Open Nationals Qualifiers
Tagged in: Competitions
Western Bay of Plenty and Massey associations will both send men’s and women’s squads to the Oreo Open National Championships in September, after qualifying teams at the Open Premierships last weekend.
Western BOP teams claimed zone two titles, while Massey Blue earned the zone one women’s title and their male counterparts finished runners-up to Waitakere, all earning places at the nationals in Levin from September 12-14.
The Western Bay of Plenty men benefited from Rotorua’s disqualification for playing an ineligible player, to win zone two with a 76-47 blow-out of Cambridge Fighting Irish, while the W-BOP women were impressive, claiming three close wins to end the weekend 6-0. Rotorua finished runner-up at 5-1.
Waitakere earned the top men’s spot in zone one, going through the tournament unbeaten at 5-0, winning the final 70-64 over Massey Blue, while Eastern Bays took third over Massey White 74-57.
The Massey Blue women made short work of Auckland Blue, who upset top pool play qualifier Waitakere in the semifinals, in the final, winning 57-37, while Waitakere held their nerve to defeat Whangarei A 55-50 for third.
In zone three, the disqualification of All Stars and Porirua for playing ineligible players overshadowed Wellington club Morehu Easts and Palmerston North team Cardinals qualifying for Levin.
Wellington recorded four straight wins, defeating Hutt Valley A 102-90 in the women’s final at Southwest Stadium in Wellington, both teams earning places at the nationals, while Hutt Valley B edged Palmerston North 49-40 for third.
In Invercargill, Southland teams dominated the women’s side, while Christchurch clubs controlled the men’s bracket in zone four.
The defending Open national champion Southland Pearls rolled through the tournament undefeated with an average winning margin of 25.6 points. They routed fellow qualifiers and neighbours Eastern Southland 83-54 in the final, while South Canterbury defeated Mid Canterbury 62-56 for third.
A first round 91-79 win over Kiwihoops helped propel Atami to the men’s title, finishing the tournament 5-0, with close wins over Central Otago, South Canterbury and Southland. Kiwihoops claimed second at 4-1.
The qualified teams have until Friday, August 1 to confirm their participation at nationals, with any vacant berths going to wildcards.
Open National Championships
Qualified Teams
Men
Zone 1: Waitakere, Massey Blue
Zone 2: Western Bay of Plenty, Cambridge Fighting Irish
Zone 3: Morehu Easts (Wellington), Cardinals (Palmerston North)
Zone 4: Atami (Christchurch), Kiwihoops (Christchurch)
Women
Zone 1: Massey Blue, Auckland Blue
Zone 2: Western Bay of Plenty, Rotorua
Zone 3: Wellington, Hutt Valley A
Zone 4: Southland, Eastern Southland
