Basketball roundup

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

This Gisborne club basketball season will be remembered for its massive scale, but also its brevity and vitality.

The 2020 leagues — all four combining to be the biggest since the formation of the Gisborne Basketball Association — are short and sweet. The women’s A and B Grade finals are set for Monday, September 21, and the men’s A Grade grand final and B Grade final for Tuesday, September 22.

That means the last games of women’s round-robin play will be held tonight, with A Grade action at the YMCA from 5.45pm. First up will be the high school derby between Gisborne Girls’ High and Lytton High. At 6.45pm, defending champions Ngati Porou will play the feisty Manu Tu and an hour later, the powerful Stretchmarks meet Dem Air Ballers.

In B Grade games at the John McFarlane Memorial Sports Centre from 5.45pm, Horouta take on Riverina. Game 2 will be SE Systems versus Manu Toa.

The men’s A Grade tomorrow night at the YMCA starts with league titans SE Systems playing the Filthy Dozen at 5.35pm, to be followed by champions City Lights playing the David Glendenning-coached Gisborne Boys’ High School A. B Grade action follows, with the Massive Marauders playing Shane McClutchie’s Campion College. The 8.35pm late game is Green up versus Dialektric.

The B Grade card at the Sports Centre from 5.35pm pits Gisborne Boys’ High Juniors against the Backcourt Violators. Old Surfers play Lytton High School in Game 2 and GBHS B play the Gizzy Gilas from 7.25pm. The night, and Week 5, will sign off at 8.15pm, with the Big Baller Brand playing the Bumbles.

Gisborne Basketball Association chairman and GGHS coach Dwayne Tamatea has seen his players develop a passion for the game under the leadership of Peyton Riri, and is hoping to see his outfit take more shots.

Lytton High deputy principal and coach Marama Henwood is rapt with her girls’ increased confidence, willingness to drive and better communication on the floor. Manu Tu may have the muscle to match up with Ngati Porou. And Game 3, Stretchmarks versus Dem Air Ballers, also features individuals from both teams who can assert themselves.

Melissa Mackey-Huriwai of Manu Tu and Stretchmarks’ two strongest players inside — Dyani Johnson and Wanita Tuwairua-Brown — have all been outstanding in the first four weeks of the league.

Odds are, eye-wateringly, that they will even take it up a notch again tonight.