BASKETBALL
They work at it.
The Campion College boys’ team — unbeaten in six weeks of local B Grade club basketball — took their show on the road at the weekend.
The highlight of their trip to the Havelock North High School Invitational Tournament was the 42-24 win against Flaxmere College in Game 2 on Day 1.
Campion lost their tournament opener to hosts Havelock North High School 50-37 at their gymnasium, and though they went down 54-37 to Taupo-nui-a-Tia College in Game 3 and 54-27 to 2019 Havelock North High School Invitational Tournament winners Taradale Boys’ High School, that single victory is proof that hard work pays off.
Campion’s win against Flaxmere was their first at the tourney since Patrick Murphy’s team beat Tauhara College of Taupo 64-59 at Centennial Hall, Napier, two years ago.
Current skipper Orlando Pedraza — with 12 points — was superb against Flaxmere, while Campion centre Nelson Brown (15pts) led all scorers in the come-from-behind win. Campion trailed 7-4 heading into the second period and were still behind 13-12 at halftime before they took a 25-21 lead at three-quartertime.
“For us, this tournament was, firstly, about giving young players court-time, getting them to take ownership of the game,” Campion head coach Shane McClutchie said.
“Paora Dewes (assistant coach), Rosemary Brown (manager) and I saw our team move the ball in transition, punch above our weight and compete hard against every team we played.”
In Game 1, Pedraza (17pts), Brown (12pts) and Allen Arnaldo (6pts) headed up their team’s scoring list against Havelock North, who led 12-11, 30-23, 41-29 through the quarters.
Taupo-nui-a-Tia beat Campion by 17 points but not before Pedraza scorched them for 18 points — the biggest individual game return by a Campion player in 2019. He scored from the field and made three three-point shots — and all of his team’s 11 points — in the fourth period.
Taupo-nui-a-Tia held the upper hand 16-10, 27-16, 36-26 in Game 3.
The big Taradale team went 9-5 up against Campion early in Game 4 before drawing away 20-10. Taradale led 36-16 by the fourth quarter. Pedraza (11pts), Aaron Sarcia (7pts) and Brown (5pts) were Campion’s leading scorers.
Pedraza and Brown — both Year 13 students — were great value for a new-look Campion team who also comprised Arnaldo, Sarcia, Elijah Swann, Tamati Barr, Fletcher Miller, Jovan Potter and 14 year-old Robert Fysh, the youngest player in the nine-man squad and captain of the Campion Y9-10 team.
Pedraza, who first travelled to represent Campion as a 14-year-old himself (in 2016, at Rotorua), said: “We took away a lot from the tournament and got better with each game. The boys held their own on-court. As captain, I’m proud of where we are now, and excited to think of where the team could be in the future.”
Aside from the Gisborne Basketball Association club league and traditional games against Wairoa College for the Keith Lewis Cup, Campion’s basketball focus is now on the Schick AA Zone 2 premierships at Rotorua from September 4 to 7.