A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
If you're in for a penny with the GBA, you're in for a pound.
The Gisborne Basketball Association committee under chairwoman Kylie Turuwhenua-Tapsell has been hard at work this month with the secondary schools' leagues — Division 1 at the John McFarlane Memorial Sports Centre on Wednesday nights, Division 2 at the same on Friday nights.
Gisborne Boys' High School Senior A captain Sebastian Wilson is player-coach of the D1 Carbon, coaches GBHS Junior Emerald in D2 and led the Senior A crew to the Trident invitational tournament final in Whakatane on Wednesday.
That's what “in for a penny, in for a pound” means.
GBHS Senior B opened Week 3 with the biggest upset of Division 1 so far, a 53-52 win against the previously unbeaten Carbon (Wilson 26 points, Ngaru Grayson 10) but the B's speed and hustle kept them within four points of the more fancied team.
The scores were tied 21-all at the end of the first period; following the resumption, Grayson made a finger-roll for two points, Wilson punished the Bs for turning the ball over at half-court and then blocked Weighn Wilson's baseline three-point shot from the right corner with the B team up 27-25. Karta Paea (14pts) of GBHS B finished a difficult play low-left of the hoop against big Will Collier for 31-29; the Carbon titan levelled the scores, 31-all, at the next opportunity.
His skipper made a three-point play for 37-33 that would have broken hearts less stout.
Even in the fourth quarter, the action never slowed up. Weighn Wilson stole the ball from Grayson and flew the length of the court for 43-39. Finally it was Paea who — with three seconds left to play — went end to end for a right-hand lay-up to win the game.
Allies Rangihuna (35pts) and Haeora Kerekere-Puke (16) dominated Game 2 for Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Nga Uri a Maui-Hawaiiki Hou. Rangihuna is a natural scorer, while Kerekere-Puke was ultra-impressive in his crew's 70-50 win against GBHS Junior Crimson.
Crimson's Ollie Tong hit a three-pointer from the top of the key and made an incredible lay-up right-side on his way out of court to draw Gisborne Boys' within 11 (GBHS 19-Nga Uri 30) but the game turned on Kerekere-Puke.
The burly forward featured in one of the comic plays of Week 3. Outstanding referee Ethan Ngarangione-Pearson called a charge on the TKKM strongman for lurching into Crimson forward Max Hammond under the basket 14 seconds before halftime.
Rangihuna soon thereafter supplied a circus shot on the run, going between his legs with a dribble and “mooning” the lay-up (touch off the backboard, no contact with the hoop) at 40-29.
Running the Senior Bs' boilover with Carbon close in terms of an unexpected result was the GBHS Junior Premiers' 52-49 win against the Lytton High School Seniors.
Times have changed. No junior team would have come within 30 points of the Ritana (LHS) Bulls of the 1990s.
Lytton captain Tasman Guirau (who led all scorers in Game 3 with 18 points) and forward Caleb Poole (16) were, as usual, solid for the older team. Kahurangi Leach-Waihi (13) was the only Junior Prem to score in double figures, but contributions of nine (Clinton Tarei), eight (James McKay) and eight (Devin Waititi-Leach) — useful per se — were invaluable in the context of events.
Felix Sparks' court-sense has grown immeasurably because of the GBA's development programme and the Junior Prem guard gave the crowd of 120 a good look at that, with a drive left of the hoop and soft-touch finish for 6-6 and a superb give-and-go play with Waititi-Leach, right side of the court, for 8-6. In the third period, Sparks's dribble-penetration created space for Waititi-Leach to hit a three-pointer on the right wing.
Lytton rallied in the fourth quarter. The Prems' Kahurangi Leach-Waihi made a breakaway lay-up and then hit a 20-foot shot that would have ended the fight on another occasion, but the visitors did not concede.
Flex McGhee produced two field goals late under pressure, the second of which drew Lytton agonisingly close at 44-43.
GBA chairwoman Kylie Turuwhenua-Tapsell — along with the sporting public — has marvelled at what she's seen in both divisions: “We're really impressed with the players' enthusiasm and the turnout to these positive events.”
Safin Tuwairua-Brown signed off for GBHS Senior Diesel in the last Division 1 Week 3 game with 29 points in the hosts' 69-59 win against the Campion College Seniors.
Tuwairua-Brown, brother of the best offensive player — Tyrese Tuwairua-Brown — that GBHS has produced since Hosea Gear led Frank Russell-coached teams in 2000-2001, hit the first long jump-shot of the contest and later changed gears on the drive left-side for 27-18.
His teammate Cody Tarei made a grand three-point play in the lead-up to halftime. Unfortunately for Campion, their very capable captain, the bustling Robert Fysh, committed four fouls before the break.
This can affect how aggressive a player can afford to be at either end of the court. Fysh nonetheless put up 18 and Max Vanderbilt 20 for the college.
Hard-working GBHS forward Tobias Horsfield ran the floor to finish on a breakaway for 40-28.
Horsfield's teammate Rioss McHugh is a great young competitor; referee Lawrence Mulligan is a great man for basketball.
The latter deserves high praise for fielding the Diesel guard's third-quarter query with patience. Players must know that to get a handle on how a game's being run is to their advantage — and a good referee is empathetic, not soft.
That situation was well-handled.
Horsfield hit a 22-foot shot 51 seconds from fulltime for 69-55. GBA referee assessor and life member Clifton Blumfield liked what he saw from the teenage officials as much as the players.
“These young referees' mechanics are improving,” he said.
“They're standing still when they need to — Will Collier is more assured and confident when signalling to the score-bench, and Felix Sparks and Seth Miller are now calling fouls.”