Game 1 at 5.30pm pits the Dreamers against Hoops I Did it Again, while at 6.45pm the Brick Layers are set to clash with Butter Fingers.
The game will be live-streamed and under the Covid-19 traffic light framework, vaccine passes for players, officials and spectators at the YMCA will be required.
God-willing, there will always be traditional club ball — a level above social ball, a league in which enough like minds with basic skills, uniforms, and respect for themselves, the opposition and officialdom may (if they pay their subscription fee) enter and play, and become part of a grand tradition.
The names of great club teams are woven into the fabric of the women’s game here — Boiler Gym, who went unbeaten in 1991, the Ray Noble-coached Horouta, Ngati Porou — the most dominant club in the history of the GBA or Poverty Bay Basketball Association — and the current women’s champions Turanga.
Since the old PBBA was founded in 1927, the participation of women and girls has been a factor in the sport’s health and numbers here. Their involvement has brought generations of families (and workmates) into the game.
Such is the background to the launch of the first women’s Draft League, whose teams all — in a historic move — have female coaches.
Hana Wilkinson is with the Brick Layers, Petra Sparks and Kellann Kemp will take Hoops I Did it Again, Janelle Te Rauna-Lamont is to mentor Butter Fingers and Melissa Mackey-Huriwai is player-coach of The Dreamers.
These are basketball and sporting minds of representative, international calibre. Under Mackey-Huriwai, The Dreamers will play for each other and compete hard in every facet of play. Their rebounding, boxing out and defence will have to be seen to be believed.
“I’m keen to drive our young people,” Mackey-Huriwai said.
“Whatever it takes to help them grow their skills and confidence — like this Draft League — I’m all for it.
“I didn’t get first pick on Sunday night — because I had to select myself — but I made sure that after that, I had good bigs (forwards) and a good ball-handler (point-guard).”
There are no unfit players in this league — 40 were drafted at Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti, and Mackey-Huriwai’s picks reflect her high work ethic. Every player and team that has ever tangled with Natalie Mackey or Piper Donaldson knows that the game’s never over until the final buzzer.
If a team’s play is reflective of their coach and her personal style, then Butter Fingers will be quick between the ears with court-vision to die for. Their driving force, guard Janelle Te Rauna-Lamont, has weaved her way between — and been a true court-general of — the forest giants of the GBA for three decades.
Te Rauna-Lamont is bubbly: “We’re excited because we have a team with both youth and experience. That experience will help us to run things.”
Dyani Johnson is an awesome force on the floor, without an equal in terms of physical presence. She and the likes of her Butter Fingers co-captain Kiara Swannell, Amoe Wharehinga and Peyton Riri all play the game with passion and intensity. They rebound. They attack the basket. If they can control the tempo of a given game, Butter Fingers have the personnel to run teams ragged.
Petra Sparks and Kellann Kemp of Hoops I Did it Again belong to a generation of skilled, well-organised GBA age-group players who have experienced success and now want to pass that knowledge on
That in itself is noteworthy, and they are young player-coaches, which introduces a new dynamic in terms of leadership on the floor.
But if the duo can run the moving parts — and get such hearty athletes as Maia Rickard and youngsters Bobbi-Atawhai Crawford and tall left-hander Ohomauri Hailey in sync — then they will have must-see billing.
Sparks said: “Our team is quite young, so we’re hoping to run hard and hustle even harder on defence.”
Keen observers may well recognise former Nelson Spark Hana Wilkinson’s ability to read the game and timing on the court mirrored in her team’s match-effort tonight. Odds-on, the food for thought they’re given will be delivered clearly, calmly and with respect for their ability.
And coach Wilkinson’s Brick Layers have considerable ability — Amoe Tarsau, proud coach of the courageous Lytton High School girls’ team, and Courtney Stubbins both steer events on the floor. Jayda Waititi-Leach is super-quick, Anna Spring was a tough competitor for Campion College, energetic and feisty. Quickness in the guards will be a major asset for the layers of bricks.
Wilkinson’s simple goals have great merit: “Our main aim, as players, is simply to meet more ballers and then to share our knowledge with each other regularly at practice.”
THE DREAMERS: Melissa Mackey-Huriwai (player-coach), Ishtar Mackey-Huriwai, Natalie Mackey, Aio-Bebe Hollis, Jayda-Shay Pomana, Piper Donaldson, Taimarie Matahiki, Taimana Matahiki, Shean Edwards, Trieste Wilson.
HOOPS I DID IT AGAIN: Petra Sparks, Kellann Kemp (co-captains), Alexander Campbell-Ratapu, Annalisa (AJ) Bradley, Ariana Kepa, Bobbi-Atawhai Crawford, Ohomauri Hailey, Emily Graham, Maia Rickard, Tyler Riri.
BRICK LAYERS: Amoe Tarsau, Anna Spring, Courtney Stubbins, Jasmine Sparks, Jamieson Tapsell, Jayda Waititi-Leach, Jorja Kepa, Paige Tamatea, Paris Wilson, Alisha Duncan.
BUTTER FINGERS: Dyani Johnson, Kiara Swannell (co-captains), Amoe Wharehinga, Leone McCardle, Lindsey Pomana, O’Shae Rangihaeata, Peyton Riri, Riley Lewis, Harriet Peipi, Te Amokura Te Rauna-Lamont.
