.”

Furnware NZ “AA” Secondary School Championships

Palmerston North
Boys Final
Westlake BHS 76 (Mitch Richmond 17, Rob Loe 14, Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson 14, Luka Kablar 11, Scott Campbell 11) Fraser HS 53 (Dyson King-Hawea 19)
Q1 20-14
HT 38-25 (18-11)
Q3 54-43 (16-18)
FT 76-53 (22-10)

3rd/4th
Church College 76 (Jared Whippy 33) Mana College 60 (Samuel Heke 16)

5th/6th
Rangitoto College 76 (Sam King & Marco Alexander 22) Cashmere HS 74 (Jordyn Kauta 24)

7th/8th
Onehunga HS 71 (Dwight Leofo 31) St Patrick’s College 68 (Scott Sharp 14)

9th/10th
Hastings BHS 74 (Stanley Heather & Czebalos Smiler 16) Mt Albert Grammar 72 (Jason Goodwin 24)

11th/12th
Tauranga BC 65 (Adam Dunstan 19) St John’s College 60 (Te Ra Tai Hodges 16)

13th/14th
New Plymouth BHS 72 (Callum Oliver 20) Nelson College 58 (Adam Rainbird 20)

15th/16th
Middleton Grange 77 (Inga Solofuti 28) Nayland College 69 (Aaron Dempster 14)

17th/18th
Waimea College 74 (Chris Duthie 23) Hamilton BHS 60 (Kirk Rangiawha 20)

19th/20th
Otago BHS 82 (Ethan Carruthers 22) Palmerston North BHS 71 (Luke Bardsley 18)

21st/22nd
Kelston BHS 70 (Christoph Fahrensohn 18) Cambridge HS 58 (Kendall MacMillan 20)

23rd/24th
Massey HS 66 (James Hemopo 18) Wellington College 65 (Titapu Pairama-Lewington 22)

Final Placings
1 Westlake BHS
2 Fraser HS
3 Church College
4 Mana College
5 Rangitoto College
6 Cashmere HS
7 Onehunga HS
8 St Patrick’s College
9 Hastings BHS
10 Mt Albert Grammar
11 Tauranga BC
12 St John’s College
13 New Plymouth BHS
14 Nelson College
15 Middleton Grange
16 Nayland College
17 Waimea College
18 Hamilton BHS
19 Otago BHS
20 Palmerston North BHS
21 Kelston BHS
22 Cambridge HS
23 Massey HS
24 Wellington College

Tournament Team
Marco Alexander (Rangitoto College), Daniel Green (Fraser HS), Hyrum Hippolite (Mana College), Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson (Westlake BHS), Hemi Joyce-Gay (Fraser HS), Rob Loe (Westlake BHS), Mitchell Richmond (Westlake BHS), Ethan Rusbatch (Cashmere HS), Jai Soloai-Skelton (Church College), Josh Whippy (Church College)

MVP
Rob Loe (Westlake BHS)