BASKETBALL
Young Tauranga players will have home-court advantage as they shoot for a nationals spot over the next few days, with the under-15 Zone 2 premiership tournament in action at Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre.
Thanks to a healthy depth of talent, Tauranga City has mustered both a boys' A and a Tauranga Blue development team as well as a girls' selection for the three-day competition, which starts at 9am tomorrow.
With the top two girls and boys' sides progressing to the nationals in October, Tauranga City Basketball Association general manager Mark Rogers is confident the local teams won't disappoint any fans heading to the QE complex to cheer them on.
"With the sport's popularity this season and the numbers at trials, we felt we had enough talent to field two boys' teams and give 24 players exposure at this level rather than 12," Rogers says. "We've had a sizeable increase in boys' teams, from six up to 10. It's a really good thing for our overall depth."
Rogers rates both the boys' A and girls' side as strong prospects for top-two placing and a berth at the national championships, to be played at Porirua from October 4-8.
Pool play tomorrow and Saturday will see teams from Waikato, Counties Manukau, Thames Valley, Ngati Porou/East Coast, Rotorua, Central Country (South Waikato-King Country) and Taupo on the courts as well as their Tauranga hosts.
Drawn in Pool 2, Tauranga boys' A get a slight break, with last year's national and Zone 2 champs Waikato plus traditional powerhouse Counties competing in Pool 1, which also features the Tauranga Blue team. Tough opposition in Pool 2 is likely to include '09 Zone 2 runners-up Rotorua.
Growth in sport sees extra boy's team
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.