Re-Runs The In Thing
Tagged in: Tournaments
Re-runs were the In thing on Finals Day at the 2008 AA Secondary Schools National Championships – presented by Furnware – in Palmerston North on Saturday night.
Wellington’s St Patrick’s College went back-to-back with a 94-92 epic boys championship game with Hamilton’s Fraser High, while girls defending champs Church College repeated with a start-to-finish 87-55 rout of Rangitoto College at Arena Manawatu.
The Most Valuable Player awards also a mirror of 12 months ago, with St Pat’s guard Brook Ruscoe and Church’s Fijian international Letava Whippy putting back-to-back MVP medals round their necks.
St Pat’s needed every bit of their experience from their five Year 13s – Ruscoe, fellow 10-man tournament team selections Jake Ashby and Tipene Friday, Micah Lepaio and sixth man Manu Telefoni – as they came back from five points down, 88-83, with four minutes remaining.
With a vocal – and largely pro-St Pat’s – crowd of 1500 behind them, St Pat’s scored nine of the next 10 points to lead 92-89 with 1:18 remaining.
Fraser’s scoring leader Matt Aird, a tournament team selection along with fellow sharpshooter Daniel Green, answered with a trey seconds later to level the game.
After both teams missed attempts on their next possessions, Friday corralled an offensive rebound off a Lepaio three-point miss, and collected the foul. Friday bounced in both freebies for a two-point lead, then St Pat’s players, bench and fans held their collective breaths as Green, then Aird, rimmed-out open three-point attempts on Fraser’s final possession.
St Pat’s sent out retiring coach Pete Ruscoe with his third national schools championship – two as coach and one as a player – with the Capital school’s fourth title, to go with 1971, 1978 (the year Ruscoe played) and 2007.
Ashby, a beast throughout the six-day tournament, dominated inside with 31 points and 12 rebounds, while Ruscoe had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Friday 18 points and 11 rebounds. Ezra Nikora led Fraser with 24 points while Aird provided 23 points, including four three-balls, and 13 rebounds.
No-one had got within 20 points of Church College all week and it was no different for Rangitoto in the final.
Behind a career-high 32 points from guard Austin Rarere, including 8-of-16 from the perimeter, Church dominated Rangitoto from the opening tip, quickly going up 11-4 and ending the first quarter ahead 15-4.
Rangitoto edged their way back into the contest in the second but Church were still ahead 17 points at halftime. Church led by as many as 33 points in the third period but with 11 straight points from Rangitoto’s tournament teamer Milika Nathan to end the quarter, Rangitoto were able to pull within 22.
Any thoughts of remarkable comeback got a Church beat-down early in the fourth, Whippy, Rarere and Co going on a 14-0 run in the opening two minutes to seal the win and consecutive girls titles.
Whippy finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Freda Riwai added 13 points for Church. Nathan’s strong second half saw her produce a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds for Rangitoto, who committed a gaudy 43 turnovers.
2008 AA Secondary Schools National Championships
Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
BOYS
St Patrick’s College 94 (Jake Ashby 31, Brook Ruscoe 21, Tipene Friday 18, Micah Lepaio 14) Hamilton’s Fraser High 92 (Ezra Nikora 24, Matt Aird 23, Poutu Edwards 18, Daniel Green 10)
1Q: 30-26
HT: 49-56 (19-30)
3Q: 79-73 (30-17)
FT: 94-92 (15-19)
St Pat’s College vs Hamilton’s Fraser High Box Score (17KB html)
GIRLS
Church College 87 (Austin Rarere 32, Letava Whippy 20, Freda Riwai 13) Rangitoto College 55 (Milika Nathan 23)
1Q: 15-4
HT: 34-17 (19-13)
3Q: 59-37 (25-20)
FT: 87-55 (28-18)
Church College vs Rangitoto College Box Score (21KB html)
