Club ball ramps up

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

Friday night on the corner of Roebuck and Childers is a rowdy reminder of simpler times.

Since the return four weeks ago of club ball at Gisborne Boys’ High School to the home of hoops — the YMCA — the energy level of men’s open championship play on Friday nights has ramped up.

Game 1 last week — which marked the end of round-robin play — was no exception. Of the two Uawa teams in the men’s open grade, brawny Uawa AMP was pushed to the limits of their endurance in a 59-50 win against the Setting Suns.

In Game 2, the second of the Tolaga Bay-based crews beat Old Surfers 58-39 and the Rizzlies turned in one of their best performances of the season in an 82-49 result against the Raphael Heria-led Gizzy Gilas.

The first game of the night was chock-full of delicious old-school physicality, with hard screens being set and players barging their way to the basket. Paddy Blackman led Uawa’s scorers with 24 points while his teammates Amrisya McLean (11) and Kerehama Blackman (9) provided him with muscular support at both ends of the floor.

The Setting Suns left nothing in the tank. Powerful forward Mike King produced 16 points in the course of his war of the boards with Uawa, tall veterans Matt Tong (8) and Panapa Ehau (6) to the fore alongside him. Their efforts saw the Suns stay within one bucket of Uawa AMP to the break but by third quarter, the deficit was 15.

Uawa’s Wiremu Gray dominated Game 2 with 21 points in a solid performance agaisnt the Old Surfers, Amez Rewita’s three-point play against Peter Varey giving them the first nudge; it gave the Coast team a 12-10 lead.

Gray right-side hit a three-pointer for 14-11, seconds later, Jordan Patrick stepped out of the right corner, dribbled once, and hit a jumpshot over the defensive player’s outstretched arm for 16-11. There is no doubt that Uawa found offensive rhythm early on, a key factor in their 58-39 win.

But Surfers played good team ball also. Varey, left side of the floor, found Jamie Swift at the knuckle, Swift picked up Matt Mackle for the 10-foot jumpshot on the baseline and 14-25. Mackle often settles scrappy sequences of play for Surfers with a calming jumper, and on Friday night did so in both the third and fourth quarters.

The standard of all of the local competitions in the last five years has risen as the GBA’s young referees have developed. With 4  minutes, 18 seconds left to play in the third period of Game 2, lead whistle-blower Will Collier made an 8-second call on Uawa, who as the team in possession of the ball did not advance it to the front-court.

As with the 3-second rule for offensive players in the key, the 8-second count is made by referees on-court — not the time-keeper, a table official. That this raft of officials has a feel for situations in which such nuanced calls are made, bodes well for their advancement in the game.

Micah Tapsell, 13, a Year 9 student at Manutuke School, is skilful with a nice jumper. He opened Old Surfers’ account with a three-pointer and was good for three field goals in the fourth quarter. He had earlier blown a whistle for the Setting Suns and Uawa.

Micah said: “Reffing has improved my basketball knowledge — helped me to understand the game.

“And I enjoy being in charge of adults.”

James Aston-Nielsen and Israel Kerisome spearheaded the Rizzlies’ victory in Game 3.

Aston-Nielsen scored a grade-high 30 points and Kerisome, soon to represent Niue, 22 in their outfit’s 33 point-win against the Gizzy Gilas.

The Rizzlies held sway 25-9, 43-29 and 66-35 throughout the last game of the night, but their feisty opposition hit back as hard and as often as possible. Pheejay-Lazo Hernandez blew in from the right side to score for the Gilas 11, Rizzlies 27 and two plays later drove down the middle for 13-29. Two plays after that, Gilas captain Heria scored with a soft-touch one-hander eight feet from the hoop for 17-31. And in the first of two top low-post plays, Ranjic Miranda backed Tuini Latu in before hitting a turnaround jumper on the left baseline for 19-34. He followed that up by wheeling back and away with a shot for 21-39.

Those five inspirational plays marked a purple patch for the Gilas. Kerisome scored five field goals between 10 and 20; Aston-Nielsen hit three of his four treys on the night in the first half. That duo was dominant to the extent that they as a pair combined for 52 to the Gilas’ 49, though the future stars basket of the night, sign off on round-robin play, was scored by the Rizzlies’ tall youngster Ryland Bright (8) — a reverse lay-up right-side of the rim for 72-45.

Bright is one of a crop of emerging athletes to have made a strong impression in the last seven weeks.

Heria, a six-year veteran of GBA club ball, said “We enjoyed every game that we played in this league, despite lacking height and physicality, and played well against all opposition.

“We played for the the love of the game, and we enjoyed the camaraderie with the other teams in the competition.”

Men’s open championship, Gisborne YMCA — Week 7:
The Setting Suns 50 (Mike King 16, Matt Tong 8, Panapa Ehau 6, Quentin Solomon 5) Uawa AMP 59 (Paddy Blackman 24, Amrisya McLean 11, Kerehama Blackman 9 - Q1 Uawa AMP 15-13, HT 25-23, Q3 47-32).
Uawa 58 (Wiremu Gray 21, Jordan Patrick 15, Jess Saywell 9, Amez Rewita 6) Old Surfers 39 (Micah Tapsell 15, Matthew Mackle 7, Mercy Bristowe 6 - Q1 Uawa 12-11, HT 25-15, Q3 42-26).
Gizzy Gilas 49 (Ranjic Miranda 23, Pheejay-Lazo Hernandez 8, Raphael Heria 6) Rizzlies 82 (James Aston 30, Israel Kerisome 22, Jorge Tofilau 8, Ryland Bright 8 - Q1 Rizzlies 25-9, HT 43-29, Q3 66-35).
Horouta beat Paikea Whalers by default.