Brisk action makes memorable quarterfinal clashes

BASKETALL

NOBODY wasted their minutes last night.

So cognisant were Gisborne’s club basketball players of how much they’d missed the game that they made Week 13 one to remember.

The John McFarlane Memorial Sports Centre at Gisborne Boys’ High School was the site of three fast-paced, thrill-per-possession quarterfinal clashes: the Campion College Juniors won the 4 v 5 crosstown derby with Lytton High School 58-57, despite Raenin Pihema’s magnificent 24 point-game for LHS.

Pihema’s teammate Caleb Poole stumped up with nine points; the big hard-nosed forward is one of the league’s most consistent players.

But in Allies Rangihuna, Te Haeora Kerekere-Puke, Felix Sparks and Keanu Reedy, the Campion Juniors had four players score in double-figures, and that, as much as defence, rebounding or whatever else, proved to make the one point difference between the teams.

In Game 2 at Boys’ High, 3 v 6, the GBHS Senior B crew beat the Gisborne Boys’ Junior B outfit 66-29 in a game with even low-scoring among individuals: Levi Harris of the older lads was the only player to score in double-figures (11).

Game 3, a 1 v 2 “friendly” between competition leaders GBHS Junior A and the Campion Cougars went the way of Campion 44-42. Dom Wilson scored 15 points for the A team: he was, like Lehi Harris in the previous fixture, the only player on the floor to put up double-figures.

At the YMCA, Courtney Stubbins of the Masters may only have scored three points in a 39-47 loss to Manu Toa but in all other aspects, excelled in the women’s league opener.

Stubbins stripped an unsuspecting Natalie Mackey of the ball with the score at 4-4 as that skilful veteran set herself to score. Three-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter, the lively guard followed the play to score off a put-back. She had a split-second before she got the ball to Reremoana Bartlett-Tamatea on the run, for 21-32.

“I would have liked that game more if we’d won it,” said Hutt Valley native Stubbins, who took the game up at the age of 12 and started at point-guard for the national championship-winning Hutt Valley-Porirua Flyers (now known as the Capital Swish) in 2013.

Wanita Tuwairua-Brown led the Masters scoring with 14 points last night and the slight but skilful Jamieson Tapsell responded with 13 for Manu Toa.

Tapsell took some knocks, but her energy and effort never flagged. In Game 2, the very capable Ritana Toa had both experience and class on Gisborne Girls’ High School to the tune of 68-31, to take nothing away from the Thomas Tindale-coached GGHS’ improved structure.

Ohomauri Hailey, O’Shae Rangihaeata and Amoe Wharehinga scored in double-figures for Ritana: Hailey’s left-handedness and Wharehinga’s hustle were crucial factors.